iPhone 6 'bendgate': Apple says only nine customers have complained

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• iPhone 6 'bendgate': Consumer Reports testing puts Apple in the clear

UPDATE / Sept 26:  Apple has broken its silence on the "bendgate" controversy.

In a statement sent to media, including NBR, the company says only nine customers have contacted it about a bent iPhone 6 Plus amid more than 10 million sales of its new models.

The full statement reads.

Our iPhones are designed, engineered and manufactured to be both beautiful and sturdy. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus feature a precision engineered unibody enclosure constructed from machining a custom grade of 6000 series anodized aluminum, which is tempered for extra strength.

They also feature stainless steel and titanium inserts to reinforce high stress locations and use the strongest glass in the smartphone industry. We chose these high-quality materials and construction very carefully for their strength and durability. We also perform rigorous tests throughout the entire development cycle including 3-point bending, pressure point cycling, sit, torsion, and user studies. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus meet or exceed all of our high quality standards to endure everyday, real life use.

With normal use a bend in iPhone is extremely rare and through our first six days of sale, a total of nine customers have contacted Apple with a bent iPhone 6 Plus. 

Although Apple is looking to draw a line under bendgate, eyes are still on US publication Consumer Reports — a respected arbiter in previous controversies — which is currently conducting iPhone 6 Plus stress tests. The subscriber-funded title promises results tomorrow [UDATE: the results put the new iPhones in the clear].

Kinks ironed out of iOS update
Separately, Apple has released iOS 8.0.2. The iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch incremental software update replaces iOS 8.0.1, which was on the AppStore for only a few hours yesterday before being pulled amid complaints of dropped calls and bother with TouchID. Early installers report 8.0.1 is hunky dory.

As bendgate fades, some on social media are offering more general advice:

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT put a Mac Book pro in your pocket! pic.twitter.com/HUwXZd2CZD

— Brad Colbow (@bradcolbow) September 25, 2014

iPhone 6 'bending out of shape,' dropped calls with iOS 8.0.1 update (WITH VIDEO)

Sept 25: Apple faces a potential problem with it new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, just a day before the new models' official release in NZ.

A rash of images, plus a video (below) have appeared on Twitter, with people claiming the iPhone 6 Plus is bending just from being carried around in front pockets.

"It's thought that the issue is simply because the 6 Plus is so much larger and thinner than previous phones, that the aluminum case simply doesn't have enough strength proportional to its length," The Independent reports.

However, it's not clear if a meaningful number of people have suffered the problem — or how many have stuffed the 6 Plus into their back pocket, where it could not reasonably be expected to stand a person's bodyweight as they plonked their bum on a chair. A #bendgate hashtag on Twitter has been overwhelmed with joke photos rather than genuine examples of phones being genuinely bent.

A spokeswoman for Apple Australia-New Zealand told NBR the company had no comment.

A person familiar with the situation said, "It's an aluminium and glass device. There's obviously a limit to the amount of weight that can be put on it."

Separately, Apple quickly withdrew an incremental upgrade to iOS 8 earlier today, citing technical issues (iOS 8 is the software that runs iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch).

A Bloomberg report says multiple iPhone users were complaining about dropped calls or the Touch ID fingerprint scanner not working after the upgrade.