Yes, the aluminum iPhone 6 and 6 Plus will bend if put under too much pressure, because physics

There aren't any

Not hard to find. The first hit in Google was this: http://forums.androidcentral.com/htc-one-m8/381873-bent-m8.html

10 million people didn't or probably haven't purchased the HTC One M8 either. Even if a phone is made of steel and not aluminum, it will bend of you apply enough pressure. This will blow over soon, just like every year. Sent from the iMore App

still so much better than having the risk of exploding ....
http://www.ibtimes.com/samsung-galaxy-explosion-5-times-galaxy-devices-h... http://miami.cbslocal.com/2014/04/16/exploding-cell-phone-battery-injure...
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/samsung-galaxy-s2-explodes-girls... http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4532397,00.html http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2285688/samsung-galaxy-s4-repor... http://www.ibtimes.co.in/samsung-galaxy-s4-explosion-burns-down-apartmen...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2331945/Owner-claims-Samsung-Gal... http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/26113370/texas-girls-samsung-phone-ex........

Battery's explode; it can happen to any phone.

Yeah because this never happens to iphones does it!?!?! this silly site is blocking my links but google "iphone catches fire"

While you pointing that HTC don't make sales as much as an iPhone, at the M8 don't bend in your pockets. Metal bends, what a shocker! But with the so called premium iDevice, one would expect more.

I'm going straight to the insult! You are fkn stupid! Expect more from what? Physics? My phone dropped and that nice screen made out of glass broke....I expected more for this premium device. I don't care that it's glass, apple should have gone into quantum physics and created a glass that doesn't break when it hits the metal floor! I don't care that the goal was to make it light, they should have made if heavier and out of adamantium like Wolverines claws so that it wouldn't bend because I don't want physics to apply to me. As for the HTC, it's aluminum...and much fkn thicker idiots! The dumbing down of america, here you are, at it's best.

That's why my Q10 has a stainless steel frame and a carbon fibre / glass weave back. The new BlackBerry Passport: also stainless steel frame. (yeah, I know, it's got no apps apparently... :-) ) Durability over a few grammes saved...

CrackBerry??, NO!!!!! Sent from the iMore App

I heard that women actually prefer the slight bend!
http://goo.gl/E0VBN1

It has everything to do with geometry.
((Edit: Material choice matters, always. But material has to work together with the geometry it's been shaped into. The choice of aluminum here isn't the limiting factor. The geometric design of the aluminum chassis is.))
Nobody uses pure aluminum for general purpose manufacturing. They use aluminum alloys instead. And the alloys themselves are incredibly diverse.
You can get extremely rigid alloys that will be incredibly difficult to bend even in thin structures prone to bending (such as 7075), but the disadvantage of that is difficulty of machining (and often welding too). This type is dominantly used in transportation industry (automotive, marine, aircraft, etc). Manufacturers take the additional manufacturing costs in order to reap the great strength-to-density ratio.
And then there are buttery soft alloys that are extremely easy to machine (3031 for instance), even manually, but they're also way too deformable to be useful for any load bearing purposes. I don't have too much experience with these, but they're cheap, and generally a good choice for decorative uses.
Apple uses anodized 6000 series aluminum (most likely 6061, possibly a tempered variant like -T4 edit: apparently it's 6003, which is similar to 6061 in properties). This is a good compromise between the extremes, and is the most ubiquitous aluminum alloy out there. It's got good mechanical properties, easy to machine, easy to weld. Their choice of material was correct in this case.
The problem with the iPhone 6 chassis comes from something we call "stress concentration" in engineering and this phenomenon is related to the geometry of an object. More specifically, it has to do with the cross section profile that is being bent.
If you watch the bending test video, you'll notice that iPhone 6 bent exactly at the root of the volume buttons. And if you look even more closely, you'll notice that the bending is actually on just one side -- the side of the volume buttons. The opposite side is actually mostly unscathed.
This is because the cross section area of the bending profile decreases dramatically right at that point. They have cut out a hole to accommodate the volume buttons, and when under loading, the internal stresses of the structure are being concentrated at the base of this cutout. So when the structure fails, it fails at that point. The lower cross section area decreases the resistance to bending, and makes it possible to bend the chassis at a lower applied force than what it would take otherwise, had the volume buttons not been there (but of course they have to be there).
The result here wouldn't have changed if Apple had used plastic in place of aluminum. In fact, it probably would have been worse. Typically phone manufacturers use brittle plastic in their devices (ductile plastic is the kind that feels really cheap and terrible), so the chassis would have broken entirely at the same point. They could have avoided the issue, maybe, if they opted for steel or a tougher aluminum alloy but then you run into other problems and have to retool essentially your entire product line.
The reason why Galaxy Note 3 passes the bending test doesn't have anything to do with the material it's made out of. It has everything to do with the internal geometry of the chassis. The internal magnesium alloy chassis (which isn't any better than aluminum as a material) has an I-beam cross section that is great against bending, and it's further sandwiched between two shells, which are in this case plastic. It's reinforced very thoroughly, to the point where human-applied forces cannot bend the device beyond its "elastic range" (this is the deformation range within which the device can recover to its original state when loads are removed).
Apple could have designed the aluminum chassis in a way that would accomplish the exact same thing, and if they had, people wouldn't be mistakenly criticizing the aluminum here. They would just be talking about how nice the material feels to the touch (because it does, and yes, it is "premium" much more so than plastic). Unfortunately, they fucked it up. Again, it's all in the geometry.
Edit: Some more detail because people are pointing out the magnesium alloy internal chassis in Note 3, even though the material is not what makes the difference.
I didn't write this but wanted to share.

