back to article My TIGHT PANTS made my HUGE iPHONE go all BENDY!

Apple's new embiggened iPhone 6 Plus has been snapped up by buyers for, among other things, its thin case and its 5.5-inch touchscreen. But Apple didn't mention that it also appears to be the company's most flexible handset – whether you like it or not. A handful of early adopters have reported that after carrying the phablet …

  1. Oninoshiko

    Spot on, ElReg.

    "On the other hand, we might suggest that a phone which can't be carried in one's pocket hardly qualifies as a mobile phone at all in this day and age."

    Yes, yes you may.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Spot on, ElReg.

      It's not a phone, its too big,.... Just like Samsung you need a man bag rather than a pocket.

      1. Cliff

        Re: Spot on, ElReg.

        ^^ Having used a phablet for the past couple of years, it's easier than it sounds, which is why they're massively popular!

      2. Rampant Spaniel

        Re: Spot on, ElReg.

        I have a note 3 with a zero lemon 10k battery which fits fine in most pockets. Just avoid skinny jeans.

      3. Matt Bryant Silver badge
        Devil

        Re: AC Re: Spot on, ElReg.

        "....you need a man bag....." I thought all baristas had handbags? Oh, sorry, they call them 'courier bags', don't they, even though they're not the cycling type.

    2. DropBear
      Joke

      Re: Spot on, ElReg.

      There's NOTHING wrong with that phone. They're just 'carrying it wrong'...

    3. JeffyPoooh
      Pint

      More profits...

      Useful to pay off the inevitable Class Action lawsuit over the obviously unsuitable for intended use bendy phone.

      Let's see, $68M for the lawyers, and "$0.37 off your next purchase" to the plaintiffs.

    4. JeffyPoooh
      Pint

      Consumers Reports

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

      An interesting data point.

    5. TechicallyConfused

      Re: Spot on, ElReg.

      That's no phone.. . it's a space station!

    6. TechicallyConfused

      Re: Spot on, ElReg.

      "Yes, yes you may" - Have you been watching Phineas & Ferb by any chance?

  2. nanchatte

    is that a 6+ in there or are you just pleased to see me?

    Aaaand.... Apple's next ground breaking research papers are released, entitled: anodizing does not noticeably increase the tensile strength and bulk hardness properties of aluminium when used as a structural maternal. And: Long, thin things are more susceptable to getting bent than short, stubby things.

    although, TBH, Phablets in a trouser pocket? Really...

    1. SuccessCase

      Re: is that a 6+ in there or are you just pleased to see me?

      "The problem, as many have noted, is likely due to the combination of a larger screen size and thin aluminum casing..."

      Actually the problem is most likely to be most directly attributed to a combination of fat arse and tight trousers. Precisely why, post iPhone 4S, I have always had a slight feeling of unease when sitting down with an iPhone in my back pocket. If you weigh as much as me, have trousers as tight, and don't have the same feeling of unease, you simply don't understand physics.

      1. DropBear
        Joke

        Re: is that a 6+ in there or are you just pleased to see me?

        Actually the problem is most likely to be most directly attributed to a combination of fat arse and tight trousers

        Au contraire! A larger bottom would present a larger radius and therefore lesser curvature when a flat object such as a phone gets pressed onto it (since - as we scientists well know - all human bottoms, much like cows, are perfect spheres). Considering also that an overweight bottom is actually more likely to be soft and therefore more conforming than a hard, muscular one I'd say Queen-favoured behinds might actually have a better chance of not breaking a phone!

        1. MD Rackham

          Re: is that a 6+ in there or are you just pleased to see me?

          Well in that case I'll have another doughnut or two. Wouldn't want to damage the new phone.

        2. Nicko777

          Re: is that a 6+ in there or are you just pleased to see me?

          Actually, it is a hemisphere ;)

        3. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: is that a 6+ in there or are you just pleased to see me?

          "Au contraire! A larger bottom would present a larger radius and therefore lesser curvature when a flat object such as a phone gets pressed onto it (since - as we scientists well know - all human bottoms, much like cows, are perfect spheres). Considering also that an overweight bottom is actually more likely to be soft and therefore more conforming than a hard, muscular one I'd say Queen-favoured behinds might actually have a better chance of not breaking a phone!"

          So in this case Phablet should actually be Phatblet and there should be very strict sales criteria?

          "Hello, I want to buy a 6+"

          "Sorry mate, you go to the gym, you'll need to quit that if you want one"...

