Here’s a word of caution for all new owners of Apple’s very pretty flagship smartphone, the iPhone 5. Despite the many criticisms it has had to face since its launch in September, it is still breaking sales records left right and centre, with the last one being in China, where it managed to sell 2 million units in a single weekend. However, as the iPhone reaches more consumers, there was bound to be accidents with the device – but this is pretty impressive.

A spate of cases in China is setting a new trend for careless handling of smartphones, where reports are emerging that users are accidentally bending their iPhone 5 when sitting down with their phones in their back pocket. Carelessness aside, we’re pretty surprised that despite the chassis bending awkwardly, the glass – and more importantly, the iPhone itself – does not appear to be perturbed by the change in viewing angle at all. It seems that the cause of the chassis being prone to bending may be due to the aluminium – a soft metal – used for the frame.

Update: it has come to our attention that the images featured on the source site may have been a hoax, and remains unconfirmed.

(Source: Pocketnow)

P/S: A reminder: you could still take part in our Belkin iPhone 5 Case giveaway. Today’s the last day of submissions, though, so those who have yet to submit your entries, please do so!