Apple started this week on a pretty good note. After all, the company sold over 10 million new iPhones in the first weekend of sales. Apple said the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus set a record for first weekend iPhone sales, surpassing last year’s mark of nine million units when the iPhone 5S and 5C went on sale.
Then along came complaints from users that their new iPhones were being bent as a result of being in their pockets for long periods of time. And so began #bendgate.
Apple was having a pretty good week. And then #bendgate happened...Click To TweetFirst, people mocked the phone:
The All New iPhone 6 Plus + 1 Week Edition! http://t.co/a9UptRbrhY via @gadgetloveit #BendGate pic.twitter.com/v0L5YfRIoc
GADGETLOVE (@gadgetloveit) September 24, 2014
Then they suggested new products, like the iRoller:
Apple introduces iRoller #apple #bendgate #iphone6 #funny pic.twitter.com/W8tHiYHPUy ChillNite.com (@ChillNite) September 24, 2014
Which was followed up by jokes about Apple’s executive team:
Apple’s new corporate structure as a result of #bendgate pic.twitter.com/HejbxP2fFU Jerry Swiatek (@jswiatek) September 26, 2014
What I found interesting was that the jokes weren’t just coming from ordinary people. Brands got in on it, too: From Samsung:
Curved. Not bent. #GALAXYNoteEdge pic.twitter.com/OTPIYlI07f Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) September 25, 2014
From Heineken:
Dear Apple #BendGate pic.twitter.com/XJ8zVEUog9 Heineken NL (@Heineken_NL) September 25, 2014
From KitKat:
We don’t bend, we #break. #bendgate #iPhone6plus pic.twitter.com/uippCg4kCi KITKAT (@KITKAT) September 24, 2014
It should be noted that KitKat is the name of the current version of the Android operating system, which means the KitKat carries a bit more of a sting than the others.
KitKat's #bendgate tweet is especially funny given that it's the name of the new Android OS.Click To TweetNo Internet meme would be complete without an ecard:
Flex plan: http://t.co/eZCH4XBL8t (via @lovegravy) #bendgate pic.twitter.com/gTIqP5UJpv someecards (@someecards) September 24, 2014
Apple broke their silence today, claiming they had only received 9 complaints from people about their bent iPhones.
The company said that both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus had met or exceeded tests for product strength and durability. My guess is that “hours crammed in a user’s skinny jeans” will now be added to a phone’s durability tests.