Apple's shiny new iPad Pro has set a new low for durability

[mongeese]

Facepalm: It’s weaker than the iPhone 6, it’s weaker than all other iPads before it, it’s weak enough to kill by accidentally sitting it. Sure, you’re unlikely to accidentally sit on your gigantic iPad, but if you did…

JerryRigEverything put the latest iPad Pro through his arduous stress test. Things like scratch resistance were all well and good, but when it came time to apply the bend test the device came apart in his hands. And the issue isn’t unique to him, users on several online forums have reported on similar experiences as well.

One such user on Macrumors found that his iPad Pro was slightly but noticeably bent after they’d been keeping it in a backpack for a week while travelling. What’s worse is that a lot of users are reporting that theirs were bent straight out of the box - and some users even found that their replacements were bent, too. Fortunately you can simply swap out your device if it’s within Apple’s two-week return period.

*JerryRigEverything new iPad Pro bend test video*

My mind:

Don’t say it
Don’t say it
Don’t say it
Don’t say it
Don’t say it
Don’t say it
Don’t say it
Don’t say it
Don’t say it
Don’t say it
Don’t say it

Me: Apple just beat everyone to releasing a foldable device pic.twitter.com/z8w9oM2Q1K

— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) November 16, 2018

Despite his tweet, MKBHD isn’t concerned. “For the record, I don’t think it’s that much of a problem. This device will mostly live in backpacks and on tables, not accidentally bending in pockets.”

Cases have always been a necessity for iPad Pros; EverythingApplePro’s tests of previous-gen iPad Pros found that they could also be irreparably damaged barehandedly. While it would be annoying to find that your new iPad Pro had bent before you could get a case on it, as long as Apple is replacing them for free then it’s only a slight annoyance. At least Apple is one step closer to a foldable tablet (that keeps working afterwards).

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/77481-apple-shiny-new-ipad-pro-has-set-new.html

 

[gcarter]

* My optimistic self would say... "Look guys, its a slim electronic device, treat it with respect, by not sitting on it, squishing it in a backpack with other heavy items"

* My pessimistic self would say "this device is not fit for purpose, apple should do a mass re-call and strengthen this bloody thing before releasing it to the public"

 

[VitalyT]

Specially for Alien fans, the new pen sprinkles acid at you when you try to disassemble it.

I'm happy with my previous iPad Pro. This one adds nothing good, as far as I can see.

 

[Uncle Al]

LOL .... foldable yes, unfoldable ..... na baby naaaaa .....

 

[Nobina]

I'm usually not concerned over this as it's a tablet that won't be carried in pockets but when you take the price into consideration you should expect a better build.

 

[toooooot]

You see it as a new low for apple ipad, but I see it as a new high for youtuber who broke it with his bare hands. A strong man he is.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I'm usually not concerned over this as it's a tablet that won't be carried in pockets but when you take the price into consideration you should expect a better build.

You probably wont sit on it, but if you were to, oh I dont know, stick it in a backpack with other THINGS in it, you might be greeted with a flaming backback 5 minutes later.

A device being this fragile, might as well be made of tin foil.

 

[GVRanchHand]

I’m almost certain Apple will unveil a solid titanium case with carbon fiber reinforcement for merely twice the price of the device. It will ship three weeks after you’ve snapped you iPad Pro in half. Sure...there will be tears.

 

[yRaz]

It isn't that hard to engineer a strong device, this is unacceptable. My opinions of apple company policy completely aside on this one, for the price of the iPad pro and the amount of R&D dollars Apple has available to them, this is simply inexcusable.

I don't care if it is Samsung, Microsoft or any other company, an entire team of people should be fired for putting a product like this on the market. When you spend a certain amount of money there is a certain quality level to be expected with that price point.

If this was the tablet I bought at Walmart for $60, fine. Heck, I spend more than that in a night at the bar! But the idea that I'm paying $800+ for a device that will break if my dog steps on it is absurd

 

[Nobina]

It isn't that hard to engineer a strong device, this is unacceptable. My opinions of apple company policy completely aside on this one, for the price of the iPad pro and the amount of R&D dollars Apple has available to them, this is simply inexcusable.

I don't care if it is Samsung, Microsoft or any other company, an entire team of people should be fired for putting a product like this on the market. When you spend a certain amount of money there is a certain quality level to be expected with that price point.

If this was the tablet I bought at Walmart for $60, fine. Heck, I spend more than that in a night at the bar! But the idea that I'm paying $800+ for a device that will break if my dog steps on it is absurd

But it's sooo slim !!!

 

[Dimitrios]

There's a kid that runs his own Tech business in NYC I think and he seems to get a good amount of APPLE customers that get ripped off from Apple and the kid fixes APPLE products pretty cheap and seems nice and honest. He's gonna get a lot of work with their tablets lol. Forgot his name but he has racoon eye's and was on the news and also on Youtube.

 

[yRaz]

There's a kid that runs his own Tech business in NYC I think and he seems to get a good amount of APPLE customers that get ripped off from Apple and the kid fixes APPLE products pretty cheap and seems nice and honest. He's gonna get a lot of work with their tablets lol. Forgot his name but he has racoon eye's and was on the news and also on Youtube.

Louis rossman

 

[SoonerBilly]

Steve Jobs says ....

