Posted on 09/27/2014 11:06:55 AM PDT by Swordmaker
We stress test Apple's new phones, plus comparable models from Samsung, LG, and HTC
Cell phones
Two days ago, the Internet erupted with photos of bent iPhone 6s, and a very-viral video of a guy creasing an iPhone 6 Plus with his bare hands. It seemed like a serious concern, yet everything about the uproar was highly unscientific. We don’t like unscientific, so we promised then that we would use our lab equipment to find out just how delicate the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus really are. We also promised to run the same tests on comparable smart phones. We’ve done that now, and our tests show that both iPhones seem tougher than the Internet fracas implies.
(Excerpt) Read more at consumerreports.org ...
By the way, Dino, be careful over there.
BTW, there is no difference in an unlocked iPhone 6 price wise. Here is the link from Apple.
You must buy it designating T-Mobile as your carrier. They require 40 days of service, again per USA Today, at which time you may remove their SIM card, they will unlock the phone, and you can then put in whichever carrier's SIM card you like. . . So long as the radio is compatible with that carriers assigned bands. Most likely it will as the iPhone 6 is compatible with 27 systems and bandwidths. But, Dino, there is no way, since the release of the iPhone 6 to walkout with an unlocked one. You can only buy an unlocked iPhone 5s or 4s directly from Apple at this time.
This means your friend did not buy a pair of iPhone 6es to take back to Jeddah, as I told you in the first place.
There have been class actions against T-Mobile too. Sprint was selling 4G phones in San Diego a year before they had 4G coverage there!
That is a pretty serious charge against an organization that bases it's entire existence on being non-biased and objective. Got any proof to back up that observation? If so, you have a scandal of pretty good magnitude. Let's hear it......
I did, but there is still a 40 day contract with T-Mobile. You DO have to pay for 40 days of T-Mobile service. You sign a contract for T-Mobile service and get a T-Mobile phone number. I provided you with the information. Apple is NOT going to violate their contract with a carrier to please you. You can play whatever games you want to. I don't play games with contracts.
The argument is not about iPad Airs. It’s about the iPHone 6+ vs the competition.
The iPHone 6 test done by CR is a farce. It didn’t test for bending where the buttons are on the phone. Testing towards the middle is not going to yield the same results as what is being reported by “regular use” by the purchasers. Regular use includes putting them inside pants pockets. Simulating the test using completely different criteria is not going to yield the same results.
But, you can go ahead and remain in denial and go on about showing your love for your iStuff and Apple. People need to know the truth, and the tests don’t address the truth.
I’m pretty sure that Apple will be hearing a lot more about “bendgate” in the coming months.
You have no idea what you're talking about. The Apple store sells phones locked to the Big 4 carriers, in addition to unlocked phones.
And at the end of those 24 months, do you own the phone? That's what's not clear to me about the AT&T Next plan. I know that if you trade up before the 24 months are up, you trade in the phone, which AT&T will then sell to another customer as a reduced-cost refurb. The resale value of the phone is a variable built into the deal.
When I got the 5s last year, I could have sold my 4s on Craig's list, but it was worth it to me to keep it as an iPod/camera/backup. The 6 is attractive enough that I've been eyeing the Next plan, but will probably keep my 5s until next year, sticking with my habit of upgrading the phone in odd years and the iPad in even years. As long as Apple sticks with their pattern of keeping the same basic design for two years at a time, there's an advantage to the "s" models -- Apple has had time to hash out bugs in the design and the cases are a lot less expensive.
On a more general note, the "here's how I buy my phone, and if you do it another way you're an idiot and don't know what you're really paying" posts are annoying. Yes, I get that there are, broadly speaking, three ways to go: Pay the full freight up front, pay monthly, or pay a down payment and sign a contract. I have looked at all three and chosen the one that makes sense for me. Your mileage may vary.
I’m pretty sure you own the phone after the contract is up, yes. It’s like an installment plan in other words. Like financing a car.
Signing a two-year contract for twice the cost of competing services just to have the “privilege” of financing a $800 purchase makes no sense at all—sorry.
