iPhone 6S Users Will Not Face The Bendgate Issue [REPORT]

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It looks as if the iPhone 6s will solve one of the big problems from the previous iPhone generation. There have been few issues in the history of Apple that have generated as much headlines as Bendgate did last year. The embarrassment for Apple of seeing its premium smartphone subjected to such physical deformity must have been extremely frustrating. And it was obvious that the corporation would go to great lengths to ensure that there was no repeat of this issue when the iPhone 6s was released.

With this in mind, it has been expected for some time that Apple would make provisions to ensure that the iPhone 6s did not bend easily. And it seems that the consumer electronics giant will be making a significant upgrade to the industrial design of the iPhone 6s when it is released later this year.

Series 7000 aluminum mooted

According to Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy, the iPhone 6s will be constructed from the same durable material that was utilized in the Apple Watch earlier this year. This is nothing new as this has been predicted for sometime, but apparently Hilsenteger has been fortunate enough to acquire a copy of the rear shell for Apple’s next iPhone.

The material in question is Apple’s 7000 Series aluminum, which made its debut in the Apple Watch series in April. This stronger form of aluminum is utilized in the casing of the smartwatch, with the California-based corporation claiming that it is 60 percent stronger than standard aluminum alloys. At the same time this special form of the metal is particularly suited to mobile products as it is extremely light, yet compromises nothing in terms of durability.

If Hilsenteger is indeed correct and Apple does opt for this unique form of aluminum, it would ensure that the iPhone 6s possesses a significantly stronger frame than its predecessor. This would seem to be absolutely essential, as a repeat of the headlines that Apple was forced to endure this time last year would be little short of humiliating.

Hilsenteger has posted a video online, which he purports to be of the device in question. The legitimacy of this video has yet to be confirmed, and naturally enough there has been nothing from Apple on the subject of the 7000 Series aluminum and the iPhone 6s. But it does seem to mesh with gossip from close to the Apple supply chain that has emanated over the last few months, and would certainly make sense for the iPhone range.

Testing points to durable iPhone 6s

Having conducted tests on materials that were found inside the shell of this device, Hilsenteger concluded that the iPhone 6s contains considerably more zinc than the iPhone 6. This was the first clue for the analyst that this new smartphone would be constructed from 7000 Series aluminum, and led the Unbox Therapy analyst to test the durability of this shell further.

With the analyst curious about how the shell compares to the existing iPhone generation, Hilsenteger applied a significant amount of pressure to each component contained within the iPhone 6 unit. It seems from these tests that this new smartphone variant will be able to sustain more pressure than the existing iPhone 6.

At around 30 pounds of pressure, the iPhone 6 unit began to disintegrate near the volume buttons. Probably even the most devoted Apple fans will have little understanding of what this means. But by way of comparison, the iPhone 6s was able to sustain 80 pounds of pressure in Hilsenteger’s test. According to the analyst, this new unit only bent slightly after enduring this amount of pressure, indicating that it will have more than double the durability of the earlier iteration of this smartphone series.

How this would translate into real-world performance remains to be seen, but it does suggest that Apple has significantly and possibly adequately addressed the bending issue. With the iPhone 6s having to compete with two recent Samsung Galaxy releases, it is essential that Apple produces a unit that impresses the general public, even though the iPhone remains an incredibly popular device.

However, although there are clear advantages to using this sophisticated form of aluminum, there are also drawbacks to it as well. Incorporating this new material into the iPhone could increase the price of construction, which is something that Apple will obviously want to avoid. But it is worth noting that the recent Samsung releases that the iPhone is most obviously competing against have actually been set at relatively high price points, so this may allow Apple some room for manoeuvre.

Additionally, the 7000 Series aluminum corrodes more easily than the type of aluminum that is utilized in the existing iPhone, another headache for Apple. Undoubtedly, engineers will have learned a huge amount from putting this material into production with the Apple Watch range, and it is probable that the corrosion issue has been circumnavigated already.

Force Touch set to migrate to iPhone 6s

If the rumors from this testing turn out to be correct then the 7000 Series aluminum seems certain to be the second feature that Apple has carried over from the Apple Watch in the next generation iPhone 6s. It is also strongly expected by analysts that the Force Touch technology that made its debut in the Apple smartwatch will also be included in the iPhone 6s, as Apple looks to upgrade all of this device range with this new innovation.

Force Touch enables certain commands to be accessed by simply pressing down on a device’s buttons with differing degrees of severity.

Apple has yet to comment on any of rumors related to the iPhone 6s, as the Cupertino-based company continues to maintain his veil of secrecy ahead of a likely September release for the smartphone. As the clock ticks toward this critical date in the consumer electronics calendar, it seems increasingly unlikely that the iPhone 6s will borrow strongly from the Apple Watch in order to solve its bending issues.

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