iPhone 6 Plus Bends because Standardized Tests Failed

Apple had a PR nightmare that started a week ago. The first report of accidentally bent iPhone 6 Plus device triggered a social media storm that was fueled by a viral video from Unbox Therapy. In the video the guy bends an iPhone 6 Plus fairly easily. It is buckling under the volume buttons. 

End of the week, Apple came out swinging with statements that only 9 consumers complaint and that they perform rigorous testing. Consumer Reports got in on the action and did some scientific bend testing themselves. Their result is ranking the iPhone 6 Plus as even more sturdy than the iPhone 6. How can that be? It is simple.

The iPhone 6 Plus only bends rather easily when using your bare hands. The thumbs are seeking the weak spot and bend the iPhone 6 Plus because it has a structural issue under the volume button. A standardized test is trying to bend the device across the full width. The opposite side of the iPhone 6 Plus is strong, but if you move the center of the pressure closer to the volume buttons it breaks. 

Now that means that there is no real Bend Gate. The case that the phone bends accidentally will remain rare. Only if you try to bend the iPhone 6 Plus intentionally it will bend.

This is why Apple missed that weakness in the iPhone 6 Plus. I am sure nobody in their fancy test lab tried to bend the iPhone 6 Plus with their bare hands during development. They just used their machines to do it. i suggest that Apple is inviting the guy from Unbox Therapy to do some bending on the iPhone 7 to make sure their is no weak spot.

See also this analysis on Business Insider that comes to the same conclusion.