Consumer Reports Releases Results of iPhone 6 Stress Test

[Jor-el]

Consumer reports releases its verdit on the iPhone 6's "bendability" through scientific tests. Tests show that both iPhones seem tougher than the Internet fracas implies.

 

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/09/consumer-reports-tests-iphone-6-bendgate/index.htm

 

Results:            Deformation     Case Seperation

 

iPhone 6:           70 Pounds       100 pounds

iPhone 6 Plus:   90 Pounds       110 Pounds

 

 

55 Pounds of pressure is approximately the force required to break three pencils held together.
 

 

Consumer Reports is a US nonprofit, independent organization that serves consumers through unbiased product testing and ratings, research, journalism, public education, and advocacy.

[terrytek]

Hmm, not actually bad considering the hype apple gets about #BendGate. @qwertywarrior pretty much summed it up.

[Enderman]

But what happens when the material heats up to near 30 degrees after being on your thigh for an entire day? How much does temperature affect it's strength? Now that is the real question.

[Deletive]

But what happens when the material heats up to near 30 degrees after being on your thigh for an entire day? How much does temperature affect it's strength? Now that is the real question.

Iphones get pretty hot. 

[terrytek]

Iphones get pretty hot. 

And in the vid, the phone hasn't even damn snapped yet. I bet I can break a plastic smartphone in half.

[SeanBond]

Apple has done it again! The best phone evarrrrrr! It's revolutionary. 

[Victorious Secret]

Consumer reports releases its verdit on the iPhone 6's "bendability" through scientific tests. Tests show that both iPhones seem tougher than the Internet fracas implies.

 

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/09/consumer-reports-tests-iphone-6-bendgate/index.htm

 

Results:            Deformation     Case Seperation

 

iPhone 6:           70 Pounds       100 pounds

iPhone 6 Plus:   90 Pounds       110 Pounds

 

 

55 Pounds of pressure is approximately the force required to break three pencils held together.

 

 

Consumer Reports is a US nonprofit, independent organization that serves consumers through unbiased product testing and ratings, research, journalism, public education, and advocacy.

 

 

I'll add some to this:

 

 

 

Also bending at 70 pounds was the HTC device, meaning two of the non-phablet phones required less force than the larger devices.

 

The M8 went before the iPhone 6, for the record.

 

 

 

The LG G3 and the Galaxy Note 3 sprang back to form until testers applied 130 pounds and 150 pounds, respectively. That’s when the devices’ screens separated from the bodies and the devices stopped working.

 

 

 

Consumer Reports’ conclusion?

“While not the strongest phones on the market, fears of a serious structural design flaw in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus seem overblown.”

 

 

So now what does everyone have to say, now that a reputable company that independently tests everything has done this and basically said "Everyone calm your tits and stop blowing this out of proportion"

Oh wait, let the bandwagoning continue. Some people won't care at all that proper tests have been done. 

And to Unbox Therapy:

Unless you're a muscleless midget, you should be able to bend any phone. I occasionally lift and I do often play hockey. I have enough upper body strength to straight up SNAP most phones like it isn't even a joke. Whats the point of such tests? They are arbitrary and barely scientific and well, useless. 

I trust CR above a hell of a lot of places, simply because they buy their own stuff and do their own tests. They are about as unbiased as things could get. 

[bob345]

Not a very good test for what they where trying to accomplish. I would have done it differently.

[Enderman]

Unless you're a muscleless midget, you should be able to bend any phone. I occasionally lift and I do often play hockey. I have enough upper body strength to straight up SNAP most phones like it isn't even a joke. Whats the point of such tests? They are arbitrary and barely scientific and well, useless. 

I trust CR above a hell of a lot of places, simply because they buy their own stuff and do their own tests. They are about as unbiased as things could get. 

I don't see how your upper body strength in any way relates to how much pressure your thumb can apply...

Also, try snapping 4 wooden pencils at the same time by pushing on them with your thumbs. lol, not gonna happen.

 

And in the vid, the phone hasn't even damn snapped yet. I bet I can break a plastic smartphone in half.

Well he did the same test on an S5 and it bent too, but it bent back into shae when he let go.

[LlamaDom]

But what happens when the material heats up to near 30 degrees after being on your thigh for an entire day? How much does temperature affect it's strength? Now that is the real question.

Metals need to be heated to very high temperatures (800 degrees celcius or higher) before temperature will begin to affect the material's bendability so 30 degrees will not matter at all. Aluminium is naturally a relatively soft and bendable metal when compared to other metals so that is why a lot of phone manufacturers also use magnesium in their phones to improve rigidity. Aluminium is strong,but also quite flexible. And it is also light. I just don't understand why Apple decided to make the phone using only aluminium. They always seem spot with their design and build quality, however I think that they messed up this time.

[Mincygrape]

I seriously don't get how people are defending the 6+ here. Just look at Unbox Therapy's latest video. Look at how it bends, the back comes away from the screen. And in every case of the 6+ bending, its always in the same place, by the buttons. Clearly it is a weakness in the phones construction, and Lew can bend it with just using his thumbs, so it really is weak. Other phones he has tested have either not bent at all or bend slightly, but gone back to normal.

The iPhone 6+ obviously has a poor construction, by the buttons. The 6 doesn't bend like the 6+, so it seems as though it is just affecting the 6+, but anyone who denies the fact that that it is weak, by the buttons, needs to stop being such an Apple fanboy and open their eyes.

 

Let me stress once more, the bending is always BY THE BUTTONS ON THE SIDE, so it is a weak spot on the phone, and if fixed in later versions (by reinforcing that area possibly), then the 6+ will likely just go out of shape like the others but go back to normal, but no one can be really sure.

