Apple badly wants to put this terrible week behind it

Steven Loeb · September 26, 2014 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/3954

The company fixes glitchly iOS 8 update, tries to downplay reports of bending phones

This week started out so promisingly for Apple, with the announcement that it had broken first weekend records with its new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Everything seemed like it was going to be another feather's in Apple's cap, but in the last couple of days, though, everything seems to have fallen apart.

First there were the reports that the iPhone 6 Plus was actually made so shabbily that they were literally bending in people's pockets when they sat down. Then came the release of a new iOS 8 update that actually wound up screwing up people's phones. All of this has turned into terrible optics for the company. 

Well, now Apple is trying to get out ahead of these problems by fixing the second one and simply denying the first problem even exists. 

The iOS 8 problem

On Wednesday, Apple sent out the first update of iOS 8, one week after the initial launch. As with the launch of any new software, there were bugs in the system, and so version 8.0.1 was meant to get rid of them. Sounds good, right?

Well, not so much, since a slew of people took to Twitter to complain that, after downloading the update they lost all of their cellular connections and that their Touch ID buttons no longer scanned for fingerprints. As you know, without a cellular connection, the iPhone might as well be a paperweight for all the good its going to do you.

So Apple did the only sensible thing: it took down the new release and, on Thursday, released version 8.0.2, which fixes the issue that plagued the earlier release, and also does what the first update was also supposed to do. It contains fixes for problems with HealthKit, third-party keyboards, photo access, and ringtones, among others.

"iOS 8.0.2 is now available for users, it fixes an issue that affected iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users who downloaded iOS 8.0.1, and includes improvements and bug fixes originally in iOS 8.0.1," the company said in a statement to various media outlets. "We apologize for inconveniencing the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users who were impacted by the bug in iOS 8.0.1."

Bend-gate

While Apple is taking full responsibility for sending out a terrible update to its users, when it comes to reports of the iPhone 6 being able to bend, the company is trying hard to downplay the situation (most likely because its pretty cheap to send a new update, but a lot more expensive than to replace millions of phones).

The scandal (dubbed "bend-gate" by someone who I now swear is my mortal enemy) involves people who have come out and said that their brand new iPhone 6 Plus devices, which they bought less than a week ago, have begun to bend if left in someone's pocket for too long.

Despite the outrage, Apple is insisting that this is a non-problem. In fact, the company told Business Insider in a statement on Thursday that only nine customers have complained about it. Of course, that doesn't mean that it isn't a problem; it just means that either it has not happened to most people yet, or a lot of people have not had the time to actually make their voices heard at this time.

The company also defended the materials the company used to make the phone, but also its testing process, which it called "rigorous" and which it said met its "high quality standards."

Here is the full statement:

"Our iPhones are designed, engineered and manufactured to be both beautiful and sturdy. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus feature a precision engineered unibody enclosure constructed from machining a custom grade of 6000 series anodized aluminum, which is tempered for extra strength. They also feature stainless steel and titanium inserts to reinforce high stress locations and use the strongest glass in the smartphone industry. We chose these high-quality materials and construction very carefully for their strength and durability. We also perform rigorous tests throughout the entire development cycle including 3-point bending, pressure point cycling, sit, torsion, and user studies. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus meet or exceed all of our high quality standards to endure everyday, real life use.

With normal use a bend in iPhone is extremely rare and through our first six days of sale, a total of nine customers have contacted Apple with a bent iPhone 6 Plus. As with any Apple product, if you have questions please contact Apple."

It's good that Apple is trying to get a better handle on these problems quickly, as they are already having an affect on the company financially. Its stock dropped 3.81%, or $3.88, to $97.87 a share during regular trading on Thursday.

VatorNews has reached out to Apple for comment. We will update this story if we learn more.

(Image source: samsungfirst.com)

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