[Update @ 5:14pm] Samsung’s official blog has released a video refuting Square Trade’s video, claiming that the video may mislead consumers. More below.
The 7mm thin Samsung Galaxy S6 edge can be bent under concentrated pressure, just like the iPhone 6 Plus. Who would have expected that?
The iPhone 6 Plus “#Bendgate” fiasco was another of episode that Apple would rather forget. Just like Antennagate before it, Bendgate saw more affected users than Apple would care to admit. The underlying issue that affected iPhone 6 Plus users was the fact that the device was both large and thin at the same time, causing the phone to be susceptible to bending when pressure is applied on the device.
Now, a company called Square Trade which dabbles in third-party insurance for electronic devices has attempted to fan the fires once again. Using its proprietary “BendBot”, the company conducted a “bend test” to see what amount of pressure will result in a particular device to bend. The video embedded above shows Square Trade pitting the OG bendable phone, the iPhone 6 Plus, against two new Android smartphones, the HTC One M9 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge.
The result was interesting, as the S6 edge bent and had its curved screen crack at the same amount of pressure that it takes to bend the iPhone 6 Plus (110lbs, or 49.9kg). The HTC One M9 had a “catastrophic failure” at 120 pounds (54.4kg) because not only did the phone bend at that point, it also killed the power button which rendered the device unable to work.
Square Trade claims that the S6 edge poses a larger threat to users than the iPhone 6 Plus, because the screen cracked at the point of bending. Square Trade did not, however, conduct a test on the regular Galaxy S6.
In addition, in the aftermath of the iPhone 6 Plus Bendgate fiasco, more people are aware of the risks involved in putting their phones in their back pockets. The significantly smaller S6 edge also means it’ll fit more comfortably in the front pocket.
The Square Trade video, which was only published four days ago, is fast approaching 1.2 million views. Perhaps a more valid concern should be “why is a smartphone insurance company releasing a video about the breaking point of devices that are covered by its insurance plan?”
[Update @ 5:14pm] Samsung has released a video refuting Square Trade’s claims about its Galaxy S6 edge, claiming that it “may mislead consumers about the entire durability of smartphones”. The choice of words here is especially evident of what Samsung feels is behind Square Trade’s motives for the video. In a post published on its official blog, the force applied to the S6 edge and iPhone 6 Plus that resulted in the structural breakdown (11lbs/49.9kg) “rarely occurs under normal usage”, adding that the pressure applied when a person presses the back pocket is only about 66 pounds of force, or 30kgf.
In addition, given the S6 edge’s curved display, Samsung states that some smartphones have varying durabilities on the front and back of the device. Hence, the company has not only shared a video of its own bend test, it has also called out to Square Trade to conduct the stress test again on both the front and back of the device and release its findings to the public.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKburDQAolA
(Source: Square Trade (YouTube) via SlashGear)