[sci.fi.man]

on plastic phone, at least it can stretch back if bended. it has more flexibility than plastic does. on aluminium, it doesn't without leave some mark on it.

[Nineshadow]

And in the vid, the phone hasn't even damn snapped yet. I bet I can break a plastic smartphone in half.

Yeah,go ahead.

I can't bend my S3 at all.

 

This thing is quite durable.

I dropped it from shoulder level and the screen didn't get any damage whatsoever.

[ZeroBreaker]

The problem is a. the lack of structural support which causes the bend in that specific spot, and b. the fact the build is aluminium and so its permanent.

 

Apple either need to come out and say 'It's down to the aluminium' or 'it's a fault that will be fixed'.

 

People on both sides seem to think the issue is that some phones are bending. It's not. It's that there is a structural issue discovered a mere week after release that potentially affects all of these models in the long term.

 

Apple jumped from 4 to 5.5 inch, it was bound to screw up somewhere - samsung aside, other manufacturers have had years to build up to these sizes and see the impact on durability.

[mr moose]

I don't see how your upper body strength in any way relates to how much pressure your thumb can apply...

Also, try snapping 4 wooden pencils at the same time by pushing on them with your thumbs. lol, not gonna happen.

 

Well he did the same test on an S5 and it bent too, but it bent back into shae when he let go.

 

Not that I care to join the discussion about the phone as such but I used to work out and the last test I did had me at 75Kg compressive strength in my fingers, I assume most people would be able to reach at least 60 which is the weight of the an average human.

[LAwLz]

I am very surprised by these results. It seems really weird that the M8 and iPhone 6 would be weaker (considerably weaker) than the iPhone 6+.

Judging by the other tests it seemed like the m8 was stronger.

 

 

Metals need to be heated to very high temperatures (800 degrees celcius or higher) before temperature will begin to affect the material's bendability so 30 degrees will not matter at all.

You don't even need 800 Celsius to MELT aluminum, let along make it weaker.

If we look at the tensile strength of aluminum (specifically 6061 because that's probably what Apple uses) on this fact sheet we can see that even going from 24 degrees to 100 degrees has some impact. It goes from 40,000 psi to 38,000 psi.

Those numbers are not the strength of the iPhone by the way. It would bend for far less than 38,000 psi. The effects would probably be even greater on the iPhone since it's a lot thinner than whichever piece they used to rate that aluminum with.

It won't make *that* much of a difference, but there difference is big enough to not be ignored even at these "low" temperatures.

[Valentyn]

Yeah,go ahead.

I can't bend my S3 at all.

 

This thing is quite durable.

I dropped it from shoulder level and the screen didn't get any damage whatsoever.

 

The S4 bends just fine.

 

 

http://youtu.be/cc1jp0IyLCQ

 

Apply enough force and anyone can break/bend a current smart phone.

 

So much sensationalism.

I know I could bend and probably break my OnePlus One, doesn't mean I'm going to do it to try it.

[BallGum]

That was really surprising. I'd have expected the M8 to outlast all of them considering the shape and thickness of it.

On the other hand, a single test on a single sample isn't conclusive in my opinion.

[Mew]

I'm actually quite surprised at his well the iPhone 5 held up, the bend isn't that significant, albeit permanent, but it didn't come apart.

[jaggysnake57]

 

i trust CR above a hell of a lot of places, simply because they buy their own stuff and do their own tests. They are about as unbiased as things could get. 

 

really because the pencil test was pure bullshit.....when he stress tested the pencils they were all flat and when he tried to break them with his hands they were grouped together and anyone with a smattering of basic physics knowledge will tell you that the forces need to snap the pencils in both configurations would be diferant

[Nineshadow]

-/-

I was talking about the S3, not the S4 D: . 

Anyway,it's a smaller device than the 6 Plus.That should matter a little too.

But damn it doesn't bend at all.

[Keco185]

Contradicting News on iPhone 6 Plus Bending

Original Article Here

Image from Consumer Reports of phones after testing

 

BendGate, as it has been dubbed, has been going viral on the internet.  After a video by YouTube user UnboxTherapy, people have been talking about the new magical bending iPhone 6 plus.  For the 5 of the people in the world left that don't know, BendGate is the term that is being used to describe a phenomenon where Apple's new iPhone 6 Plus can apparently be bent just by having it in a tight pocket.  Apple has reported that only 9 users have complained to Apple about this issue.  These two statements seem to contradict each other and Consumer Reports went to run their own test.  These tests add to the controversy and seem to side with Apple saying that the new iPhones take considerably more force to bend than one might expect.

 

Consumer Reports Results:

 

Deformation / Case separation

HTC One (M8) 70 pounds  / 90 pounds

Apple iPhone 6 70 pounds / 100 pounds

Apple iPhone 6 Plus 90 pounds / 110 pounds

LG G3 130 pounds / 130 pounds

Apple iPhone 5 130 pounds / 150 pounds

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 150 pounds / 150 pounds

 

 

These results are in stark contrast to what what Unbox Therapy found with his videos:

iPhone 6 Bend Test + HTC One M8, Moto X, Others

iPhone 6 Plus Bend Test

 

On the Consumer Reports article, there is a video which goes through their testing process which appears to be more scientific.  I suggest watching it to find out more about the insight they are adding to the BendGate controversy.  Could it be that we were wrong? Or has Consumer Reports missed something in their testing?

[BallGum]

Repost. Fetching link.

https://linustechtips.com/main/index.php?/topic/223066-Consumer-Reports-Releases-Results-of-iPhone-6-Stress-Test

Consumer Reports Releases Results of iPhone 6 Stress Test

[dyent10]

repost.

 

maybe the guy from unbox therapy has freakishly hulking hands

[IdortMasterRace]

Apple plebs will defend anything.