Sure, aluminum bends if enough pressure is applied. But for a phone that, for most people, will be moving around in your pockets every day and could, in normal daily use, be subjected to pressure here and there... Maybe aluminum wasn't the best choice. Also, the HTC One (both models) is made of machined aluminum and some have reported bending as well. If you can live with a bend, great, if not, look elsewhere.

No. Aluminium needs quite a bit of force to bend, even in an item this thin. The people in question are idiots. You would have to have it in your very tight back pocket of your jeans (a stupid move to begin with), then bend over or crouch down many times, or sit for a long period without removing it (another really silly move) for this to happen. Personally, I think the bent phones are kind of cool and I don't see a big problem with them, but to blame this on anyone but the owner is just wrong. Stupid is as stupid does.

So you are saying the author is an idiot since he has no idea when his phone got bent? And you think bent phones are cool. Figures. Were cracked glass backs cool as well? Face it, aluminum is a stupid material to build a phone out of just like glass was. Its only redeeming quality is appearance. And even then, it only stays looking nice if you put a case on it.

It's for lightness also. And anybody who doesn't take care of $700 + possessions deserves a bent phone. It's a fine choice for materials for non idiots. If they used stainless steel and it was too heavy for the average limp wristed mouth breather it would be a bitch fest then too. Sent from the iMore App

That's ridiculous. Cell phones are devices that need to survive a lot of handling, an occasional drop, motion, weather and impact. A back pocket is not an extreme scenario for a phone, it's a common one. It's where people have been putting their cell phones since they were invented and became small enough to fit back there. To blame the user for putting their phone where they always have is ridiculous. It's like blaming a car owner for driving in the snow after their iCar snaps in two when a kid throws a snowball at it.

Have you seen the kind of pants people (mostly kids) are wearing these days?!? You get the kids that wear the super tight "Skinny Jeans" that make anything in your pocket protrude like a vacuum sealed sausage. Then they ask why it bends... scenesters.

Apple should have considered normal use in their design. If it can damage in the front pocket from bending then the design is flawed. They test these things and should know better. Obviously a design flaw in my opinion. Stick to more robust phones.

Lol agreed. And seriously, how hard does someone's ass have to be to bend a friggin phone. In all seriousness, a lot of people don't take cre of their stuff. My nephew breaks a phone every month or so. He is rough as hell on it, refuses to put it in a case, and then complains because it breaks in some manner. Sent from the iMore App

Refusing to put a case on it and breaking you phone is one thing, but this is just a case of physics as the author states. The iPhone 6+ is a very large aluminum phone. Pressure in your pocket is the force and the larger footprint of the phone acts as a lever on the weak points in the aluminum back causing these bends. This is obviously a design flaw and probably could have been mitigated by internally reenforcing the phone with steel. Plus who wants a 6 inch phone anyway. So big its inconvenient.

Seems that Samsung has been making big phones for a long time, and selling a lot of them. Never heard about a them bending. Physics excuse is crap. Physics did not change because Apple made a bigger phone. Author says Iphone 5's bent too, but it was never news worthy like this. No excuse for Apple. This is a screwup for a company with a reputation to keep. A little credit is due to Android manufacturers because maybe, just maybe they got the large thin phone design right, and Apple just got it wrong. Apple will still sell a gazillion of these phones because it is all some people will consider.