          There's something I didn't see coming ;-)

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Girth

      Girth is as important as length, too little it bends in action, too much and it becomes uncomfortable to sit on. Hence Apple problem.

      1. thames

        Re: Girth

        We were talking about phones.

      2. Jes.e

        Re: Girth

        You're sitting on it wrong..

        1. 404

          Re: Girth

          Giggity....

    3. Cryo
      Thumb Up

      It's the Most Perfect Feature Yet!

      Apple's patented Dynamic-Bend technology is what makes the new iPhone more perfect than ever! Apple noticed that the size and shape of lesser portable-tablets would cause discomfort among wearers of tight pants, which happen to make up a majority of their users, so they held off on releasing one of comparable size until they had its ergonomics perfected. Now, the new iPhone conforms to you, perfectly matching the curves of your body. This requires no complex setup by the owner, but intelligently matches one's shape over the course of a few days. Simply put, "it just bends".

  3. mafoo
    Trollface

    Skinny Jeans

    Finally the perfect confluence for my hatred of skinny jeans and hipsters.

    1. DPWDC

      Re: Skinny Jeans

      Next up - hipsters move on to cargo pants...

      1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
        Flame

        Re:DPWDC Re: Skinny Jeans

        "Next up - hipsters move on to cargo pants..." Hey! I object to that! I'm not going to stop wearing cargos just because Tim Cook can't design a phone that doesn't bend.

  4. nanchatte

    ooops. forgot to add:

    well, I for one hope it properly complies with the European bendy banana regulation for highest qualty bananas.

    http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_Regulation_(EC)_No_2257/94

    From my bent iPad I sat on...

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Bannas are fruit too.

    The video shows a bend that is in no way fruitful. This is clearly defective by design. Of course, design being that humans are defective, not Apple products.

    Apple's first attempt at the "too large to be considered serious" market is the last player to enter the market. Remember, it's not about being the best, it's about being last.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Bannas are fruit too.

      You know it is a feature not a bug in the design, after all it is just conforming to the owner's preferred carrying place.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    A patent opportunity missed?

    Rounded corners, check.

    Rounded device, why didn't we think of that?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: A patent opportunity missed?

      HTC Hero had a sticky-put bit that meant it fitted better in my pocket than most phones since...

  7. 101

    the work around...

    A solid wood or steel carrying case would prevent damage and bending. A steel case would be especially useful as it would act as a Faraday cage thus preventing government spies from tracking your every step and comment as all rf would be blocked.

    OR, a cheap flip phone might work, too.

    1. cray74

      Re: the work around...

      A steel case would also have three times the material stiffness of aluminum. Too bad Apple's so eco-oriented, it might've tried beryllium to cut weight further and quadruple the case stiffness. I always wanted a beryllium-cased laptop or tablet.

      1. Old Handle
        Devil

        @cray74

        You just want to see fanbois getting poisoned by their phones, don't you?

        1. MachDiamond Silver badge

          Re: @cray74

          You will only have issues with Be if you insist on sanding some off and bunging it up your nose. Sans an airborne vector, you will be just fine.

      2. Nicko777

        Re: the work around...

        10 cents worth of aluminum (or aluminium if outside USA) is the cheapest option for a metal casing to add an extra $50 to the price, at the cost of battery accessibility. So, why not have tried carbon fiber or even titanium? Because it would have cost apple $255 to make the phone and not $249, seriously they just can't afford that!

  8. Big-nosed Pengie

    Ur holdin' it wrong.

    1. Adam 1

      You're folding it wrong.

  9. Nifty Silver badge

    Wot no shape memory?

    Next rumour: if you warm your bent iPhone up with a hairdryer it reverts to straight.

    http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shape-memory_alloy

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The next announcement

    Coming this holiday season - iJeans with a steel reinforced pouch for your new iPhone.

    1. Whiznot

      Re: The next announcement

      The microwave oven works faster, or so I've heard. YMMV

  11. Mephistro
    Happy

    And this is how...

    ...sporrans became fashionable worldwide.

    "I don't want to live on this planet anymore!"

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Pint

    Now THAT was a headline.

    Congratulations gentlemen, ladies and/or others.

  13. ecofeco Silver badge

    Is that a phablet in your pocket?

    ...or are you a little bent?

    Seriously, what idiot carries something that big in their pocket and expects no damage?

    1. HMB

      Re: Is that a phablet in your pocket?

      I've carried around a Nexus 5 for almost a year that's only 20.2mm shorter and that's had a few knocks and it's fine. 137.9mm tall instead of 158.1mm (iPhone 6 plus).

