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Apple’s new iPhones are heavier, thicker, and stronger

Apple’s new iPhones are heavier, thicker, and stronger

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Bend no more?

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Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are still some of the best phones on the market today, but are dogged by a particular design flaw: they bend. Last year, numerous early adopters (and even Verge reporters) discovered that the devices bent over time, culminating in a weeks-long dustup known as #Bendgate.

Update: Read the Apple iPhone 6S review.

While the furor quickly died down, Apple may have taken the complaints to heart. At today's event in San Francisco, the company stated that the new iPhones are made out of reportedly stronger 7000 series aluminum, the same material used in the Apple Watch. While Apple chiefs never spoke directly to the controversy, the material change will hopefully prevent the devices from bending in a back pocket.

Apple went on the offensive in the wake of Bendgate last year, inviting journalists to its Cupertino testing facility to prove that the 6 and 6 Plus could weather normal scenarios that would cause it to bend. The company line at the time was that any phone, when put under enough stress, could bend. Still, Apple would certainly much rather not have to make that point ever again. It's still not clear if the change will address the complaints, so we'll have to put the phones through their paces to see how they fare after everyday use. Still, if Apple took a moment to call out its new materials, it hopefully means something.

Correction: An earlier version of this story implied that the iPhone 6S was heavier because of 7000 series aluminum. While it is slightly more dense, the new display is the primary culprit.

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