Bendgate: Apple knew the iPhone 6 models would bend from the start

Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were not exactly the most loved of the lot. While these iPhones were the first big-screen models, they were also the first iPhones whichexperienced a bending problem. Reports indicated that users who put their phones in their pockets would find that the phone would bend to a greater degree than expected. This was officially isolated to a small number of users, and Apple offered replacements for anyone who experienced the issue. The firm, however, did thicken up its iPhones over the next two releases. That didn’t stop the firm from being it with “touch disease” complaints, which apparently resulted from bends in the phone.

Now it turns out that neither issue hit the firm out of the blue. In fact, prior to launching the iPhone 6, Apple had already determined that “The iPhone 6 was 3.3 times more likely to bend than the iPhone 5s” and that “the iPhone 6 Plus was 7.2 times more likely to bend than the iPhone 5s,”

This revelation comes from a class action lawsuit filed against Apple on this matter with Motherboard making the filing public.

Apple indicated that “rigorous and comprehensive reliability test data proved that enclosure bending and twisting cannot cause the issue unless the phones had already been repeatedly dropped on a hard surface”, a claim which was disputed by the plaintiff’s own witnesses.

The case is currently experiencing difficulties, with the judge denying the plaintiffs their certification as on official class action due to their inability to present a sufficient compensation model. They have currently signalled intent to file a motion for reconsideration/appeal.

Source: Motherboard.