    2. DropBear

      Re: Is that a phablet in your pocket?

      On a different site there was a second video linked - the same guys who did the iPhone bend test tried abusing a Samsung device of comparable size the same way (if not harder) but that one bounced right back...

      1. Frank Bough

        Re: Is that a phablet in your pocket?

        It certainly out performed the iPhone, but it did distort somewhat. The whole thing twisted about its long axis. Apple were foolish to abandon stainless steel, the 4 and 4s can really take a licking.

        Apple have really fucked up here.

    3. ecofeco Silver badge

      Re: Is that a phablet in your pocket?

      I see the answer is "many."

  14. wolfetone Silver badge

    It's a design feature, it bends to better fit the contour of the persons head*

    *phone must be placed in pocket with the screen facing outwards to make the most of this new feature

  15. Tommy Pock

    They're aren't enough iPhone 6 articles.

    1. Adam 1

      They'ren't

      1. Tommy Pock

        Autocarrot is the bane of my fucking life

        1. nsld
          Coat

          Indeed

          "Autocarrot is the bane of my fucking life"

          Indeed a switch to manual carrots is the answer........

          1. Dave 126 Silver badge

            Re: Indeed

            My autocarrot always insist that I use 'ducking life'.

            Anyway, I'm off down the sub for a riot.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Facepalm

      > There aren't enough iPhone 6 articles.

      Give it a few weeks and complain about Samsung.

      1. P. Lee

        > Give it a few weeks and complain about Samsung.

        I think Samsung already have a curved screen device.

        I thought that was a rubbish idea too. Apple catching up, blah blah blah...

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It's the new curved display that is user customizable.

  17. Mitoo Bobsworth
    Unhappy

    It's not a fault...

    ...it's an undocumented feature. Really!!

    Or maybe it's just corporate rot setting in. Jobs would have gone thermonuclear on his own senior staffers had he survived to witness this.

    (tentative note to Apple PR on this one: too much spinning makes you dizzy and fall over a lot.)

    1. Goldmember

      Re: It's not a fault...

      "Jobs would have gone thermonuclear on his own senior staffers had he survived to witness this."

      I doubt it. Jobs would more likely have blamed the sheeple stumping up stupid amounts of cash for his company's inferior product, for misusing it in some way.

      And then he'd probably try to sue them for slander.

      1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

        Re: It's not a fault...

        Thermonuclear - you are onto something there. What if the body were made out of not Aluminium, but Depleted Uranium? Or, why not go for the full-fat non-depleted version and at the same time do away with the (conventional) Li-Ion battery and make a nuclear battery - no need to charge you i-Phone, but you may end up getting cancer/burn your ear off.

  18. Eddy Ito

    Inconceivable!

    They managed to come up with an iPhone that has Galaxy Note mode and a Galaxy Round mode one device! Clever those Cupertinians, very clever.

  19. Barry Rueger

    What? A Naked iPhone???

    Feel obliged to note that I cannot recall ever seeing an iPhone that didn't wrap it's incredible silky loveable design perfection in a nasty cheap-ass plastic case. Often bedazzled.

    1. MachDiamond Silver badge

      Re: What? A Naked iPhone???

      I know several people that left their iPhone naked.

      They're called repeat customers.

  20. Chairo
    Facepalm

    Corporate development

    I bet they cracked one or the another phone during development as well. I suppose that they just punished the "careless" developer, instead of giving him a bonus for finding the weak point before series release and changing the design.

    1. Cliff

      Re: Corporate development

      Designer - the poor bugger on the end of this kind of thing

      The Expert (Short Comedy Sketch): http://youtu.be/BKorP55Aqvg

      It's worth a watch and cringe if you've not seen it already...

      1. Ian Watkinson

        Re: Corporate development

        He wasn't very expert though was he, as it's do-able...

        www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7MIJP90biM

        How to Draw seven red LINES, all Perpendicular, some with green ink, some with transparent ink, and one in the form of A Kitten. (response to "The Expert" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= BKorP ... )

  21. Hubert Thrunge Jr.
    Facepalm

    pocket phablet problem

    No problems with my Sony Xperia Z Ultra, thats bigger and doesnt bend. Who's a clever little Sony?

    1. Frank Bough

      Re: pocket phablet problem

      Not too clever at making money.

  22. Winkypop Silver badge
    Boffin

    Surely

    Surely the Apple reality distortion field cancels out the Laws of physics.

