Foxconn CEO Says iPhone 6 “Bendgate” Is Nonsense

Foxconn Technology Co Ltd (TPE:2354)’s chief executive Terry Gou isn’t taking the iPhone 6 Plus “Bendgate” controversy lying down. Of note, Foxconn is a major supplier and contract manufacturer for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Earlier this week, Gou mocked the idea that the iPhone Plus has a problem with bending, and claimed competitors were creating the controversy.“How can a phone bend? This was all caused by distortions from competitors. Don’t blindly listen to it,” he said in a video clip.

In the video, Gou, was shown in the news footage using an iPhone 6 Plus. “Hands are made to shake hands, not for bending,” he commented, hitting back at the videos circulating the web showing users bending the new iPhone 6 Plus just using their bare hands.

Back in June, Gou also mocked new rival phones with curved screens. “People are talking about, wow, displays that can transform, but they forget that you have to be able to use the device,” Gou quipped.

Details on “Bendgate”

Bendgate erupted back in September shortly after the iPhone 6 launch when pictures and videos were posted to the Internet supposedly showing how the iPhone 6 Plus could be easily bent while sitting in a user’s pocket or by being bent by hand. The topic went viral and major smartphone manufacturing rivals such as Samsung and LG mocked Apple through social media over the controversy.

Apple replied to the situation by saying the complaints were overblown, and that warping in the iPhone 6 Plus was extremely rare.

Apple statement on Bendgate

Apple eventually issued a statement about the iPhone 6 bending controversy saying the issue is very rare during real world use, and, moreover, the company has only received complaints from nine customers to date. The tech titan also noted that the “new iPhones feature steel/titanium inserts to reinforce stress locations and use the strongest glass in the industry.” Apple did not deny that the device could be bent, but said that bending is “extremely rare” during normal use.