What is #Bendgate exactly? The latest hashtag with ‘gate’ fixed to the end of it is the furor over the physical integrity of the iPhone 6 Plus with new owners noting how the large 5.5” device and its aluminum frame is prone to bending under pressure if kept in your pocket for too long. Its smaller iPhone 6 counterpart hasn’t been enduring the same fate however.
Some new owners, many of which lined up for hours and forked over considerable chunks of their wages for the new device, were understandably outraged to find that the iPhone 6 Plus could bend under a little pressure but are there any legs to this outrage?
Storm in a Tea Cup
The hashtag and social media frenzy has become a little bigger than the story itself with the Wall Street Journal now reporting that Apple received only nine complaints about their phones warping, a drop in the ocean compared to the 10 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Pluses that were sold upon release.
Since #Bendgate emerged we’ve seen a flood of photos and videos online of people attempting to bend their new phones to prove their point and it raises the question if the aluminum frame was an ideal choice of material for the new flagship device but Apple has said trying to bend your phone in your hands does not constitute “normal” everyday use of the device.
YouTuber Unbox Therapy made a video with over 34 million views to put the validity of the bent iPhone 6 Plus to the test and the results are pretty startling:
Nevertheless, Apple did also say some bent iPhones would be valid for a refund, according to The Next Web, who consulted a customer support rep. However the phones in question would need to be checked in person during a “Visual Mechanical Inspection”. Apple has not confirmed this but the rep said the company was “looking into this with an insane amount of detail.”
By the looks of things, if you’ve been trying to warp your phone just to see if it’s true you won’t be so lucky if you try to get a refund.
The Aftermath of #Bendgate
#Bendgate is just one issue plaguing Apple over the last few days, which is causing the Cupertino tech giant quite a few headaches.
As well as the phone bending commotion kicking off, Apple has had to pull back on its iOS 8.0.1 update due to a couple of bugs but iOS 8.0.2 is expected shortly with all the creases ironed out. As a result though Apple’s stock has taken a hit; on Thursday morning, Apple was down three percent, it has been one of the roughest days on the market since the celebrity nude photo leak erupted.
Apple now finds itself at the butt of many jokes over #Bendgate, as if the U2 fiasco wasn’t embarrassing enough—and its competitors have taken notice. Samsung and LG took to Twitter this week to market their latest devices, especially the former which was touting its new curved Galaxy Note Edge with the caption “Curved. Not Bent.”
With the initial wave of criticism over, and especially with Apple revealing only nine official complaints have been filed, this may all just blow over in the coming days. But with every smartphone manufacturer always looking for new ways to set their products apart, we could see new models promoted with a fresh emphasis on the durability of their materials more than before.