iPhone 6 Plus Bending Limits Tested in New Video

Tuesday September 23, 2014 2:06 PM PDT by Juli Clover
Earlier today, we shared several photos and videos from iPhone 6 Plus users who accidentally bent their iPhones when carrying the device in their pockets, mere days after the phone's initial launch.

Following this morning's news, YouTube video maker Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy created a video exploring just how much an iPhone 6 Plus will bend when subjected to force. Using his hands, Hilsenteger bends the iPhone 6 Plus as much as he can, with significant warping showing up near the device's volume buttons.


The force placed on the iPhone 6 Plus in the video is unlikely to be replicated in a pocket, but as several photos have demonstrated in our earlier post, it does not take much force to cause a slight curvature in the device. The iPhone 6 Plus does, however, remain functional after bending, but as noted by Hilsenger on Twitter, the device screen cracked when he attempted to bend it back into shape.

Bending issues are not limited to the iPhone 6 Plus, as previous generations of the iPhone, including the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 5s have also seen complaints of bending after being subjected to a pocket.

Apple has not yet commented on the iPhone 6 Plus bending incidents, but iPhone 6 Plus owners can likely prevent bending by removing the phone from their pockets before sitting or bending, or by placing the device in a rigid protective case.
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RosOne
51 months ago
How exactly is this a "test"? Guy bends an iPhone and it bent. Wow :|
Rating: 58 Votes
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Richardgm
51 months ago
My 4S doesn't have that feature. Damn it Apple, keep leaving us in the dark!
Rating: 58 Votes
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AlphaDogg
51 months ago

I find bending aluminum with bear fingers and calling it a "test" for "scientific" reasons is eff-ing ridiculous.


Those looked remarkably like human fingers to me
Rating: 58 Votes
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farewelwilliams
51 months ago
for the sake of Science?

more like for the sake of Youtube money.
Rating: 52 Votes
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GuitarDTO
51 months ago
I have a 6+ on order currently. I'm also a mechanical engineer by day. I see a lot of "well duh if you bend it, it's going to bend" type comments, but it seems clear that this is something Apple overlooked. They should have predicted that under many normal circumstances people were going to put this phone in their front pockets. The phone shouldn't bend that easily. The guys phone was noticeably bent even before forcing it with his hands. Apple simply failed to analyze this scenario. It makes me wonder if they even run any kind of structural analyses at all on their phones, a simple Finite Element model would show this phone lighting up like a christmas tree at the weak spot in the case (clearly near the volume buttons), and could be reinforced fairly easily without sacrificing thickness of the overall device. Jony may be a good designer, but he is clearly a *****ty engineer.

Suffice it to say, I will not be putting this phone in my pockets ever.
Rating: 47 Votes
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Kebabselector
51 months ago
Thin metal things bend - wow - and in other news bears continue to do business in woodland areas.
Rating: 37 Votes
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Jmacman78
51 months ago
Gimme a break. you could do this with most phones on the market. Put pressure on it and it will bend/break no matter what it is.

Every time a new iPhone comes out everyone freaks out that it's a "bendgate".
Rating: 33 Votes
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AlphaDogg
51 months ago
I wonder why Jony Ive didn't design a couple ribs of aluminum running top to bottom through the phone. The 4 and 4S had separate structure parts and they never bent. Now the iPhone 6 and 6+ have no internal structure parts and they bend
Rating: 28 Votes
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Kissaragi
51 months ago
For all the plastic hate here i bet you cant bend a 5c like that!
Rating: 20 Votes
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Ted13
51 months ago
Pro tip: next time don't get a Gordon Gekko sized phone. And maybe, just maybe next year Apple will release at least one high end phone in the 4 or 5 form factor.
Rating: 16 Votes
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