In what seems to be a new tradition surrounding iPhone launches, users have found a troubling flaw with Apple's latest hardware: The long, thin metal chassis seems to be prone to bending. A number of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus owners have encountered this unintended flexibility, and have posted pictures of their wounded devices online. One brave reviewer even posted a video of him bending it with his bare hands, showing it doesn't have to be hit by a car or forcefully sat on to produce the effect.
Whether this is a widespread problem or one experienced by a small minority and amplified by social media is difficult to tell at this point. The highest-profile launch problem in iPhone history is unquestionably "Antennagate," which turned out to be a real (though not disastrous) design flaw with the iPhone 4; only time will tell the severity of "Bendgate," as this new issue was quickly dubbed. It's worth noting that iPhones (and other metal phones, like the HTC One) have bent before but it never evolved into an epidemic. NBC News contacted Apple for comment but we have not heard back.
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