    1. Khaptain Silver badge

      Re: Surely

      Shirley Apple actually invented physics, was God not actually Jobs' right hand man...

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Given the amount of effort required in that video

    This isn't something that is going to going to happen to a phone in a normal front pocket. If you keep it in your back pocket, or have jeans that are so tight you have to exhale before you can put your phone in your pocket, then you might have problems!

    I did kind of wonder about this when I first saw how thin they were, especially the larger one. Looks as though Apple has reached (if not surpassed) the limit of thinness unless they move to a Titanium case or get that Liquid Metal finally working.

    Though I have to say I'm kind of impressed how much it can be bent and the screen stays intact. I would have thought it would take very little bend before the screen would fracture.

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: Given the amount of effort required in that video

      Titanium is stiffer than aluminium, weight for weight. However, the lower density of aluminium means that to achieve the same strength the cross section is wider, so the structure as a whole is stiffer. This is why aluminium bicycles have tubes with thicker wall sections (and thus thicker tube diameters) than steel or titanium bicycles.

      Stiffness is not the same as strength.

      1. Frank Bough

        Re: Given the amount of effort required in that video

        Sure, but Alu doesn't spring in the same way steel or ti do, and that's what this phone case needs to do. Apple use a 'unibody' construction technique where they take a solid piece of Alu and mill it down to spec. Great for thermal performance, recyclability et al but not strong or springy in extremis.

    2. cray74

      Re: Given the amount of effort required in that video

      "Looks as though Apple has reached (if not surpassed) the limit of thinness unless they move to a Titanium case or get that Liquid Metal finally working."

      Titanium is a medium-performance material (contrary to its Hollywood PR machine.) Even its alloys aren't very impressive compared to a good steel alloy. And Liquidmetal is less stiff and less strong than titanium. If you're looking for an affordable improvement over an aluminum case, I'd recommend a high-end stainless steel like 15-5PH.

      Compare:

      Titanium-6% aluminum-4% vanadium, the most common titanium alloy. Average yield strength: 950MPa / 140,000psi. Average stiffness: 1200GPa / 17,000,000psi. Hardness (Rockwell C scale): 33. Density: 4.5g/cc.

      Liquidmetal. Average yield strength: 1640MPa / 238ksi. Average stiffness: 93GPa / 13.5 Msi. Hardness: 53 Rc. Density: 6g/cc.

      Steel (15-5PH stainless, H900 condition). Average yield strength: 1380MPa / 200ksi. Average Stiffness: 207 GPa / 30Msi. Hardness: 46 Rc. Density: 7.8g/cc.

      Steel (Aermet 340). Average yield strength: 2160MPa / 310ksi. Average Stiffness: 207 GPa / 30 Msi. Hardness: 57 Rc. Density: 7.86g/cc.

      If you don't mind the knock in strength, you can do interesting things with lighter metals like aluminum and beryllium just because you can afford to add so much extra material without adding weight compared to denser materials.

      Aluminum (6061, T6 condition). Average yield strength: 276MPa / 40ksi. Average Stiffness: 69 GPa / 10 Msi. Hardness: crap without anodizing. Density: 2.7g/cc.

      Beryllium (Materion SR-200 alloy). Average yield strength: 345MPa / 50ksi. Average Stiffness !! : 287 GPa / 42 Msi. Hardness: meh, anodize it. Density !!: 1.85g/cc. Too bad about the berylliosis thing, this stuff is great. I keep a file of nude beryllium photos at my desk at work.

      The strongest, stiffest, hardest, toughest, easily-available materials are steels. Some tungsten alloys outperform the best steels in stiffness and strength but are more than twice as dense and I don't want to think of the cost difference. Beryllium is a freak among light metals in that it is substantially stiffer than steels - most lighter alloys (titanium, aluminum, magnesium) have fractions of steel's stiffness (in order: half, third, and quarter.) In certain applications, the right composite can be stronger than steel, but carbon composites give up scratch resistance, toughness, hardness, cost, and ease of manufacturing for complicated phone case shapes. High-end steels not only outperform titanium in properties, they're also easier to work - titanium alloys are annoying to machine, being a bit gummy and prone to ignition.

      Because mass production is driven by "good enough" needs, not "best," steel is naturally kicked aside by aluminum. You can get adequate strength and stiffness (especially compared to plastics) while saving weight (compared to other metals) with aluminum. It also has endearing thermal conductivity for electronics. Beryllium is better on most counts than aluminum, but has a disease named after it and is expensive.

