#Bendgate: iPhone 6 Woes Prompt Apple To Show Device Torture Room
To counter bad press on its newly launched iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus due to complaints that the flagship devices bend easily, Cupertino-based Apple provided a tour of its facility where gadgets manufactured by the tech giant undergo torture tests.
Read:
Results Of Torture Tests Indicate iPhone 6 Is More Durable Now
iPhone 6 Bends When Owner Sits Down
However, at the same time, a senior Apple vice president admitted to The Verge that "The bottom line is that if you use enough force to bend an iPhone, or any phone, it's going to deform."
Apple also released a statement that its phones are designed, engineered and made to be beautiful and sturdy by using "a precision-engineered unibody enclosure constructed from machining a custom grade of 6000 series anodized aluminum, which is tempered for extra strength." It also has stainless steel and titanium inserts for reinforcement in high-stress locations. It described the glass as the strongest in the smartphone industry.
The firm insisted that if performs stringent tests in the entire development cycle, including 3-point bending, pressure point cycling, sit, torsion and user studies. "iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus meet or exceed all of our high-quality standards to endure everyday, real life use," Apple stressed.
However, one point noticed by CNBC during the media tour is that Apple uses a computer monitor in the testing facility that runs on Windows XP. But Business Insider pointed out that while the discovery could be embarrassing for Apple since the Microsoft it uses is that of a rival and 13 years old, it is common that manufacturing plants run on Windows OS.
In June, a tweet by Apple CEO Tim Cook inadvertently showed a computer running Windows in an Apple US factory.
Read:
#Bendgate: Samsung & Other Phone Brands Poke Fun At iPhone 6 Bendgate
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Apple To Replace Bent iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus
Meanwhile, a Consumer Reports study said that after testing the iPhone 6, iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy Note 3, LG G3 and HTC One M8, it discovered 90 pounds of force is needed to deform the case of the iPhone 6 Plus and 110 pounds to make the screen pop. The iPhone 6 needed only 70 pounds of pressure to bend and 100 pounds to have the display come off.
In comparison, to break three pencils, 55 pounds of pressure is required.
But the test also confirmed previous bend tests made that the device made by rival Samsung is stronger than the iPhone 6 since it took 150 pounds to bend the Galaxy Note 3.
#bendgate has led other techies to do their bend test such as this one, which confirmed the finding of Consumer Report.
YouTube/uBreakiFixCo
In addition to the question of the strength of the iPhone 6, Apple is also grappling with issues regarding the security of its newly released iOS 8.
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