What Does Bendgate Mean?
The term “bendgate” refers to the 2014 controversy involving the iPhone 6 Plus, where consumers alleged that the phone would bend in their pockets. This has led to a greater analysis of the structural design of mobile devices and of how users use them on a day-to-day basis.
Techopedia Explains Bendgate
Although bendgate began as an Apple-related controversy, it has since spread to other companies like Samsung. Now, consumers are looking much more carefully at whether mobile devices are built strong enough to withstand pressure in the field. For Apple’s part, it has adopted a rigorous testing process that involves “torsion, pressure point and three-point” tests to ensure structural integrity.
Bendgate has also led to another issue about whether the liability of a bendable phone will soon become a benefit. As engineers make rapid progress on new layers and substrates for materials, it is evident that future devices will indeed be bendable, that they will not be in the form of a rigid brick-like device, and that technology now enables things like a physical interface that can be slipped over the arm or rolled up into a tube. As these advances make their way to markets, bendgate will soon become an obsolescent term.