      1. MachDiamond Silver badge

        Re: Given the amount of effort required in that video

        Search through the Materion (Brush-Wellman) site for their paper on Beryllium health issues. It's only a factor during the machining process where it can become airborne and thus inhaled. Once Beryllium is in a finished form, there isn't a health issue.

        The expense is huge since it has to be machined/formed with specially modified machines that extract any chips/dust durning the process and capture it. There are only a few companies that are certified to do that work, Materion being one of the largest. It shouldn't be a problem to do it in Mexico, China or some other country with no/lax regulations other than getting the raw stock shipped there. Be is used in nuclear weapons and the men in suits take notice of people and companies that buy it.

        Too bad there aren't many mechanical engineers in the world that can tell these companies that there are issues with making things too thin and expecting them to survive very long.

  24. uncle sjohie

    Two birds with one mobe

    They only needed one model to attack both the Galaxy Note and Galaxy Round in court? Wow, that's progress.

  25. Medixstiff

    Nice to see Apple's QA policy hasn't changed over the years, release the BETA and let the iSheep test it for us!

  26. Tim Worstal

    There is a solution to this

    Change the aluminium alloy they're using. Amazingly, they should change it to the one that I sell. so what's Jony Ive's number again?

    1. Pristine Audio

      Re: There is a solution to this

      Should've used plastic instead of metal

    2. Mage Silver badge

      Re: There is a solution to this

      Also it's why a Sapphire screen can't be used till they switch to Titanium or something less bendy

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: There is a solution to this

      Sorry, Mr. Worsthal, but I very much doubt that you sell an aluminium alloy with the necessary characteristics. I'm not being rude, but the problem here is almost certainly with the cross section. If you use an alloy with an extremely high E value, it will just crack rather than bend. With the sections they are using, even making it out of high tensile steel might not solve the problem.

      There's another company that uses a magnesium alloy frame with an outer mould of polycarbonate, but everybody laughs at them because it's "not premium". They don't seem to have this problem.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: There is a solution to this

        Replying to myself. I am wrong. There are several aluminium alloys which would make for a stronger iPhone 6 and 6+. Unfortunately they are devilish hard to work with and they are mainly used for lightweight armour in the military field. The cost per iPhone would increase significantly, and it's even possible that the stuff, and its machining and forming techniques, isn't for export to China, though I'm sure Mr. W will correct me on that.

        Perhaps this is the plan; having sold Joe Punter a £700 phone, sell him a £700 NATO-approved case to protect it.

  27. 45RPM Silver badge

    Given the length of the device and its thinness, only someone with a very poor grasp of basic physics would be surprised that it will bend. I suspect Apple knew it would bend if mistreated, but underestimated the number of absolute tools out there who would abuse it in this way (and then be surprised).

    Jeez, with those dimensions, I could bend it* with my hands even if it was a solid block.

    *not to the same extent though, obviously.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "underestimated the number of absolute tools "

      I am sure they did no such thing. I am sure that they correctly estimated that said tools would either pay for Applecare or keep buying replacements.

  28. David 66

    Bananagate - oh my!

    Seriously, though - I do not believe these iPhoners are using their front pockets. Nobody except me does that. Fact.

    I use my front pocket for phones. Trying to get other people to follow suit (e.g. when they've cracked their phone screen (again)) is IMPOSSIBLE.

    If they are using their front pockets, someone sitting on their lap is going to apply enough force to bend the 6+

  29. Paddy
    Coat

    Its not a defect its an iFeature

    The iThing copies the curved screen phone market too it seems

  30. Dazed and Confused
    Facepalm

    Re: Bananagate - oh my!

    Or do you mean banana drama?

  31. JDX Gold badge

    Innovation at last

    The first mass-market bendy phone?

  32. johnnymotel
    Facepalm

    These front pocket benders must have had some other hard thing going on down there.

  33. a53

    I despair

    Don't carry your mobe in a pocket where bending may occur, it cost £600 for Pete's sake. As for making the plus more expensive, they should have charged less ? really ?

  34. aynranddeathmask

    Copycats

    "...although it always bears noting that cost of manufacturing estimates don't include R&D costs around building the larger device...."

    What R&D costs? Samsung already paid for those when they developed the Note 3 years ago.

    1. John Bailey

      Re: Copycats

      "What R&D costs? Samsung already paid for those when they developed the Note 3 years ago."

      Well.. there is the picking the bigger panel out of the catalogue..

      And.. um.. And...

      Oh.. Beefing up the case to sto..

      .....

      Um.. Never mind.

