This test shows a severe lack of understanding of flexural strength testing. This test is a bastardization of the three point bending test that is commonly performed for peak bending strength analysis of materials.<p>Bending is a result of moments and moments are driven by moment arms. These tests should not be looking at point load required to induce deformation but rather the moment required to induce deformation. Each of these should have been converted into equivalent moments based on the size of the phone.<p>For example, the M8 is shown as 146.3 mm (5.76 in) H; 70.6 mm (2.78 in) W; 9.4 mm (0.37 in) D and the iPhone 6 is 138.1 x 67 x 6.9 mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.27 in) and both are shown to "deform" at 70 lbs.<p>The M8 has an induced moment of 100 lb-in while the iPhone 6 has an induced moment of 95 lb-in. The resultant bending stress by assuming a linear stress distribution across the section is then 1575 psi for the M8 and 2950 psi for the iPhone 6.<p>Similar analyses should be undertaken for each of the other phones.<p>A more accurate test for the failure mode of concern would be a four point load test in which moment is constant across a portion of the phone. The three point load test induces a moment that is maximum at the point of load application. The four point load test is more likely to show you where the point of weakness in the phone is.
Christ, will the damn thing deform if I keep it in my pocket like I would any other phone or is it just a minuscule percentage of devices that have had photos re-posted in the LOLOMGWTF nature of these inane corporate allegiance squabbles? That is all I care about, I'm not trying to build a damn house out of these things.
Almost all the bending reports are for the iPhone 6+ bending & twisting at/close to the volume-down button when placed in pockets etc.<p>Placing the phone between two flat blocks and applying pressure at the exact center (three-point-test) will NOT test for this specific issue.<p>Even then it should be pretty suspicious that in the test conducted, the new phones are at the bottom of the stiffness list.<p>On another front, the Apple response is textbook - Deny, Minimize, (deride the press), then grudgingly make changes even while insisting that none were needed to begin with.
Expect the next lot of these phones to experience a sudden stiffening.
<p><pre><code> Phone Deformation Case Separation
-----------------------------------------------------
HTC One (M8) 70 lbs. 90 lbs.
Apple iPhone 6 70 lbs. 100 lbs.
Apple iPhone 6 Plus 90 lbs. 110 lbs.
LG G3 130 lbs. 130 lbs.
Apple iPhone 5 130 lbs. 150 lbs.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 150 lbs. 150 lbs.
</code></pre>
Direct link to the video <a href="http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/video-hub/3809044640001/" rel="nofollow">http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/video-hub/3809044640001/</a>
My biggest issue with Apple's response is they have not revealed their policy on what will happen if I come into apple care with a malformed phone. Will they blame me for putting it in my pocket wrong...or assure me that they can either replace it or give me some kind of case that lessens the risk of curving
Here's my concern on a quick look at the aftermath photos. They bent the phone in the middle, where it's admittedly not that weak.<p>If you look at most of the user damage photos the phone bends towards the top end where the button cut-outs weaken it. The phone did fail around the buttons as well but it's still bent in the middle from the tests. It appears their setup didn't stress it where the problems are occurring.<p>My estimation would be if you placed a load equidistant between the top of the phone and the middle, stressing the buttons area specifically, you would see a large difference in performance between models. The pocket issue seems to be "bending over" the top of the phone, not applying point loads across the length of the body.
How much money does an article or a youtube video generate? It seems that this one article alone must have cost thousands of dollars in equipment alone.<p>And while the iphone 6 bend video on youtube has almost 40 million hits now, the unbox therapy user who uploaded it hits less than 500.000 views on average for their other videos. I'm willing to believe that 40 million views on youtube can be monitized to pay for more than an iphone 6, but I'm not so sure about the 2-300k, so it seems like quite the investment to go around breaking phones.
One difference between plastic and aluminium is that the latter tends to retain deformation more than plastic, which flexes and then returns to its original shape. This is exacerbated by the fact that aluminium cases are usually made much thinner than plastic ones to reduce weight and cost. Also the peak force produced by the impact of e.g. bumping against something with the phone in your pocket could be much more than a constant force of the bend test they used, and easily exceed the elastic limit.<p>If you compare the thickness of the material in an iPhone 5 vs 6 casing, I'd bet on the latter being somewhat thinner. If that picture of the iPhone 5 is after 150lbs were applied to it, I don't see much "case separation", only a slight bend. It could probably take a bit more force before something catastrophic happened. So it is possible that those used to the robustness of an iPhone 5 are the ones bending their new iPhone 6s.
