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Apple knew the iPhone 6 would bend before they released the product

Master Disaster

Motherboard recently filed a request for court documents that show Apple internal testing done before the device was even on sale showed the iPhone 6 was 3.3 times more likely to bend and the 6 Plus was 7.2 times more likely to bend when compared to the iPhone 5S. These documents were submitted to the court over the touch disease class action suit.

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Apple’s internal tests found that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are significantly more likely to bend than the iPhone 5S, according to information made public in a recent court filing obtained by Motherboard. Publicly, Apple has never said that the phones have a bending problem, and maintains that position, despite these models commonly being plagued with “touch disease,” a flaw that causes the touchscreen to work intermittently that the repair community say is a result of bending associated with normal use.

 

The information is contained in internal Apple documents filed under seal in a class-action lawsuit that alleges Apple misled customers about touch disease. The documents remain under seal, but US District Court judge Lucy Koh made some of the information from them public in a recent opinion in the case.

 

The company found that the iPhone 6 is 3.3 times more likely to bend than the iPhone 5s, and the iPhone 6 Plus is 7.2 times more likely to bend than the iPhone 5s, according to the documents. Koh wrote that “one of the major concerns Apple identified prior to launching the iPhones was that they were ‘likely to bend more easily when compared to previous generations.’”

1527170378221-Screen-Shot-2018-05-24-at-

 

Despite knowing about this Apple publicly maintained that the devices had no mechanical or engineering defects, in fact on the contrary they blamed touch disease on users dropping phones while in the background quietly began reinforcing the chassis of iPhone 6 phones.

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Despite these findings, Apple publicly maintained that there were no engineering issues with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but an internal review showed that engineering changes were necessary to prevent touch disease, according to court filings. In May 2016, a year-and-a-half after the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were released, Apple quietly began reinforcing the part of the logic board associated with touch disease, Koh wrote.

 

This is a different engineering change than one noticed by a YouTuber in August, 2015.

 

In a service notice published in November 2016, Apple said that touch disease happens only after iPhones are “dropped multiple times on a hard surface and then incurring [sic] further stress on the device,” which is the same argument it has made in defending against the lawsuit.

Very soon after lunch users began noticing that iPhone 6 models were prone to bending, Apple did the entire public denial thing they always do even claiming their phones pass all vigerous testing. A while after "Bendgate" went away iPhone 6 models began showing symptoms of Touch Disease, something many independent repairers were quick to point out was an inherent design flaw with the device.

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Soon after the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were released in September 2014, several customers said that their phones bent easily. Those cases went viral, which caused Apple to release a statement that said the phones were structurally sound: Apple “perform rigorous tests throughout the entire development cycle including 3-point bending, pressure point cycling, sit, torsion, and user studies. iPhone 6 and 6 Plus meet or exceed all of our high quality standards to endure everyday, real life use.”

 

That news cycle died, and “Bendgate” went away for a while. But in early 2016, many iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices began to exhibit symptoms of “touch disease.” The phones’ screens would have a flickering gray bar at the top, and the touchscreen would stop working entirely or would work intermittently. Independent repair experts found that this was caused because the “Touch IC” chip, which translates a user’s touch into digital signals, became partially unseated from the phone’s logic board. Many independent repair professionals who specialize in microsoldering told me that they believe the problem is caused by flexing or bending associated with normal use, such as taking the phone out of your pocket and putting it back in.

 

"It's absolutely a problem in the design. End users are not doing anything to cause this besides using the phone normally," Mark Shaffer of independent repair company iPad Rehab told me at the time. "Really all you can do is avoid any activity that would cause the phone to flex. Don't drop it, definitely don't put it in any case that requires you to apply force to the phone to get it into and out of the case. Don't put it in your back pocket, don't put it in your front pocket if it's a tight pocket. Actually, don't put it in any pocket."

The obtained documents show Apple referring to devices that bend as "expected behaviour", they also show Apple started to use underfill on iPhone 6's (to prevent touch disease) 18 months after the phone first went on sale, something they had done on older iPhones but not the 6.

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The problem became widespread, and eventually a class action lawsuit was filed against Apple, which has been ongoing for more than a year. As a result of discovery in that case, Apple was required to turn over its internal testing documents and reports to the plaintiffs’ lawyers. Those documents remain under seal, but Koh made some information from them public in an opinion published this month.

 

Beyond noting that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were significantly more likely to bend than their predecessor (Apple described the bending as “expected behavior”), Koh wrote that Apple made engineering changes to the phone a year-and-a-half after it was released in order to prevent touch disease.

 

“After internal investigation, Apple determined underfill was necessary to resolve the problems caused by the defect,” Koh wrote, referring to an epoxy used to stiffen the logic board. “Apple had used underfill on the preceding iPhone generation but did not start using it on the [touch disease-related] chip in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus until May 2016,” after millions of iPhones had been sold.