  35. MarkCX

    The real reason for the iWatch

    6 Plus too big for your pocket?

    Put it in your handbag/ManBag/backpack.

    Too much of a pain to get it out every time you want to know what time it is?

    Apple have just had a great idea...

    1. GregC

      Re: The real reason for the iWatch

      Apple have just copied a great idea...

      FTFY

  36. Dan 55 Silver badge
    Trollface

    Heh

    So it wasn't an exact copy of the HTC One M8, Apple added a proprietary feature that no-one else had.

  37. James Cullingham
    Coat

    So it's true...

    It's all about the bottom line

  38. james 68

    So now when I tell the holier than thou twats who insist on trying to give me sermons on how I should convert to apple to go and get bent, they can actually eulogize that apple has offered that as an option?

    pffft.

  39. Gashead

    Good to see Bono even managed to get in the video.

  40. dotdavid

    And another thing...

    Clearly The New iPhone can become a flip phone.

  41. Buster

    It's about the beam stupid

    The resistance to bending is dependent on the Second Moment of Area of the cross section of the object being used as a beam. It is a power 4 relationship so reducing the cross section of a simple square beam by 10% reduces the resistance of the beam to bending by 34%. Compound the dumbassery by failing to understand that the distribution of material as far away as possible from the neutral axis can improve resistance to bending in the same power 4 relationship and you have the IPhone 6.

  42. Little Me

    "prone to stress and bending when placed in tight spaces such as pants pockets"

    keeping a phone in you pants is maybe going a little too far on the security front. Must have been a battle in there!

    1. John H Woods Silver badge

      I'm going to be downvoted but ...

      to me, the US definition of pants makes sense --- whilst the UK shortening of underpants to pants does not; any more than shortening underground to ground would.

      1. Tromos

        Re: I'm going to be downvoted but ...

        to me, the UK definition of pants makes sense --- whilst the US shortening of pantaloons to pants does not; any more than shortening pantograph to graph would.

        1. John H Woods Silver badge

          Re: I'm going to be downvoted but ...

          Tromos: "to me, the UK definition of pants makes sense --- whilst the US shortening of pantaloons to pants does not; any more than shortening pantograph to graph would."

          You've got your example the wrong way round ... you should have said "any more than shortening pantograph to panto would". Interestingly choice as well, when you think that UKers refer to pantomime as 'panto', and not 'mime'. You may also have heard 'undies' which, in context, is a clear reference to undergarments or underclothes. Referring to either of these as simply 'garments' or 'clothes' would be to lose the distinction about which one puts on first.

        2. Dan Paul

          Re: I'm going to be downvoted but ...@Tromos

          The use of the word pantaloons is practically medieval and well out of favor. Almost no one uses it in common language, idiotic grammatic pedants aside. Perhaps as another word to describe ladys "bloomers" but that's it. And that reference is even out of date. And 310 million people (at least) can't be considered wrong.

          Language CHANGES as time proceeds. Words and sayings become antiquated and develop different meanings. This is the way things are.

          1. This post has been deleted by its author

          2. DropBear

            Re: I'm going to be downvoted but ...@Tromos

            As an outsider (english is not my native language - neither the US nor the UK version) I've always thought of "pants" in terms of "trousers", not as undergarments; but hey, that's just me...

    2. Kubla Cant

      Pants pockets

      keeping a phone in you pants is maybe going a little too far on the security front.

      I expect they enjoy the vibration when somebody calls.

      Why would you have pockets in your pants?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Pants schmants

        I'm not buying a 6+ because I dress to the left leaving no room in that pocket, and my car keys are always in my right pocket.

  43. Lars Silver badge
    Coat

    Warranty

    What about the warranty if it's bent.

  44. Lostintranslation

    An ideal phone for Richard III then.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      An ideal phone for Richard III then.

      Now we know why Stephen Fry likes it so much.

  45. Fenton

    HTC one don't bend

    Exactly the same size as the 6. Why does it not bend? a curved back that is why.

    1. iranu

      Re: HTC one don't bend

      Theorema Egregium ;)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: HTC one don't bend

        Isn't the problem that the Gaussian curvature of the iPhone 6 is not invariant?

  46. Frank Bough

    Class Action

    this will inevitably go to court and Apple will inevitably climb down. Can you imagine how many of these things will be totally borked after a few months in the wild? Apple should start refunding now to prevent a bigger PR disaster.

    1. JoshOvki

      Re: Class Action

      A few months?! Several have been borked after a few days.