Yes and no. To date the large android phones have been plastic, which can bend and retain the original shape. I think even the note 4 has a plastic back with metal frame. Am I saying it is the consumer's fault, hell no. I think Apple should have made the phone a little chunkier, and thereby gotten rid of the protruding camera lens, in order to make it stronger. I in no way wear skinny jeans, only the most relaxed of relax fit for me, but at times when bending or squatting down to look at something, I have had enough pressure that Siri goes off in my pocket, though that might be related somehow to the lifeproof case I have on it.

You have the Best post in here! Sent from the iMore App

Umm what?? Wait, phone bend over time?? Yet to notice that with the iPod touch, don't expect it with iPhone 6 either. I know it's obvious that alumninum will bend, but honestly, what the hell do with their phones that will result it to go that far??

I had one of the first 100,000 iPhone 4s that had been sold. I can positively assure you there was little overblown about the antenna issue.
It may not have affected every phone, but it was a demonstrable design flaw. That said, Oh My God the metal bends??? BURN THEM!!

That's because the iPhone 4s addressed the issue. It was the iPhone 4 with the new design that actually was the problem. I did experience the issue with the antenna, and believe me when you see the signal strength on your phone drop before your eyes down to no service when you are standing next to a microcell and your call drops, it is an issue. The only way I could use the phone reliably for making calls was to use a case. That said, I put the case on and moved on. Putting a phone in your back pocket is just a bad idea, I don't care how it's designed. Glass, metal, plastic, or wood, nothing good can come from sitting on your phone..

Personally, I've put phones in my back pocket for the last 20 years or so. I've never broken a phone, or had one die in any way, save for battery death. I've been treating my iPhone 6 the exact same way as all my previous phones(last phone was a 4S), in my back pocket. Sitting on it a lot when at my desk and sometimes in the car. After reading these reports, I did a test with my phone for a bend, putting it on its side to use it like a ruler to draw a straight line. It's as straight as a ruler. If it bends, I have a replacement plan for it and I'll use it, but I won't be buying another aluminum frame phone for my next phone. One of the reasons I stayed with iOS after my first iPhone(the 4S, which I got after a terrible experience with an android phone that made me miss my Treo 750p), is because when I use it, it does what I need it to do and I don't have to think about the phone itself, I can just stay focused on whatever it is I'm working on with it. The phone does not require my attention, only the things I use it for, which can not be said for a certain other platform I had the misfortune of trying. If I have to treat it extra special and change the way I've always worked and behaved with phones to keep it in working order, then that zen that I've come to love about using iPhones will be damaged. I'm hoping this isn't going to be the case though. I always read about alleged problems with iPhones that neither myself, nor anyone I know with them ever experiences, but they're always made to sound like they're epic scandals hitting everyone. So part of me isn't convinced this is going to be the big wide spread problem the current hype elsewhere is making it out to be. But if there is a problem with this phone bending, Apple needs to step up, extend warranties, stand behind the product, and look into titanium frames or something if they're going to stay at this thickness or go even thinner. Part of me is concerned that it might be an issue, given that there isn't a single aluminum frame phone I know of that I can't find examples of being bent online. That's worrisome.

No microwave it

On my 5s, that I baby incessantly, keep in a case, and put forth extraneous effort to keep safe from torsional force application, one day during a road trip I grabbed it from the car mount and noticed it was extremely hot through the case. I put it in my front pocket and walked into a restaurant. That was my cardinal sin. That was enough to bend the metal frame on the left side leaving visible damage to the metal at the pivot point just below the down volume button. I never subjected my phone to my back pocket ever, I never dropped it, and it was literally in mint condition just prior. The heat from charging it and using it for gps navigation was enough to soften the aluminum to where it would bend. Fortunately Apple replaced it, but don't presume the bending is abuse. I see it as design flaw, something should be looked into. Failure isn't a feature, just a failure.

You're charging it wrong. Posted via the iMore App for Android

Actually, the correct response should have been "Just avoid charging it in that way"

Actually, using it as GPS is likely the culprit, though charging it does get a phone warm; so it probably didn't help.. specifically the SUN, while using it as a GPS gets any phone VERY hot on the dash. Cases usually act as insulators too.. So, yeah.. I've had my phone just shut down while on the dash from heat. I don't do that anymore. ;) I keep it high at visor level or low in front of a air conditioned vent; especially in summer.

