Last Friday Consumer Reports posted a video of some iPhone 6 bending tests they performed in order to “bring some science to the matter, and find out: ‘How much force does it take for a phone to bend and not bend back?'”

consumer-reports-pencil-bendingAfter concluding that it takes 70 pounds of force to bend an iPhone 6 and 90 pounds to bend an iPhone 6 Plus, they explained that this is roughly equivalent to the force required to break four pencils at once. The demonstrator then picked up four pencils to show how hard it is to apply that much force in his hands.

It’s a good concept, but unfortunately it was poorly executed. The demonstrator was holding the pencils and applying force in a totally different configuration than what was performed on the stress test rig, as shown at right.

Now, I don’t really care about bending iPhones, but I do care about misleading demonstrations and bad “science.” So yesterday I posted the image above to Reddit’s /r/theydidthemath subreddit, where math-loving Redditors calculated that the way the pencils were held in the Consmer Reports demonstrator’s hand would require around 1.5 to 2.5 as much force to break the pencils than when they were on the test rig.

No wonder it looked like he was struggling so much.

So how hard is it, really, to apply the 80 pounds of pressure required to break four pencils? I decided to do my own tests to find out.

By Hand

breaking-pencils-by-handThis was the most difficult way to break the pencils. I had to apply quite a bit of pressure to the pencils while gripping them in just the right way to be able to snap them. You can see how much my hands were straining, and afterwards you’ll notice the marks the pencils left on my hand.

Applying the 80 pounds of pressure needed to break four pencils by hand is do-able, despite what Consumer Reports implied in their video. However, that’s not really analogous to most of the real world usage your iPhone is likely to experience, so let’s perform a couple more tests.

Front Pocket

breaking-pencils-front-pocketNext, I donned the closest thing I own to skinny jeans and tested how difficult it would be to break four pencils in my front pocket.

A regular sitting position did not apply anywhere near enough pressure to stress the pencils in my front pocket, no matter how I placed them. It wasn’t until I leaned on the pencils in my pocket with the full weight of my arm that the pencils gave way.

Back Pocket

breaking-pencils-back-pocketFinally, I put the pencils in my back pocket and sat on them.

A simple sitting motions was not sufficient to break the pencils, but a good portion of the length was sticking out of the pocket and was not under any pressure at all. When I put pressure on the pencils in a manner similar to what you might see sitting in a chair with a firm back that goes all the way down, the pencils snapped almost immediately.

Bending Your Phone is Hard, But Not That Hard

So what does this mean for consumers worried about bending their iPhone 6? You’re unlikely to put your phone under enough pressure to bend it in your front pocket unless you really lean on it. The easiest way to apply the type of pressure necessary to break pencils and bend phones is definitely in the back pocket.

This obviously doesn’t explain cases like Kav Latiolais’ mysterious overnight bendage, but it does show that there are definitely real world usage scenarios that might put enough pressure on your phone to bend it.

In other words, if you don’t want to end up with a bent iPhone, you probably shouldn’t sit on it.

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