Apple’s new iPhablet appears to be very prone to bending. The pricey handset can actually be bent and broken by accident.
Big phones tend to be prone to bending, as it is much more difficult to create a rigid frame around a 5.5-inch screen than a tiny 4-inch panel. The iPhone 6 Plus features a premium aluminium body, but according to a number of reports and tests, it is very bendy indeed.
Unbox Therapy decided to put the claims to the test. The test involved an iPhone 6 Plus which was used for a few days. The unit actually displayed a small indentation before it was put to the test. The phone was bent accidentally before the test.
Using two opposable thumbs, which may not be available to all Apple fanboys, Unbox Therapy managed to bend the phone quite badly and the volume buttons were identified as the weak point of the design. When the host tried to bend the phone back to its original shape, the screen cracked and so did part of the chassis around the buttons.
The site reports it is possible to bend the iPhone 6 Plus simply by carrying it around in your front pants pocket, depending on how tight your pants are and whether or not your diet involves red meat and beer.
To be fair to Apple, all big phones can be bent in roughly the same way. However, Unbox Therapy also tried the same trick on the old Galaxy Note 3. Samsung’s plastic phablet proved quite a bit more resilient.
“With the same or more force, this thing did not bend at all,” said Unbox Therapy.
Applying even more force did not kill the phone, although the device was warped. It was not damaged and it worked after the test.