From what I've read most (of the few that there are) bending cases happened with a 6+ in the back pocket. If you stuff a giant phone into your pocket and then sit on it, and then it bends, tough shit. What do you expect?
I'd rather see a test with robotic dummy legs (soft, human-like, padding material) wearing pants with various sized pockets and the phones placed inside said pockets (in various positions within pockets) and stress tested by bending the robotic legs over and over to simulate sitting down with a phone in one's pocket over time.<p>It would be a much more time consuming, expensive and complex test, but I think I'd trust the results much more than what I'm seeing here.
Sorry guys, You did the test <i>backwards</i>.<p>Correct me if I am wrong, but I think most people place the phone with the screen in, so that it would bend toward the screen not away from it. The results could be significantly different in that direction, especially since the major mode of failure was the screen separating from the case.
I think <a href="http://www.wired.com/2014/09/curvature-and-strength-empzeal/" rel="nofollow">http://www.wired.com/2014/09/curvature-and-strength-empzeal/</a> ("how Gauss taught us to hold a pizzeria slice"; discussion at <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8274529" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8274529</a>) is relevant here.<p>The phones most resistent to bending in their length axis have back sides that are curved. That makes the backside contribute to the strength of the phone in the bending direction. Flat backsides will bend easily, so the relatively tiny vertical sides (and any ribs inside the phone, but those are rare due to lack of room) are the main parts contributing to strength. That's why the iPhone's weakest point is near a slot in those sides.
If I remember correctly, in the original iPhone 6+ bend video[1], the force was applied both at the top and bottom. Wouldn't that produce more torque (with respect to centre of mass) and maybe result in quicker bending? The ConsumerReport machine applies force only at the centre.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znK652H6yQM" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znK652H6yQM</a>
While I can't discount the possibility that the iPhone 6 may be more susceptible to bending damage, I'm sure that the high profile release and media coverage are pushing this out of proportion.<p>Reminds me of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Windshield_Pitting_Epidemic" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Windshield_Pitting_Epi...</a>
What the man in the viral video did was focusing the force in ONE POINT, not in a line like in this experiment.<p>He focuses the force on the lateral side of the iPhone in order to bend it.<p>This is probably not very representative of having your phone in your pocket as Apple says but makes for an impressive video that gives you views(and money).
Do CR consider this a real defense? They've proven that the iPhone6's physical weaknesses pair it with the lowest end of the spectrum (by a wide margin). It is indeed more scientific than the empirical 'viral' story, but their results do not bode well for Apple.
While it's certainly important that apple build a phone that is strong enough to withstand daily use, these "tests" are sensationalist click bait. Maybe it's just me, but I'm going to be careful how I treat 6-800 device. If it doesn't really fit in my pocket, I need to buy bigger pants. If it's too big to fit jammed in somewhere then get the smaller one. There is a level of entitlement here that is thinks every new phone needs to be nuclear capable but also thinner, lighter and more svelte than the previous generation. I have plenty of expensive gear that I have to treat with kid gloves and I'm not making YouTube videos about how it's bullshit...
Lol, we actually tested this in the office after seeing this. The glaxaxy and htc one is considerably harder to bend. I sit on my HTC every day in my back pocket, which is a lot mor repetive stress that an iPhone bending in your front pocket.
Didnt the viral stories mention heating as a factor? The heat of the device itself (building up by being contained by a tight pocket) + body heat.
Writers of this article did not mention that at all.
Ok, a comparison to other phones is not that reassuring, because many phones on the market are flimsy. Compare it to the iPhone 5. That thing was built like a tank compared to the competition.
I don't think apple would ever influence online content to say that they are not as bendy. That would be unfair. Give them a break guys! Consumer report isnt making any money on this.
45kg? Put your phone in your back pocket and sit down... if you're a bit more fat than usual, 45kg is easily achieved.<p>I killed four phones to date simply by accidentally sitting down on them.