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Apple Allegedly Boycotts German Tech Site Over 'Bendgate' Video

By - Source: ComputerBild.de | B 56 comments

It seems that Apple is no longer sending press samples to a German tech publication.

Surely by now you've heard of Apple's iPhone 6 Plus Bendgate woes, as the company is getting pounded for building a phone that appears to bend under normal circumstances. The German computer site Computer Bild posted a video that seems to have raised Apple's ire so much that the company reportedly decided to stop sending the publication test samples and will no longer invite its editors to press events.

In the video, a presenter from Computer Bild bent an iPhone 6 Plus on-set with his bare hands. Arguably, intentionally bending a phone goes a bit far, but given the circumstances, we're all curious, and somebody has to figure out the truth – is this really a design flaw, or is it simply something that's been blown out of proportion? Mind you, Computer Bild claims that it bought the iPhone 6 Plus that it bent – the device was not a press sample.

Responding to the ban, Computer Bild wrote an open letter addressed to Tim Cook in which it explained that the iPhone 6 bend test was for informative purposes. Poking a little further, Computer Bild even asked Tim Cook whether this is really the best way to deal with critical independent press.

On the other side of the story, Consumer Reports tested how well the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and competing phones stand up to various forces and found that the smaller iPhone 6 is actually more susceptible to bending than the bigger iPhone 6 Plus. It even did better than some of the competing phones.

Unbox Therapy posted a similar video, although we haven't heard any similar response from Apple to them. If it's only Computer Bild that Apple has contacted in this way, we suspect that the company is trying to send out a warning shot -- unless the rep was merely a rogue actor that stepped out of line.

So, what are your thoughts? Do you think this is a problem that's been blown way out of proportion, or do you believe that it's genuinely something that Apple needs to address in a way that's different from "you're reviewing it wrong?"

Follow Niels Broekhuijsen @NBroekhuijsen. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

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Top Comments
  • 29 Hide
    tryingmybest , October 3, 2014 2:21 PM
    Iphone 6 plus DOES bend near the buttons .

    Apple made a Mistake in Design . and all people who are ignoring this will regret it after 6 months of use , you will see .

    you CANT make the Phone that slim and keep the buttons the same side NEAR EACH OTHERS and made them longer buttons as well , which made the case VERY WEAK in that spot.

    and people who believe the Test Apple made , they applied the pressure on the middle of the phone not to the upper part where the weak spot is.

    here are the Mistakes :

    1- All the three buttons near each other in very slim case.
    2- made the buttons longer again because the case is slimmer and abandoned the circular buttons which made the weak spot weaker.

    the solution ?

    put all the buttons on the TOP , or change the material of the Body . go back to the GLASS design.
  • 24 Hide
    turkey3_scratch , October 3, 2014 1:04 PM
    No surprise, Apple really should have tested their phones better. Apple is boycotting this tech site because it shows proof?
  • 17 Hide
    shahrooz , October 3, 2014 2:23 PM
    Lame move by Apple
Other Comments
    Add your comment Display all 56 comments.
  • 24 Hide
    turkey3_scratch , October 3, 2014 1:04 PM
    No surprise, Apple really should have tested their phones better. Apple is boycotting this tech site because it shows proof?
  • -7 Hide
    SirKnobsworth , October 3, 2014 1:12 PM
    I'm having trouble finding any evidence that devices getting bent in normal usage is more than just a handful of users with unusually tight pants. I don't think tests like this are representative of the stresses that phones will get in normal usage but Apple's response doesn't seem appropriate either.
  • 3 Hide
    turkey3_scratch , October 3, 2014 1:15 PM
    Quote:
    I'm having trouble finding any evidence that devices getting bent in normal usage is more than just a handful of users with unusually tight pants. I don't think tests like this are representative of the stresses that phones will get in normal usage but Apple's response doesn't seem appropriate either.


    Agree, I think it is blown up a bit since this has not happened to may people, but the fact that Apple will not acknowledge these issues really makes me angry. If they would rightfully acknowledge these problems, developed a stronger 6+, and replaced anyone's iPhone who bent, than that would be a good honest company to stick with.
  • -1 Hide
    fleeb , October 3, 2014 2:07 PM
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaQsXJ5NtnA
  • 29 Hide
    tryingmybest , October 3, 2014 2:21 PM
    Iphone 6 plus DOES bend near the buttons .

