New iPhones run into software, bending complaints

By: 10 years ago

In this June 2, 2014 photo, Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks about iOS 8 at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Apple has stopped providing an update to its new iOS 8 mobile operating software, following complaints by some users who said Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014, that the update interferes with their ability to make phone calls. AP

SAN FRANCISCO, United States ― Apple’s newest iPhones ran into some glitches Wednesday after users complained that a new software update blocked their calls, while a widely circulated video showed the larger of the two new models is vulnerable to bending.

Apple said it would stop providing the software update, which it began distributing Wednesday morning to fix several issues in last week’s iOS 8 operating system for iPhones and iPads.

The decision to pull the update came after some people complained on Twitter and in Apple user chatrooms that the update, dubbed iOS 8.0.1, rendered their phones unable to make calls and caused problems with a feature that lets people unlock their phones with their fingerprint.

By midday Wednesday, Apple announced that it was investigating the reports and would issue advice to users “as quickly as we can.” Users are still able to the upgrade older phones to last week’s version of iOS 8, which Apple said has already been downloaded to nearly half of all iOS devices.

Some tech blogs reported the update only seemed to cause problems for the latest phone models ― the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. It’s not uncommon for new software to contain bugs that have to be fixed with subsequent releases.

Meanwhile, social media sites were buzzing Wednesday with reports that the aluminum shell of the iPhone 6 Plus is vulnerable to bending. Some Twitter users claimed their phones showed a slight curving at one end after several hours in a pants pocket. With a 5.5-inch screen, the iPhone 6 Plus is slightly longer and thinner than other iPhone models.

It’s not clear how widespread the complaints are. One YouTube video showed someone bending an iPhone 6 Plus by applying extended pressure with his hands ― not from normal sitting.

Both the iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus were given high ratings in a recent “breakability” test conducted by SquareTrade, a San Francisco firm that sells insurance to consumers for their electronic devices. The test did not include bending.

But SquareTrade Chief Marketing Officer Ty Shay said that after reports of bending circulated online, two staffers at his firm tried to bend a pair of 6 Plus phones: One staffer, a man, was able to duplicate the results from the video, while the other, a woman, could not. He said the bent phone appeared to still function normally.

Shay said his firm then checked and found a small number of bent older-model iPhones had been reported in the past. “It does happen,” said Shay, “but it seems like for the most part it’s cosmetic damage.”

He suggested the bending is not a major issue. Referring to the iPhone 6 Plus, he added, “I think it’s still a very durable phone. But we’ll keep an eye on the claims.”

Apple did not comment on the reports of bending.