Unless you’ve been stuck under a rock for the past couple of days, you’ll surely have caught the Bendgate coverage, in which it was claimed that Apple’s new iPhones, particularly the iPhone 6 Plus, was susceptible to losing its shape. Given that it’s largely comprised of aluminum, a soft, malleable metal, it was never going to be as robust as a handset laden in stainless steel, but while it did seem like the whole fiasco was merely a small number of incidents that had been blown way out of proportion, Apple has stepped out and confirmed that to date, only nine complaints have been registered.
Given that Apple shifted a record ten million iPhone 6 / 6 Plus units in its opening weekend – that figure is likely to increase considerably as the launch hits another 20 countries in the next few hours – the total number of affected currently stands at one per million; not exactly a crisis when put into perspective.
For the most part, it was well known that only a minority of handsets had been damaged in this way, but with Twitter and Reddit, among others, being such pivotal figures in the Digital Age, Bendgate became a thing almost overnight.
In spite of what has been said by both Apple lovers and loathers alike, the real-world tests suggested that both new iPhones were fairly well built, and that in fact, there was no real cause for alarm. Still, even though Bendgate has not affected many iPhone 6 owners – many of whom have been much more concerned with the dodgy iOS 8.0.1 update – Apple has still felt obliged to make a statement on the matter, and as well as noting of the devices being designed to be “both beautiful and sturdy” thanks to the “custom grade of 6000 series anodized aluminum” and “stainless steel and titanium inserts,” added:
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus meet or exceed all of our high quality standards to endure everyday, real life use. With normal use a bend in iPhone is extremely rare and through our first six days of sale, a total of nine customers have contacted Apple with a bent iPhone 6 Plus.
So, according to Apple, there’s nothing to worry about, and given that these new smartphones are about to launch in 20 new markets, the timing of this statement is particularly critical.
Given the explanation, do owners / prospective owners feel more comfortable about their investment / potential investment? Do share your comments below!
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