Consumer Reports bend tests show the iPhone 6 Plus is stronger than the iPhone 6
In what is likely the end of #Bendgate, Consumers Reports on Friday published the results of its bend tests that compared the iPhone 6 Plus with the iPhone 6 and several competing phones. According to Consumer Reports, both the iPhone 6 Plus and the iPhone 6 land in the middle of the pack, with the larger 6 Plus slightly outperforming the iPhone 6.
The iPhone 6 Plus, the more robust of the new iPhones in our testing, started to deform when we reached 90 pounds of force, and came apart with 110 pounds of force. With those numbers, it slightly outperformed the HTC One (which is largely regarded as a sturdy, solid phone), as well as the smaller iPhone 6, yet underperformed some other smart phones.
The consumer products testing company used a "three-point flexural test" that secures the phones on both ends and then applies a force at the center of the unit. The company then measured both the amount of force needed to deform the handset casing and the force require to separate the case. The results show that the iPhone 6 Plus withstood 90 pounds of force before it started to deform and 110 pounds before it separated, while the iPhone 6 handled a lower 70 pounds and 100 pounds, respectively.
The results of these tests make it clear that the iPhone 6 Plus is engineered to be resistant to bending. Any reports of bent iPhone 6 Plus handsets are an anomaly and not the expected result of everyday usage. As Apple noted in a recent statement, only nine customers have complained of a bent phone since the two phones went on sale on September 19.