Come on guys! I am sure that everything inside an iPhone would have burn completely well before its aluminium case becomes soft (and bendy) from heat. As for bending an iPhone 6 by "pushing it up against your leg, which contains a hard-as-concrete femur bone that's up to 2 inches thick" (as suggested by Derek Kessler) you'd have to wear reinforced steel and titanium trousers AND be imune to pain, for goodness sake...

I had to return my iPhone 5s as out of the box it was bent, and like your experience you could see the precise point just below to volume button where the bend had occurred. I have a 6 Plus now and I'd already figured that there is potential for it to get bent, especially if in a tight pocket. Sent from the iMore App

Your iPhone 6 Plus won't bend if you get a cover, like the ones they sell on http://giveandstyle.com/store/?___store=en_us

But it bends so elegantly. Posted via the iMore App for Android

Will be curious to see how widespread this is under "normal" use. Only time will tell if it is ultimately a design flaw or just a handful of few unsound units which is bound to happen with anything mass produced. Sent from the iMore App

No. It will never be a "design flaw" as that suggest that Apple did something wrong that makes the phone bend when pressure is applied. Clearly this isn't the case. What "time will tell" is whether or not there will be any PR blowback about this. The facts are already established and logically, there is no fault.

The design flaw in the case is human silliness. I've seen HTC's come into the store bent, iPhones, iPads ... Some asus transformer tablets. Anything metal will bend ... The only reason we didn't see it happen with smaller iPhones was.. well they are smaller.. So I guess you could say the larger size is a 'design' flaw? ROFL!

Working at a cellshop too here. I had both the M7 and M8 from HTC.
Sit on it all the time and droped them a lots and i dont use a case.
Phone never bend and only has some mark on the aluminium from the drop. Sure an HTC will bend if you go over the board like you weight 300 lbs or something lol.
But even a 10 year old child who sit on an iphone 6 or 6+ can bend it..
Thats the difference.

This is the dumbest thing I've ever read, but you work in a phone store... If you make something bigger, you reinforce it to compensate so it will function the same or better under the same usage circumstances. People have been putting phones in pockets for 20 years. Now that apple makes a bigger phone they're supposed to magically know that's no longer safe. Right.

Science! It knows stuff! Sent from the iMore App

Why is there always such snark every time somebody posts an issue with an Apple product? Yes, aluminum bends. So what? Does that make it unreasonable for a consumer to expect a product most frequently stored in a pocket be engineered to withstand the stresses in that pocket? Or should purchasers of the phone "for the rest of us" research the bending strength of Apple's particular mixture and thickness of aluminum as well as the force exerted by denim and khaki when stretched taut? Dropping is a ludicrous comparison, because dropping is an accident. Carrying in a pocket is the sort of use Apple needs to design for, because they know customers are expecting to do it. Everyday. The fact that customers need to be careful with expensive purchases does not excuse the manufacturer from shortcomings when that purchase is used in entirely foreseeable ways. As Gruber noted, maybe this is why Samsung uses plastic on their "big-ass" phones; it looks worse, but handles that stress better. Edit: Full disclosure; I keep my 6+ in my front pocket, and take it out when I sit down.

In this blogosphere, it's apparently impossible for writers to have a negative opinion about the tribe they've aligned themselves with. Just imagine, for a second, the snark pieces that would be written by Apple bloggers had the new Galaxy Alpha suffered from this bending problem first.

The galaxy alpha is not even half metal. Just a metal rim does not make it metal. It is a plastic phone with a metal rim. Whereas iPhone is a metal phone only. So, yes, if a plastic phone bends and remains that way, then that is a flaw

Well put. My Surface RT has a slight bend in it as well from normal use and it's slippery to hold. Soft touch plastic is the best choice for phone and tablet backs. Period.

Agreed. I don't think anyone is surprised that aluminum bends. What surprises people is that it is possible this high end phone can't safely be carried in a way that phones are commonly carried. On the other hand, this may just be a few isolated incidents, and it may be the iPhone 6 Plus is no more prone to accidental damage than other phones are.

I don't agree with snark but I understand why it happens. There have been more then a few comments that Apple wasn't late to the phablet party, instead, Apple waited till they could do it right. I guess not. Posted via the Android iMore App!

Your iPhone 6 Plus won't bend if you get a cover, like the ones they sell on http://giveandstyle.com/store/?___store=en_us

Thank you for a well written article on this matter and for reminding everyone to think from a practical standpoint when it comes to how to care for and carry ones new shiny iPhone 6 & 6+. Think people think! Sent from the iMore App

But the author bent his IP5 and doesn't know how it happened. If he doesn't know how that happened, how will he prevent it from happening again on a larger, thinner phone?

