Apple iPhone 6 ‘Bendgate’ Debate: Consumer Reports Test Finds New iPhones ‘Tougher’ Than Believed

Consumer Reports has raised its voice in Apple’s favor, saying that the so called “Bendgate” controversy over the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus could be overblown. The publication released results of a scientific test on Friday, showing that the new Apple handsets are not as “bendy” as some users claim.

As part of its assessment, Consumer Reports used a method, called a “three-point flexural test,” to examine the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, along with a few other handsets, including the iPhone 5, the LG G3, Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and HTC One (M8). The testing method involved a machine, which applied measured force across the back of each device as it was supported at two points on either end.

Bending of the iPhone 6 Plus “seemed like a serious concern, yet everything about the uproar was highly unscientific,” the publication said in a report, adding that “both iPhones seem tougher than the Internet fracas implies.”

According to the results of the test, the iPhone 6 is less durable than the larger iPhone 6 Plus, which is contradicting to previous media reports that concentrated more on the new 5.5-inch iPhone. The test showed that the iPhone 6 Plus started to deform at 90 pounds of force, while the iPhone 6 started bending at 70 pounds of force. The iPhone 6 came apart with 100 pounds of force, while the iPhone 6 Plus made it to 110 pounds before breaking.

Here is the complete result of Consumer Reports’ smartphone bend test:

“Impressively, despite some serious damage from our Instron machine, some of the phones continued to work,” the report said. “It took significant force to do this kind of damage to all these phones. While nothing is (evidently) indestructible, we expect that any of these phones should stand up to typical use.”

On Thursday, Apple invited some tech journalists and experts into its labs to show how the company stress tests iPhones before releasing them. Apple reportedly used the same three-point flexural test and applied slightly more than 55 pounds of force -- enough to break three pencils -- to an iPhone 6 Plus to test its flexibility, according to Consumer Reports.

Here is the video of the bend test, conducted by Consumer Reports.