This story has been all over the news today. The iPhone 6 was only released last week, but there are numerous reports coming in of the phone bending when it is in people’s pockets.
TechRadar appears to be trying to skim over the issue, but they do have a point when they say that withstanding someone’s fat arse on top of it while crammed into a back pocket isn’t something that you will find on the spec sheet.
A few months ago one of my pupils got an HTC One M8 – one of the sexiest phones on the market. I’ve got one, and I’ve treated the screen with a special liquid coating to protect it. My phone is in a luxury leather case, and I have it on a lanyard and only ever keep it round my neck or in a breast pocket. My pupil, on the other hand, kept his uncased and stuffed in his pocket with his keys and loose change!
Most of my younger pupils have iPhones. They are a status symbol, of course, although they are also vastly inferior to an increasing number of other phones on the market today (the HTC One M8 included). But status symbol or not, the physical condition of most of the phones I see is unbelievable. They have cracked and scratched screens as a result of being shoved into tight trouser pockets – and because of being frequently dropped.
As far as the iPhone 6 is concerned, TechRadar says that any phone will bend if you apply enough force. Well, that’s only true if you start talking about extreme forces. What they fail to mention is that the iPhone 6 is flat, whereas the M8 – which is also constructed out of aluminium – has a curved back. This curvature gives a huge boost in overall strength when a perpendicular force is applied. It’s a bit like building a bridge with an arch alongside one which is simply rectangular. The arched one can support much more traffic (and it is why the arch has been used for more than 3,000 years in such constructions).
TechRadar tiptoes around the likelihood of a design flaw. However, the rectangular design and thinness of the iPhone is a design flaw. You can only go so far with thinness before distortion becomes a distinct possibility as a result of forces which thicker versions could withstand with ease. It would appear that the iPhone 6 is one of those things that is only sexy until you touch it – at which point the chances of breaking it increase dramatically.
This story comes hot on the heels of another series of Apple cock-ups following the recent iOS update.