By not keeping it in his tight jeans' backpocket.

Lol, my friends 5s is bent from her front pocket. It's not always the back guys. Posted via iMore App

Yeah, maybe he kept in his back pocket too once in his usage?

I kept both my HTC m7 and m8 in my back pocket and sit on it all the time wtf is this crap?

This article is like telling people when their battery life sucks to stop turning on the phone. Step back and take a critical look at this. This is the first bent phone story I have ever seen hit so many news sources. Not like everyone bought an iPhone and changed how they use. This is a flaw.

This is something I seen on one of my friends iphone 5 but never had a problem with my iPhone 5 bending. Yes it does make sence to me and it is possible I just hope it does not happen to my iPhone 6

best reason to get a case. this doesn't change my decision to buy the 6+. i was planning on getting a case and a screen protector anyways.
Good information to have though

That's why I need a case+holster combo. Especially for a 6+.
Case to protect the device from drops and the holster to carry it.

The best phone in the world,it shouldn't bend! And for €900 off contract,I shouldn't have to or need to be careful every time I put it in my pocket(where all phones live). With all the amazing engineering that went into it to make it thinner,surely some amazing engineering should have gone into it to not make it bend! Sent from the iMore App

This is one of the reasons I bought a Nokia Lumia 920. I got fed up of having to have a case and a screen protector, so I bought a device I don't have to curate. In 20 months or so use I've dropped it 3 times, but you'd be hard pressed to find where it landed. There are no bumps or humps to trip the fingers or areas where weight is concentrated, so I feel confident handling the device. Apple could learn a lot about design from Nokia and also Microsoft's Surface products. Their robustness make them practical for day to day use, while features like tap to wake, Glance and Live Tiles make the devices more responsive and pleasurable to use. By comparison, my iPad seems dull and uninformative.

Is nice that Google spreads news of this kind as end-of-the-world, earth-shattering developments, and then Apple proceeds to bury it under a shroud of irrelevance, those companies have the best oiled PR and smear campaigners around. If a Blackberry or a Lumia bended, then you would see The Verge, Pocketnow, Android Central or even here on iMore all the shills making a huge deal out of it, making it to be yet another pitiful failure of MS or Blackberry, and saying that only Android/Apple products work.

+1 Sent from the iMore App

Google is not writing the news story. iMore wrote this one. And when Apple competitors have problems, I would say it is far less publicized because far fewer people are seeing it happen. Much more should be expected of Apple because Apple/Apple apologizers are so critical of any flaw in the competition.

Is there a reason, other than weight, that they use aluminum over stainless steel? Price, maybe? Posted via iMore App

milling stainless steel is slow (expensive)!

There is a reason that good safes have a thick sheet of stainless steel in them. Stainless is a pain to cut through. So, yeah Apple *could* figure out a way to shape stainless, but it would take much longer than aluminum. I will say if they made the 6/6+ out of stainless.... wow that would be awesome!

The argument you've made here is analogous to "don't drive your car on a road, because a tire could pop"; as opposed to "don't drive your car over nails because a tire could pop"--which is what I think you intended.

So after a quick google search i found posts with pics of the exact same thing on iphone 5 when it came out.
Also found one about the galaxy s5, not bending but cracking in pocket. Nothing new here, just more cases of people not caring for the phones..... Or too many people wear skinny jeans. Sent from the iMore App

Not surprising that most tips for users of Apple products rank in the 'common-fking-sense' category for everybody else?!

It's an expensive phone. Take care of it. It's that simple. People saying "an expensive phone shouldn't bend" is like saying a Ferrari shouldn't dent if you drive it into a post. Sent from the iMore App

Driving a car into a post and having a phone in a pocket is completely different. If you drive anything into a post it will damage. A phone which is meant to be put in pockets shouldn't damage so easily. Driving a car into a post isn't a normal thing to do, putting a phone in a pocket is. Posted via the iMore App for Android

It totally the same. If you have something expensive you don't put it in a place where it can break. Just because the iPhone is a bit more expensive than a galaxy note doesn't mean it should take the weight of someone butt while in their back pocket! The longer a bridge is the more reinforcement it needs and a phone with the dimensions of the iPhone 6+ or a Samsung Galaxy note etc are going to bend under too much strain purely because of the length of them. Sent from the iMore App

It really isn't the same. Products should be designed for how they are used. People intentionally carry their phones in their pockets as a matter of course. People don't park their cars by driving them into posts. Phones should bend in your pocket the way that Ferrari's should bend in garages.

