The heat is on. Apple introduced its new iPhone 6 and consumers are ready to put it to the test. What is the real story on the new Apple iPhone 6?
In the first six days of sales,
nine customers contacted Apple with a bent iPhone 6 units (out of approximately
10 million sold initially.)
Several outside sources decided
to see how much pressure was needed to permanently bend the iPhone 6.
According to Anthony Wing Kosner,
a contributor for Quantum of Content and
Innovtions in User Experience, given enough force, the iPhone 6 Plus will
bend but the amount of force required ranges from 90 to 110 pounds. The difference is if you are looking for it
to bend or actually cause full screen separation, an unlikely event with
everyday use. The smaller, thicker iPhone
5 did even better and showed no noticeable deformation up to 130 pounds.
One thing that was discovered
during the testing performed by Consumer
Reports is that the new iPhone cannot withstand as much abuse as last
year’s model. The tests performed by
Apple and Consumer Reports are
probably not of the same magnitude.
Testing performed by Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy, in the video that went viral, demonstrate that it is
not indestructible.
The video shows two separate
tests were shown together, explaining the inconsistency in the time delay, that
was due to the photography was overexposed; therefore, a second photograph was
taken and “meshed” with the first. The
video may have been doctored, but it is not a fake. It does not provide conclusive evidence of
the failure that was indicated. This is a case of everyone being right to some
degree, but talking about different effects and tests. Apparently, if you look closely at the video,
Hilsenteger is using advance knowledge to position his thumbs specifically on
the weakest point, not centered in the width of the phone as most users
would. This weakness is a serious issue
that Apple needs to address, but it is not the “Black Swan” that people tried
to make it out.
The potential problem is Apple’s
response. There was not much of one.
Apple gave a press release to the
Wall Street Journal, with the following snippets. “…iPhones are designed, engineered and
manufactured to be both beautiful and sturdy.” “…meet or exceed all of our high
quality standards to endure everyday, real life use.” “With normal use, a bend
in an iPhone is extremely rare.”
Dan Riccio, of Apple, stated (The
iPhone 6) is “the most tested product we have ever done.” Apple conducted a tour (for journalists) of
the product testing facility, usually strictly off-limits, where iPhones are
put through a series of tests. These
tests including scenarios designed to simulate sitting on a phone in a back
pocket, leaning into a small rigid object, and twisting the unit.
Nextweb.com contacted Apple’s
support chat room, asking about getting a replacement for a bent phone under warranty. They were told that the phones could be taken
into an Apple store where an Apple Store Genius (support personnel) conduct a
“Visual Mechanical Inspection that the device will have to pass. If not, the replacement would be a paid
one.” The person also stated that Apple
is “looking into this with an insane amount of detail.”
Apple has positioned itself as an
innovative, solution oriented company. However,
when you visit apple.com, there is no mention of any problem, the press release
quoted above (even when you search the press release page,) nor is there any
footage of the testing process as shown to the journalists. This seems underwhelming, and without
commentary, dissenters are bound to continue trying to find chinks in Apple’s
armor, and throngs of people will use these opportunities to continue building
hype.
The release of any new Apple product is always
strife with controversy. Is that due to
jealousy?
Apple fans are loyal; they love
Apple’s innovative spirit and ingenuity.
Apple has made technology “hip” enough to convince people that Apple
products are worth “lining up for”.
While some people claim that some of Apple’s newest gadgets are just
junk, Apple junkies, undaunted, are eagerly awaiting the next greatest
invention.
Dear Apple:
Begin to repair the
damage by gaining control of the spotlight.
Acknowledge the extremely small percentage of problems openly, and
remind consumers why they purchased an iPhone to begin with. Remind consumers that defects occur, even in
Apple, but the company stands behind their products when there are issues. Then, focus some of that creativity and
inspiration in rebutting the naysayers directly. The controversy has not gone away, and
ignoring it has not produced any results.
Here is one suggestion, for free:
This is 10,000,000 iPhone 6 sold. This is the number of bent phones. This is a gate.
(Hint:
shown in red in the leaf)
Karen Boggs
Laura McCormack
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