It's time to stop freaking out about smartphones that bend
That's what SquareTrade discovered in a bend test of popular smartphones. The group found that Samsung's newest phone, the Galaxy S6 Edge, bends under less pressure than the iPhone 6.
This normally wouldn't be a problem, but Samsung made a big stink about the iPhone 6 bending last year and during the Galaxy S6 unveiling in March. Samsung vice president YH Lee even said on stage that the new phone will not bend, a clear jab at the iPhone.
After SquareTrade's video started spreading through the tech blogs Friday, Samsung released a statement saying the pressure used in the test was above what an average person would apply to a phone. The company also said it extensively tests its phones to make sure they don't bend under normal conditions.
In the end, none of this really matters. If you try to bend a phone made of metal, glass, and silicon under a robot, it'll bend and break. If you don't try to bend it under a robot, it won't bend and break.
Our advice is to treat your smartphone like the $650+ gadget it is.
Here's Samsung's full statement:
Recently, there have been several reports about the durability of smartphones stemming from a You Tube video posted by SquareTrade. It shows several smartphones, including the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge, being bent or broken under high pressure. In this video, the Galaxy S6 edge was broken under the pressure of 110lbf (50kgf), but there are two things that need to be addressed with regard to the video.
First, the video assumes a very specific condition - 110lbf (50kgf), which rarely occurs under normal circumstances. The normal force that generated when a person presses the back pocket is approximately 66lbf (30kgf). Our internal test results indicate that the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge are not bendable even under 79lbf (32kgf), which is equivalent to putting pressure to snap a bundle of five pencils at once.
Secondly, even though both front and back sides are exposed under the same level of pressure in normal circumstances, this test does not show the strength of the back side. Some smartphones have different durability in each the front and back sides respectively. SquareTrade has only tested the front side, which may mislead consumers about the entire durability of smartphones.
For this reason being, Samsung will officially deliver our statement to SquareTrade and ask them to conduct the stress test again which targets both front and back sides, and open the test result to the public.
All our devices are put rigorous high-quality validation tests before they are delivered to consumers. These tests include various conditions, such as dropping, bending, and breakage. And we are confident that all our smartphones are not bendable under daily usage.
Here's the SquareTrade video that's getting all the attention:
