Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) Fires Back At Bending iPhone Complaints

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By Mark Michaels on September 26, 2014 Company, Technology & Software

Yesterday, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) rebutted against allegations that its largest iPhone 6 model is easily bent in the pockets of people. The company said that such a type of deformation is extremely rare through normal usage.

After going on sale to the general public last Friday, Apple stated that only 9 customers have filed a complaint to the company regarding a bent iPhone 6 Plus. Representatives from Apple have stated that the company has ran both the iPhone and the iPhone 6 through all kinds of durability tests that were designed to check the products’ strength and durability in everyday use. Both products passed the tests.

According to Apple Inc, both of the new iPhones are made out of a custom grade of anodized aluminum, which has been tempered for added extra strength. The company also said that the smartphones are made with stainless steel and titanium inserts as added reinforcement in locations that are expects to deal with high stress.

The company is now dealing with reports that the new iPhone 6 Plus was suffering from bending when people placed the iPhone 6 Plus in their pockets and sat down. There have been numerous videos circulating around the web with the larger iPhone 6 where people can make the device bend with their hands.

Apple’s most recent response differs from the apology it released earlier on Wednesday this week right after pulling the plug on a software update the same day. Users complained that the new version of the operating system disrupted cellular connectivity and disabled the fingerprint reader, TouchID, which is used to unlock the device.

The company apologized for creating a “great inconvenience” to its users. Yesterday, Apple unveiled an update for its iOS 8 software that will fix those issues and a myriad of other problems with the software. According to Apple Inc, this latest update will also correct a bug that has caused issues with certain apps and their compatibility with Apple’s HealthKit repository for collecting data on the user’s health and fitness. The company noted that a total of less than 40,000 units of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were affected by the defective software during the course of the one hour after Apple had unveiled the update.

When dealing with previous customer complaints of new products, Apple has stood strong and remained defiant in the past. Most notably in 2014, Apple released the iPhone 4 and complaints poured in about the device having a faulty antenna design that caused connectivity problems. Steve Jobs, the CEO then, shot back at those who complained, saying that the complaints were widely exaggerated and mocked the frenzy caused by the media as “antennagate”. In fact, for the last two days “#bendgate” has been a trending hashtag on Twitter.

Apple cited four distinct tests that the new iPhones went through in the development process, including what is regarded as the pressure point cycling test, which is when substantial pressure is put on the display screen and enclosure while the device is held by its sides. The company says that this testing process bends the enclosure of the device repeatedly in order to make sure that the iPhone device can be bent and pressed at a reasonable force throughout its life in use.

Another test that Apple conducts is known as the sit test. The test simulates a user sitting on a hard surface with the device in the back pocket of a tight pair of jeans. The company said that it puts the devices through hundreds of testing cycles with the phone in multiple different positions.

The iPhone 6 Plus, which has a display screen that measures 5.5 inches diagonally across, is the biggest iPhone that Apple Inc has ever come out with. Even though it has a larger surface area, the iPhone 6 Plus is only 7.1 millimeters thick, compared to the previous iPhone 5s, which measured 7.6 millimeters in thickness, and the iPhone 5c, which had a thickness that measured 8.97 millimeters.

Apple Inc stated earlier in the week that the sales of both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus set a record for first weekend sales. The number beat out last year’s record of 9 million units of the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c’s first weekend sales.

The crazed hype surrounding the new iPhone models is nothing new for the company, but Apple still took extra measures to prepare for the frenzy this year, especially after it had increased the sizes of the display screens of its iPhones to meet the demands of customers who have sought after iPhones with larger screens for the past few years.