Business Insider
According Carmine Pirone, it does. Over the weekend, Pirone says he walked into an Apple store, found the 6 Plus on display, and tried to bend it at the phone's supposed weak spot, right at the volume button where there may be a faulty hinge.
He did it. But he doubts most people would accidentally do the same.
Pirone, who's 6'3 and 225 pounds, explains how he bent the iPhone 6 Plus out of shape:
Taking my thumbs I pressed and pushed in toward my hands that were firmly around the rest of the phone covering the entirety of the screen on the other side. It bent.
Sounds easy, but Pirone says he put a bunch of work into pulling it off. He says his thumbs were sore for the next 20 minutes, and he doubts someone who isn't really trying to bend the phone could cause a dent. Here's a photo of the device after Pirone applied significant pressure:
According to Pirone:
How much force was applied? Enough to where my left thumb was sore for about 20 minutes after but not so much where I was shaking. I also will admit that once the indentation was made, if I took a firm grasp with both my hands and attempted to "fold" it at the weak spot, I suspect i could have made it worse. Again, why would you?
But…and this is big BIG but, I find it hard to believe this thing is going to bend under normal wear and tear. Maybe if you're over 200 pounds and sit on it for 20 minutes it might bend, but why would you?
I'd love to see the pair of pants and the person who bends this thing with it just in their front pocket.
Pirone says he witnessed a number of other people in the Apple Store trying to bend the iPhone 6 Plus, but didn't notice anyone else having success.
So, is Pirone's experience common among iPhone retailers?
At a New York Verizon store Monday, a sales clerk told Business Insider matter-of-factly that the iPhone 6 Plus does indeed bend, but that Apple hasn't offered to replace any bent devices nor had it warned Verizon customers about the possible bending issue.
When asked if she'd actually seen a bent iPhone 6 Plus, the store clerk admitted no, she had not. Still, she said she'd been pushing customers towards the iPhone 6, which she said had been out-selling the 6 Plus. For customers who did buy the 6 Plus, she recommended buying a "strong case" to prevent bending.
A call to a separate Verizon store in New Jersey came up without any bent iPhones either. The store clerk said she hadn't seen anyone coming in and trying to bend the phones and said Business Insiders' call was the first time she'd been asked about the bending issue. When asked if she thought the new iPhones could be bent, she sounded doubtful.