I agree the “S” model is always the perfect version of which ever iPhone model you have. It was certainly true with the iPhone 3, 4 and 5. Nevertheless, the iPhone 5 has been a terrific phone. I have zero complaints. My bet is the iPhone 6, for the most part, is a terrific phone too. I just don't have the patience to wait another year for the perfect model.
Oh and I agree with you 100% about,
“here's how I buy my phone, and if you do it another way you're an idiot and don't know what you're really paying” posts ARE EXTREMELY annoying.
Perhaps they mean well..., but you never win friends or influence people by calling them idiots. LOL! Although I DO NOT believe that is the case. They fail to understand there is not a one size fits all approach that addresses everyone.
I'm sure their way works well for some of our fellow freepers. However, it does not work well for me. For instance, when you purchase unlocked phones, then it presents it's own hosts of issues. Which some people do not mind. I get that, but I do.
I just want the dam hone to work period. I don't want to have to jump through 1000 hoops just to save a penny. To me that's a waste of time and money.
Anyway I think we are both on the same page. Thanks for the good reply. It was refreshing compared to some of the other posts. LOL!
Again I could be wrong but I think it breaks down this way:
For example the ATT individual plan of 300MB a month (or any individual/family plan really can be combined with this) it’s like $70 / mo I believe. Maybe $60 I can’t remember.
I don’t think the other big companies compete greatly with each other in terms of this monthly price though.
On top of that if you want to finance the phone it’s an extra $30 a month. To pay for the phone over the life of the contract. If you just by the phone it’s still the same price for the plan. That doesn’t change so it’s not like you are paying extra for the plan by financing the phone.
So you’re just paying it off in installments. Otherwise you can pay up front for the phone at the start of the contract. If you break the contract before its up either way you have to pay for the balance left on the phone. It seems though you get a better deal if you pay for it upfront, because it’s lesser then and you still get to keep it at the end.
“I’m pretty sure that Apple will be hearing a lot more about “bendgate” in the coming months.”
Actually I’m pretty sure not. This will be more like the “scandalous” purple fringing with the iPhone 5s camera, which turned out to be a complete non-issue.
Apple stated they have an entire six complaints about bending, out of millions of phones sold.
I do wish I had unlimited capital for my good ideas, as I think a titanium 6 Plus case would sell like hotcakes, and would be generally a good thing anyhow. :-)
Regardless of any of that, if you get insurance on your phone (not a bad idea) you will get no-questions-asked replacement...
Show me the competing service that can get me 10GB of LTE on two devices plus tethering for half of what I'm paying now. Don't assume that the rest of us haven't done our homework.
You own the iPhone after 20 months. Actually, there are two Next plans. For a little bit more a month, there's a twelve month Next plan.
It really does not matter where the 90-110 pounds of force are applied on the back of the iPhone 6 Plus, it will still fail at the weakest point when the failure stress of that point exceeds its ability to resist the force. The point was to make comparable stresses between comparable products on points that would be under stress. The ends and anywhere on the back were sufficient. Yes, the pounds of force at the point of failure differs slightly from the actual pressure point where it is being applied and measured, but that is irrelevant. The same is true for every other phone tested. What is important is that the overall device failed at that level of stress.
By-the-way, what do you fail understand about an equivalent design made out of the same materials of the same thickness, with a larger format, where it could easily be damaged by similar forces, that has been on the market for almost a year without similar complaints being an analog for comparison? I think they are quite good to compare and ask why there are no bent iPad Air reports.
Incidentally, Daniel Eran Dilger, in an article published day before yesterday pointed out something everyone else has missed. The video of the guy bending his IPhone 6 Plus that has garnered over 40 million hits and over $300,000 for him, besides having some serious timeline issues, shows that the phone looks absurdly small in relation to the hands of guy bending it. He strains quite a bit doing it, too. But the point Dilger makes is that the guy's hands are huge, dwarfing the iPhone 6 Plus, making look more like an iPhone 5s. I have large hands with a nine inch span, thumb to pinky. I placed my hands on an iPhone 6 Plus in a similar position and compared his hands to mine. His hands were easily 50% larger than mine. Talk about ham handed! And he was straining to bend it.
One small correction. It's nine complaints, not six.
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