Wow you seriously think putting a phone in a pocket is the same as driving a car into a post. Again driving a car into a post isn't normal and will damage any car. Putting a phone in a pocket is normal and should not damage a phone. How can something be built so well which supposedly the iPhones are yet it can't survive in a pocket. Posted via the Android iMore App!

So the ones who bent in the front pocket what then? Your argument is terrible. If you read the article, some of these instances are from being in a front pocket, aka not being sat on. And it's not anything like driving a car into a pole... Sent from the iMore App

Driving into a post is NOT the intended use for a Ferrari. The correct analogy would be driving a Ferrari down the road you will bend the wheels. Because they are prone to bending with regular and intended use. I'm guessing that your iPhone would also bend if it smashed into a post. Sent from the iMore App

Nah its more like : Ferrari paint should not dent when you drive it on the road.. As putting a cellphone in ya pocket is something everyone normaly do!

This site literally will defend apple regardless of anything. Don't put it in your front pockets, don't do this etc. Seriously putting a phone in front pocket which is a normal thing to do should not lead to phones bending easily. If it's that easy to bend just by being in a pocket I wonder how it past there stress test if they did one at all. You guys literally give apple a pass in everything. Posted via the iMore App for Android

So basically Apple wanting to look pretty comes at a cost of durability of the phone. Come on people that should not be surprising. Apple is very much a form over function company.

Wow, I thought Apple was all about not doing something until they could do it right? That's been espoused endlessly on iMore. Yet here they are, the first to market with the thinnest metal phone, and there's a serious issue. Something that's meant to be in your pocket should only bend like this under extreme force. Maybe make it a little thicker next time so it withstands pressure a bit more, doesn't have the camera protruding, and it can hold a larger battery too?

+1 Sent from the iMore App

Might just be why no one else went this thin with an aluminum phone. Might just be why other phones have a curve to the back.

I'd rather have to deal with a possibility of bending over cracked glass. I never put my phone in my back pocket anyway. That just seems like you're asking for trouble. Easy fix though - Just turn the phone around in your back pocket and crouch again. It should bend back the other way and be straight again. Of course I on't know how many times this will work before the Aluminum cracks.

Apple's Comment "We've invented the iSquat to fix the bentgate issue found in the Jobsent 6 & 6+" Posted via iMore App

Maybe if they made it thicker and put a bigger battery in it it wouldn't be as pliable. I like the new iphones overall, but apple dropped the ball in terms of battery life and durability Posted via the iMore App for Android

Agree. Make it thicker, larger battery and no bulging camera lens Sent from the iMore App

"Do not put your phone in your back pocket" Really? Given that putting a phone in one's back pocket is a *super* common thing for phone-having people to do, maybe "have it be able to be put in a back pocket" should have been one of the design constraints. (Do not taunt happy fun iPhone.)

just because it's common doesn't mean it's smart

Right. Don't use the phones the way *you* want to, use them the way *we* tell you to. Because we know best.

No, use them and treat them like the $600 to $1000 devices they are. I would love to be able to take it in the shower with me. I don't because that would be stupid. Same thing with putting the phone in my back pocket. I don't because if I forget it's in there and sit on it and bend it or crack the screen it's not the phone's fault or Apple's fault, it's my fault for being stupid. It's a phone, not a cushion. Not a wallet that can flex. A phone. Take care of it like you would any other high dollar device. If you think your back pocket is a good place to keep your 5" device, you deserve what happens to it when it's back there.

If I'm gonna drop not-so-few hundreds of dollars on a phone, I want to be able to carry it around in my pocket without having to worry that normal, everyday use (which pocketing is, and showering ain't) is going to mess it up. Being able to carry this tiny amazing computing device in one's pocket is kind of the point. Not being able to do that is a design flaw.

I suppose scratches on the screen and aluminum from coins and keys in your pocket is a design flaw too. It's not. That's what cases and screen protectors are for. If you don't mind scratches you don't protect it with a case. Likewise, if you don't treat the device appropriately for what it is, what happens to it is on you. You put it where it's appropriate. And hey, more power to you if you want to put it in your back pocket or front pocket or wherever. Back pocket is just a bad idea. Front pocket is better, but you still need to be careful how it's situated when you sit down. Or hey, take it out of your pocket when you sit down. It's simply not Apple's fault if people treat their devices poorly. On the bright side, maybe this'll be the beginning of the end of skinny jeans.