Apple addressing iPhone 6 "bendgate"
Only nine customers so far have contacted Apple about a problem with a bent iPhone 6 Plus, the company said
iPhone 6 had a record opening weekend, selling more than 10 million units between the two new models, but in recent days Apple has been doing its best to control a potential PR nightmare. First, an update to iOS 8 caused some iPhone 6 units to lose cell reception and Apple had to quickly pull the update as it prepares a fix (Apple apologized for the "great inconvenience"), and just yesterday videos surfaced online showing how the iPhone 6 Plus can be bent - the videos show people bending the phone with their hands, but customer reports suggest it's happening by leaving the phone in tight pants pockets all day.
Today, Apple did acknowledge that some customers had bent phones. "Through our first six days of sale, a total of nine customers have contacted Apple with a bent iPhone 6 Plus," Apple confirmed to Re/code's John Paczkowski.
Nine out of 10 million units is incredibly small, but it remains to be seen how many more customers bring their complaints to Apple now that the company is addressing a possible issue. Apple stressed to The Wall Street Journal that with normal use, any bending in an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus would be "extremely rare." The company also remarked that the new phones were designed with "steel/titanium inserts to reinforce stress locations and use the strongest glass in the industry," according to CNBC.
"I do believe this speaks to execution issues at Apple," JMP Securities analyst Alex Gauna commented to Reuters following the iOS 8 and "bendgate" revelations. "At the end of the day I believe this too shall pass, but we are noting with concern that the miscues pile up."