 

[QuantumPhysics]

If some company built a Tablet with the power of the most powerful tablet, only weighed as much as an iPhone Plus, was thinner than anything else on the market and did everything perfectly, would you still attack it because people can "bend it with their bare hands"???

I never bought into the bendgate hype simply because I never "sit" on my phone. I always kept my phone in my side pocket.

The only iPhone display I ever broke was my fault because I dropped it on concrete.

 

[senketsu]

If some company built a Tablet with the power of the most powerful tablet, only weighed as much as an iPhone Plus, was thinner than anything else on the market and did everything perfectly, would you still attack it because people can "bend it with their bare hands"???

I never bought into the bendgate hype simply because I never "sit" on my phone. I always kept my phone in my side pocket.

The only iPhone display I ever broke was my fault because I dropped it on concrete.

From the article:
"One such user on Macrumors found that his iPad Pro was slightly but noticeably bent after they’d been keeping it in a backpack for a week while travelling. What’s worse is that a lot of users are reporting that theirs were bent straight out of the box - and some users even found that their replacements were bent, too."

 

[Rye Meads]

Zack Nelson's test isn't a good example of the durability of the iPad Pro even if it's less durable than it should be. First he scratches it then applies heat to the front of it which might have weakend the iPad. That and he's not the average person when it comes to physical strength he's actually fairly muscular ,so it's a poor way of testing all around!

 

[JaredTheDragon]

First he scratches it then applies heat to the front of it which might have weakend the iPad.

So scratches and a lighter-burn are enough to ruin an interior structure, huh?

Please don't ever design or build anything. Pay us to do it for you, my man. We got'chu covered.

 

[cliffordcooley]

for the price of the iPad pro and the amount of R&D dollars Apple has available to them, this is simply inexcusable.

Lets even forget about R&D from previous devices.

 

[Xclusiveitalian]

The device is COMPLETELY useless being so fragile. iPads and all tablets take the most abuse of all compared to laptops, desktops. Kids especially abuse them like no other so I can't imagine how fast they would break, or bend/break this thing.

 

[Evernessince]

Zack Nelson's test isn't a good example of the durability of the iPad Pro even if it's less durable than it should be. First he scratches it then applies heat to the front of it which might have weakend the iPad. That and he's not the average person when it comes to physical strength he's actually fairly muscular ,so it's a poor way of testing all around!

If that small amount of heat from a dollar store lighter is enough to bend the new iPad Pro I'm sure we will be seeing a new Salvador Dali exhibit with bent iPad pros instead of clocks. Ditto goes for the scratches. Dust particles can have a hardness level of up to 8. He is doing things that Apples QA team should have been doing.

His muscle strength has nothing to do with the video. If you watch it, he clearly pushes in with his thumbs. That's not arm strength, it's hand strength and it's not something most people work on improving.

That tablet is completely worthless in it's current state. As shown in the video apple completely failed to use any rigid internal structure to prevent bending. If there is nothing but the weak aluminum frame holding back lateral force this tablet will bend simply from everyday use over time. This also means that, like all metals, it will fatigue, weaken, and eventually break at an accelerated rate. Aluminum only has moderate tolerance for metal fatigue, it isn't titanium after all.

 

[ypsylon]

On brighter side, look no further than Snazzy Labs hilarious "counter argument".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLFPgVw2F4k

Seriously Who in the right frame of mind thinks you can't bend these things (tablets/phones whatever) with ease. My parents have some ancient Lenovo Android crap and if I want I can snap it with ease. I'm not an Apple user past iPhone (with UAG skin) and everybody running around how bendy Apple phones are. What the hell you doing with them? Certain amount of flexibility is required anyway for battery - e.g. when you have phone strapped at the belt you want it to be as rigid as brick so it can cut your skin or gently elastic when you bend to the floor because you dropped something?

I have zero issues with my iP7. I never sat on it, I never dropped it, threw at the wall, drop an anvil or rolled it with a HGV. I have near me sister's Think Pad (some quite old model). Matrix flexes like mad, even frame with guts is not really mega sturdy. She traveled with it across the world from Japan to India, Belgium, Italy, France or Austria to just name a few from last few months. No problems.

World has gone mad. Forcefully bending electronics on purpose proves nothing - except total waste of money, product and impact on the environment if there is more such tests.

Oh and BTW, just grabbed my Pioneer XDP-100R. Solid metal case, very rigid on first glance. Put a bit of force under the matrix and something magical happens - it starts to bend. Wow, I never thought that possible... </sarcasm off> And I'm more (not less) built like Quinn from video above.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Seriously Who in the right frame of mind thinks you can't bend these things (tablets/phones whatever) with ease.

That is not the point. The point is they should be built better. Then they would withstand more accidental force before breakage.

 

[Xclusiveitalian]

Take a moment, go look in the mirror and ask yourself, "why the hell am I defending Apple on this?"

 

[QuantumPhysics]

I feel bad for apple.

Having to defend themselves from scores of haters, envious copycats and people desperate to make Youtube videos go viral.

It's a shame.

It's pathetic.

 

[cliffordcooley]

It's a shame.
It's pathetic.

Yes, Apple is! I'm glad you said that. Oh wait, that is not what you said. Why did you say that? Maybe you like buying products that are bent straight out the box. I get what you are saying in general. I'm one of those people that hates Apple. But in this case Apple made it easy for us. When Apple customers are complaining, we are somewhat justified. And in this day and age, it is not just Apple. It is all of them.