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/a3a3gg/iphone-6-touch-disease-documents

 

And is anybody at all surprised by this?

 

I still find it boggling how anybody can defend Apple anymore, to quote Louis Rossmann "Apple don't give a fuck about their customers, only their customers money".

 

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I apologise for the strike through guys, no idea why it happened and I can't disable it as it's not enabled in the editor??

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17 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

And is anybody at all surprised by this?

this isnt very surprising. Apple do test their devices, but they dont seem to be fixing those issues before launch.........

Edited by GoldenLag
solved issue, srry
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Most manufacturers know exactly how their devices perform.

Saying "X is 5 times more likely than Y" doesn't actually tell you anything about how much of a problem it is going to be.

If the probability of X is 0.0001, then Y is only 0.0005.

Obviously you can't really determine if this is an issue or not just from the numbers, or whether it is worth investing some thousands or millions of dollars into a redesign.

 

Clearly after the user feedback from real-world scenarios they realized it was a big enough issue to do something about, and add reinforcement.

That's also how products are improved throughout generations, as you can see from any other devices they released after that incident.

 

Tesla probably knows how many batteries will fail in their cars, samsung knows how many of their flagships will get damaged in shipping, etc.

Is it worth implementing a heavy expensive system to swap out individual cells? Is it worth adding an extra 25mm of packaging?

In engineering design there is always a certain point where you have to say "this is good enough", there will always be compromises (often cost, but many others too such as weight, size, complexity...)

Sometimes you mess up and compromise too much.

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2 minutes ago, Enderman said:

Most manufacturers know exactly how their devices perform.

Saying "X is 5 times more likely than Y" doesn't actually tell you anything about how much of a problem it is going to be.

If the probability of X is 0.0001, then Y is only 0.0005.

Obviously you can't really determine if this is an issue or not just from the numbers, or whether it is worth investing some thousands or millions of dollars into a redesign.

 

Clearly after the user feedback from real-world scenarios they realized it was a big enough issue to do something about, and add reinforcement.

That's also how products are improved throughout generations, as you can see from any otherdevices they released after that incident.

And yet they denied everything and claimed it was the users' fault. Everyone makes mistakes, Apple is the only company that gets to blame their customers and get away with it.

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

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3 minutes ago, Sauron said:

And yet they denied everything and claimed it was the users' fault. Everyone makes mistakes, Apple is the only company that gets to blame their customers and get away with it.

Well IIRC pretty sure more iphones were bent in viral youtube videos than ones by actual people using them.

Just the typical internet making a huge deal about a handful of incidents, as with most things.

What was it, like 7 people that bent it? Out of how many millions of phones sold? xD

If I was a giant company I would definitely blame the customer too, knowing everyone else will keep buying regardless.

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12 minutes ago, wkdpaul said:

Fixed ;)

Thank you kind sir.

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It's Apple, so I'm not even surprised.

And of course they knew about it. Unless they didn't do proper testing before the release, which is also fucked up.

 

But hey, another point to me for not liking Apple. It's a 100 to 1 now I believe>.>

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2 minutes ago, Enderman said:

Well IIRC pretty sure more iphones were bent in viral youtube videos than ones by actual people using them.

That's what Apple wants you to believe, but it's a pretty widespread issue and one of the main causes of iphone 6 problems (at least if Rossman is to be believed) - the bending also breaks the screen. Since Apple won't release official figures (how convenient) and even if they did I doubt we could trust them, I think it's fair to assume the worst. Since they keep admitting more and more, even that they KNEW the construction was weak, there's no grounds to defend them.

6 minutes ago, Enderman said:

If I was a giant company I would definitely blame the customer too, knowing everyone else will keep buying regardless.

Maybe it's time people stopped buying then...?

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

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1 minute ago, Enderman said:

What was it, like 7 people that bent it? Out of how many millions of phones sold? xD

That was the number of people who contacted Apple about bent phones almost immediately following the release (although it was 9, not 7).  There was no statistic given on who reported a problem to their mobile provider, which was probably a LOT higher.  When something breaks within a 30 day period, you take it to where you bought it, not the manufacturer.  I also know someone personally (and have read many accounts online, although that's less reliable) who's iPhone 6 was bent from putting it in their back pocket, shortly after getting it.

 

I definitely think that it was exaggerated, but I also think that the often quoted "9 owners" number is probably quite inaccurate.

Make sure to quote or tag me (@JoostinOnline) or I won't see your response!

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Inb4 Louis Rossmann uploads a video whining about it. 

 

Nonetheless, I never liked the 6 as it’s just an iPhone 5s blown up. It sucks that they knew that the 6000 series Aluminum is susceptible to bending though that’s like saying OEMs know that AMOLED is way more susceptible to screen burn in thus shorter lifespan than IPS LCD and yet they still use AMOLED despite those longevity concerns. 