  47. Patrick 17

    I'm an mainly Apple user and have cancelled my 6+ order because of this issue. It's disappointing that Apple didn't anticipate this issue - most people (males at least) carry their phone in their pockets. Seems like a rather serious design fault to me.

    The same guy who did the bend video also has another video of the Samsung Note 3 which doesn't result in a bent phone or broken glass.

    1. Michael Thibault

      >most people (males at least) carry their phone in their pockets. Seems like a rather serious design fault to me.

      Recall the males? I've seen a fair few females whose back pockets have the tell-tall bulge of a phone, though.

      What I don't get, at all, is why you'd put a complex object/tool for which you've just paid real money into a pocket of your pants, or into the bottom of your [m|p]urse, to grind along with whatever else ends up in there. Akin to putting a camera, loose, into a purse, backpack, or pannier. Makes no sense; retrieving a phone from a pocket is fiddly (front dress pants pockets aside) to boot. There's a huge market for dedicated cases. And shirts still come with pockets, du-uhn't they?

      1. A Twig
        Joke

        You were the sole person who used the belt clip for your Sony-Ericsson A1018 when that came out.

        I claim my £5,,,

      2. Marcelo Rodrigues

        "What I don't get, at all, is why you'd put a complex object/tool for which you've just paid real money into a pocket of your pants,..."

        Because it is easy. My left front pocket is dedicated to my phone. Keys and coins go to the front right, the wallet in the rear right and the rear left I use to assorted small papers.

        Free hands, no bags and no funny bags. Why wouldn't I do it?

  48. smartypants

    They bend where the button hole stamps through the edge

    Even small amounts of flexing, over thousands of cycles of sitting, walking etc, will probably weaken the metal where the stresses are concentrated.

    Maybe Apple never heard about the famous Comet disasters, where engineers learned how even small stresses, when concentrated by the shape of metal, can have unexpected consequences.

  49. Brainman

    It doesn't happen on the Samsung Galaxy Notes

    I've had the Note 1 and Note 3 (and will get a Note 5 next year) on the day of release.

    I have constantly had the phone in suit & jeans pockets will no ill effects.

    Making a phone rigid with a brittle screen larger (to copy other manufactors) and even more expensive to repair & insure will just mean the already significant number of folk with cracked screens will be joined by an increasing number of bent phones.

    What with the raised camera-nipple it was never going to sit flat anyway.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: It doesn't happen on the Samsung Galaxy Notes

      I'm sure many many people will have a 6 Plus and never have this problem, so the fact you didn't have the problem with a Note wouldn't mean on its own that it can't happen to others - or at least that it isn't a problem with other phones. Google HTC m8 bent for instance. Apple gets a bunch of negative publicity about some issue that affects a small minority of people with every iPhone release. Remember "Antenna Gate" on the 4, the "yellow screen" on the 4S, the purple tinged photos on the 5, and I'm sure there was something on the 5S I'm not remembering.

      Hate to sound like "you're holding it wrong", but people will have to decide not to keep the 6 Plus in the back pocket of their pants or a front pocket of overly snug jeans and then sit down. From the video of the guy who bent the 6 Plus with his hands trying the same with a Note 3, it "bends", but doesn't stay bent. Since circuit boards and glass screens aren't meant to bend, you might still have problems putting that into a tight pocket. It won't stay bent, but repeated bending and holding a bent position while sitting are not good for electronics and could eventually damage it. People wouldn't necessarily attribute it to bending when it stopped working or the screen broke.

  50. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Clearly, they are just putting it in their pocket wrong...

  51. 080

    No sympathy

    So, you pay £619 for an iPhone 6+ then you stick it in your back pocket and go down the pub. Thats two stupid things. No sympathy off me I'm afraid.

    1. Big_Ted

      Re: No sympathy

      I'm sorry but.....

      Whats stupid about going down the pub?

      And where should the phone be? in your hand and then on the table for the world to see and have the added risk of dropping it or knocking it to the ground if not sticking your pint on the phone you have sat in a puddle of beer ?

      Seems you have no idea of the real world most of us deal with.

      Oh and all those saying stick it in a steel case etc, the point of this and pshones like it are they are thin, you shouldn't need to double the thickness to do what the manufacturer should have designed it to do. I expect my phone with care from me not to scratch the screen when I put it in an empty pocket and to withstand general usage without damage, that includes putting it in the same pocket as the previous version managed to handle for the past year or 2...