    Apple made a Mistake in Design . and all people who are ignoring this will regret it after 6 months of use , you will see .

    you CANT make the Phone that slim and keep the buttons the same side NEAR EACH OTHERS and made them longer buttons as well , which made the case VERY WEAK in that spot.

    and people who believe the Test Apple made , they applied the pressure on the middle of the phone not to the upper part where the weak spot is.

    here are the Mistakes :

    1- All the three buttons near each other in very slim case.
    2- made the buttons longer again because the case is slimmer and abandoned the circular buttons which made the weak spot weaker.

    the solution ?

    put all the buttons on the TOP , or change the material of the Body . go back to the GLASS design.
  • 17 Hide
    shahrooz , October 3, 2014 2:23 PM
    Lame move by Apple
  • 3 Hide
    SkyBill40 , October 3, 2014 2:32 PM
    What I'm having trouble believing is that out of ALL of the phones they've sold since release that only 9 incidents were reported by Apple. Further, openly and rather defiantly stating the numbers are that low sure seems as though you're not telling the truth on the matter. Tim Cook, it's time to step up and admit that this is a bigger issue than you first thought.

    And to the point of people trying to purposely bend their phones or others buying $600 phones just to bend them is, in a word, stupid.

    Note 3 here... and ZERO bending concerns on my mind.
  • -7 Hide
    everlast66 , October 3, 2014 3:04 PM
    In another story a guy is complaining his iPhone was too easily shot through by a 50cal round :) 

    http://i.ytimg.com/vi/c_gEiU_FDxQ/maxresdefault.jpg
  • 5 Hide
    Phillip Jones , October 3, 2014 4:28 PM
    Exacty what Ferrari does. If an automotive journalist writes any criticism of a Ferrari, that journalist and associated publication are banned from future Ferrari press events.
  • 4 Hide
    jrharbort , October 3, 2014 5:22 PM
    Streisand effect, anyone?
  • 4 Hide
    Elddar , October 3, 2014 6:00 PM
    Just walk into an Apple store and look at the display models. Most all of them are bent. It is a bigger issue than Apple is letting on, and will only get worse over time.

    Sure, most of the hype around it is people bending it on purpose, but do a little research. There are many forum posts of people reporting it bending in their FRONT pockets (and many more in the back pocket). The number of people experiencing this will only increase over time.
  • 0 Hide
    soldier44 , October 3, 2014 7:26 PM
    Way more than the reported 9 people that have this issue. Poor build quality is the bottom line and people eat it up buy it and don't care.
  • 2 Hide
    anthony8989 , October 3, 2014 9:09 PM
    This paragraph doesn't make sense to me:

    Quote:
    On the other side of the story, Consumer Reports tested how well the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and competing phones stand up to various forces and found that the smaller iPhone 6 is actually more susceptible to bending than the bigger iPhone 6 Plus. It even did better than some of the competing phones.


    What did better, the iPhone 6 - it was better at bending??
  • 5 Hide
    rdc85 , October 3, 2014 9:51 PM
    This just reminds me how APC response in tom's finding for the flaw in their product..

    comparing to this..... (denials, bands,..)
    they are to "cocky" to admit their mistake, if there any flaw it either the user fault or people just making it up..

    Apple should learn from APC..
    (this also reminds me of SB of microsoft, They seems to have same attitude)
  • 7 Hide
    Elddar , October 3, 2014 10:39 PM
    Quote:
    People are stupid, the reason for the phone able to bend (should say flex TBH) is so it withstand tight pants (because this is the new BS trend) This phone is not the G-flex that is designed to be bent but to make the phone last longer being as thin as it is.


    Flexing to prevent bending is good. Bending and staying bent is bad. It is NOT a design feature.

    *If you check out actual users who have a bent 6plus under normal use, a percentage of them also have the screen popping out (not the way you want your phone designed)
  • 4 Hide
    unksol , October 4, 2014 1:11 AM
    This is expected behavior from Apple. If you bother to honestly post a bad review of course they are going to cut you off. At least till they decide how to handle their screw up months later. They want good press at release time so they can sell and the bad news to filter in later. Most sites would be scared to lose all their traffic from NOT having early access to an iPhone press sample. If a site has the balls to call Apple on an issue good for them.

    of course toms is just posting this sensationalism for clicks too, but we all know toms "news" has gone to hell.

    And the consumer reports test is at the wrong location, and is putting the force on both sides. not considering one side being fixed, or uniform pressure being applied on a curve. It is just a "bend it in the middle" test that isn't even related to the issue... CR just took advantage to get some press
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