 

1 hour ago, Master Disaster said:

Apple don't give a fuck about their customers, only their customers money".

I beg to differ 

Edited by captain_to_fire

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I see the soul that is inside

 

 

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1 minute ago, Sauron said:

That's what Apple wants you to believe, but it's a pretty widespread issue and one of the main causes of iphone 6 problems (at least if Rossman is to be believed) - the bending also breaks the screen. Since Apple won't release official figures (how convenient) and even if they did I doubt we could trust them, I think it's fair to assume the worst. Since they keep admitting more and more, even that they KNEW the construction was weak, there's no grounds to defend them.

Well, usually people who have those issues make a video or post online to rant about it, personally never seen anyone with an iphone 6 have that issue but that's just anecdotal evidence.

 

1 minute ago, Sauron said:

Maybe it's time people stopped buying then...?

We both know that's not gonna happen....

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So what if they knew it. Everybody knows that a phone can not be made of admantium or vibranium (avengers lol) so i think all phones have bending issues if you apply too much force on them.

i have been using iPhone 6 for quite some time but it is not bend a little bit. 

So i mean to say if you don’t forcefully bend it, it will not be bend

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Inb4 Louis Rossmann uploads a video whining about it. 

 

Nonetheless, I never liked the 6 as it’s just an iPhone 5s blown up. It sucks that they knew that the 6000 series Aluminum is susceptible to bending though that’s like saying phone OEMs knew that AMOLED displays have a shorter lifespan and will eventually experience burn ins and dead pixels but we’re still putting it in our flagship devices. 

 

39 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Apple don't give a fuck about their customers, only their customers money".

I beg to differ 

There is more that meets the eye
I see the soul that is inside

 

 

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1 minute ago, JoostinOnline said:

I definitely think that it was exaggerated, but I also think that the often quoted "9 owners" number is probably quite inaccurate.

there are also probably those that didnt care much as long as the phone worked. there are also those that bent it back into place.

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4 minutes ago, Enderman said:

Well IIRC pretty sure more iphones were bent in viral youtube videos than ones by actual people using them.

Just the typical internet making a huge deal about a handful of incidents, as with most things.

What was it, like 7 people that bent it? Out of how many millions of phones sold? xD

If I was a giant company I would definitely blame the customer too, knowing everyone else will keep buying regardless.

Oh boy, you really let them take you for a ride don't you.

 

No, Apple claimed the amount of bent iPhones was 9 and then someoe posted a picture of 300 bent iPhones (more correctly 300 pictures), obviously Apple didn't respond and went very quiet after that happened.

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2 minutes ago, Sauron said:

Since Apple won't release official figures (how convenient) and even if they did I doubt we could trust them, I think it's fair to assume the worst.

That's a very flawed argument.  It's not fair to assume guilt because there isn't much information.  I'm not a huge Apple fan (I don't own a single Apple product), but that doesn't mean fallacies are good either.

Make sure to quote or tag me (@JoostinOnline) or I won't see your response!

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Just now, Enderman said:

Well, usually people who have those issues make a video or post online to rant about it, personally never seen anyone with an iphone 6 have that issue but that's just anecdotal evidence.

 

We both know that's not gonna happen....

Can't film your own phone if you don't have a dedicated camera...

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

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5 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

That's a very flawed argument.  It's not fair to assume guilt because there isn't much information.  I'm not a huge Apple fan (I don't own a single Apple product), but that doesn't mean fallacies are good either.

The courts have Apple test documentation showing they knew the device was prone to bending and saying that bending was "expected behaviour". No one is assuming guilt at this point, Apples own documents prove they're guilty.

 

It all boils down to if the product redesign was going to cost more than the potential loss from lawsuits.

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2 minutes ago, Sauron said:

Can't film your own phone if you don't have a dedicated camera...

if you have two mirrors you can, but who has two mirrors at the correct angle to film the side of the phone

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3 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

That's a very flawed argument.  It's not fair to assume guilt because there isn't much information.  I'm not a huge Apple fan (I don't own a single Apple product), but that doesn't mean fallacies are good either.

It's fair to assume guilt because all the information we have leads to it, and Apple was unable to provide any counter evidence. Since Apple is all too eager to drop the blame on their customers, I think it's perfectly fair.

Just now, GoldenLag said:

if you have two mirrors you can

Not if your phone is bent and its screen has popped out.

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

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Just now, Sauron said:

Not if your phone is bent and its screen has popped out.

that is very true. unless the screen works ant the ribbon cable is still attached. the phone should still function then, it is just disassembled. aaaaand un-usable in any common daily task as a daily driver.......

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1 minute ago, GoldenLag said:

that is very true. unless the screen works ant the ribbon cable is still attached. the phone should still function then, it is just disassembled. aaaaand un-usable in any common daily task as a daily driver.......

Long story short it's not surprising there aren't THAT many videos of this

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

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