  52. sandman

    Back Pockets

    Why the hell would anyone put anything valuable in a back pocket? Talk about a pickpockets dream.When I was much younger I used to irritate my friends and amuse myself by demonstrating how easy it was to nick their wallets (pre-mobile days y'know) and I'm about as light-fingered as a JCB. The bendy thing - well, meh, other phones are available if you want to stuff them in your back pocket, although I'd recommend a really cheap one so the pickpocket would just drop it in disgust (making sure it's in a case so it doesn't break when he/she does so ;-)

  53. Annoyed Grunt

    Buggy new software, bendy phones. Apple has really fucked up this time. I understand that smaller outfits do not have the resources to get the product right initially; but one of the worlds largest grossing organisations. Come on.

    Its taken me 5 attempts to write this as my iPads IOS8 keyboard keeps corrupting!

  54. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Holmes

    So we are into phacesitting now?

    Oh beautiful 21st century of amazements and sheer wonder.

  55. ManiK67
    FAIL

    Banana Phone!

    Didn't Nokia have one of these nearly 20 years ago?

    Where's the innovation there?

  56. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Okay Apple, lets innovate tough case for all the iphones, perhaps steel reinforced??? what do you think?

  57. Paw Bokenfohr

    Hardly new news.

    http://www.cultofmac.com/297404/get-bent-shocking-history-bent-smartphones/

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hardly new news.

      This is a new phone and it is bending, so therefore it is new news.

  58. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Will it Bend?

    Yes!

  59. Daniel Bower

    I'm never afraid that I'll

    Bend my Lumia 930 by putting it in my pocket, or by using it as a lever to lift up the washing machine to fish something or from underneath it, or the hammer nails into granite.

    Ok we're not exactly comparing size for size but then I'd comfortably engage in some hand to hand combat with a Lumia 1520.

    Phones that you can't put in your pocket-pah. Out of interest have they patented the idea?

  60. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I think i'll wait for..

    ..the Ultra-thin diamond nanothread Smartphone.

  61. Timpatco

    Maybe all the bendy iphones were first placed in a microwave to " charge them up"?

    Whatever, fun to see the fruity firm squirm for a change instead of basking in the glow of thier adoring fanbois..

  62. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    All For Science?

    I watched the video - that was created in the name of science. After his intro and explanation he begins slowly bending at 1:20 into the video. At 1:39 (video timer) in the phone is bent and he turns it and the clock on the phone shows the time to be 2:26. Later in the video starting about 2:16 mins into it he starts rotating the phone in his hands and the time on the phone is now 1:58. He continues talking and rotating the time changes to 1:59. Not sure how scientific this test is if the time isn't tracking. I'm not defending Apple (I have the shiny new Samsung that lives in my front pocket without signs of damage) but I can't take this test serious - although I do believe it happens. Was this just bad editing?

  63. Zot

    But the iPhone 4 was designed to flex.

    The iPhone 4 was stainless steal with Aluminosilicate glass on the front and back:-

    It stands great pressure and always goes back to original shape. And yeah it suffers from shattering:

    http://www.tested.com/tech/smartphones/429-whats-so-special-about-iphone-4s-aluminosilicate-glass/

    iPhone 6+ has an aluminium shell for lightness, which apparently lives up to that other characteristic of aluminum, it bends and stays bent.

  64. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Bend it or ode to iPhone

    Bend it, bend it, just a little more

    Without you, baby, I'm so insecure

    But you can make me feel that I am sure

    I've got a sickness only you can cure

    Dave Dee, Dozy, Mick and Tich

  65. Paratrooping Parrot
    Coat

    Maybe there's a new market in there

    The new iTrousers. Special trousers to put your iPhone6 Plus in.

  66. Truth4u

    duh

    make something large and thin like a piece of paper and it will bend. In fact the handset may have been stronger if it had been made of wood like paper, wood is flexible but will not deform like ally. And the hipsters would love it. Not sure why they missed that trick.

  67. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If they all bend at the same angle...

    ...release the next version already bent at that angle. Iphone 6b, now form-fitting.

    Profit.

  68. stevehn
    Holmes

    People just don't get it. Trying to get big hard thing into small hole will likely get bend up. Bigger pocket hole in the back is much better.

  69. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Apparently

    Yuri Geller has been appointed to Apple's R&D team.

    Also I have tried intentionally to break an LCD panel from a phone and they can take quite a lot of bending before they finally snap: the laminated glass structure is remarkably resilient.

    Most of the broken screens are due to point impact exceeding the elastic limit of the glass.

  70. JeffyPoooh
    Pint

    Some data from Consumer Reports

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

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