Phone Wars: Return of the #Bendgate

Slight Bending vs Pocket Full of Glass

SquareTrade is stoking the flames of Bendgate once again, and this time Samsung's Galaxy S6 Edge is the subject. The company that specializes in gadget warranties put the Edge through a torture test using its new "Bendbot" machine to see when it would bend and ultimately cease functioning entirely under pressure. The S6 Edge began to bend once the Bendbot made it up to 110 pounds. That's the same amount of force that led to bending in Apple's iPhone 6 Plus — and we know how much controversy Cupertino dealt with over the matter. (Yes, it can bend inside your pocket.)

Likely owing to its unique curved screen, the S6 Edge's cover glass quickly cracked under that pressure, and the phone came undone completely beneath 149 pounds. The "catastrophic failure" point for iPhone 6 Plus was found to be a bit higher at 179 pounds. So yes, yet again we've learned that metal will bend under some significant weight. At the S6's unveiling, Samsung executives joked that the phone wouldn't suffer from the same build "weaknesses" as Apple's phablet, and here we are. Honestly, we wish SquareTrade had tested the regular S6 hardware; with more metal on the sides and a less fragile screen design, the end result probably would've looked different (for better or worse). Knowing the internet, someone will answer that call in a matter of days.

Will It Bend?

Does it really matter? Should you fear the bend next week as you pull out your wallet to buy one of Samsung's best smartphones ever? No, most certainly not. Take care of your stuff, or buy a case if you're that concerned. Still, Samsung might want to cut back on the bluster and smack talk a bit. Yes, their phone bends too. For those curious, SquareTrade also tested HTC's new One M9, finding that it bent at 120 pounds. Unfortunately, the bend point also led to immediate death; the phone's power button didn't survive the deformation, making the whole device unusable. Check out the video below: