iPhone 6 bending test compared to others

Bendgate is the hashtag word sweeping the web. After reports and pictures about the new iPhone 6 Plus bending have gone viral many reactions followed. Like all icons, the product was frantically mocked by people who are not fans. Other people blamed it on the users for improper use and placement. The iPhone 6 Plus was definitely not designed for tight skinny jeans. It’s not hard to imagine that people would take the sturdiness of past iPhones for granted. The old iPhones with the 4 inch screens were tiny compared to the new Plus model. One Youtube channel, Unboxing Therapy quickly recorded a video of himself making an iPhone bending test with his 6 Plus and his bare hands. His video was watched 46 million times since it’s been posted a week ago. The bending is obvious, but it does seem that it took him a lot of effort to achieve that result. Amazingly, even warped in such a manner the phone still worked, and the screen didn’t crack.

Later, the channel featured another video testing the strength of the regular iPhone 6, the HTC One M8, the new Motorola Moto X and the Nokia Lumia 1020, which he couldn’t really identify. The testing showed none of these phones would bend like the iPhone 6 Plus under pressure of his own hands. The HTC and the Nokia had some screen bending and some crackling noises but reverted to their original shape. The regular iPhone 6 bent very slightly, though it still functioned properly. The best of the lot, in the presenter’s opinion was the new Motorola Moto X, which felt the sturdiest and didn’t bend or crackle under the pressure.

Another, more scientific test has been done by the Consumer Reports Youtube channel. Their results indicate that the iPhone 6 regular and the HTC One M8 bend at 70 pounds of pressure, which is as strong as 4 pencils, according to their tests. They used a machine with a pointy object pushing down on the devices. It’s definitely not the most accurate test to compare to human usage. Case in point: the iPhone 6 Plus only bent at 90 pounds of pressure, whereas in the test done by Unboxing Therapy, with bare hands, the Plus was more prone to bending. The iPhone 5 and the LG G3 found their weak point at 130 pounds of pressure and lastly, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 took 150 pounds of punishment before bending.

The bending phenomenon was a surprise specially because we came to expect only the best from Apple. They will probably address the sturdiness issue in their future products. For now, iPhone owners can rest peacefully, if they remember to take their phone out of their pocket. It’s more of a common sense issue than a design flaw. If you are thinking of getting an Android phone anyway, the brave tester that took Youtube by storm really swears by the Moto X as being very durable.