Samsung defends bending Galaxy S6 Edge

Samsung Electronics on Monday defended its new Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone from accusations that it could bend under pressure, saying warping is extremely rare through normal use.

Ahead of the phone’s official launch Friday this week, SquareTrade, a mobile insurance company, released a video showing the Edge phone bending to make it permanently deformed when pressure is applied.

The 50 kilogram pressure SquareTrade applied is the same used by the company to bend and deform the iPhone 6 Plus last year, which led to the infamous “Bendgate” controversy. 

The new test also found that the iPhone 6 Plus could withstand more abuse before it broke beyond repair.

In the video, the Edge bends to the point of inoperability at about 67.6 kilograms of pressure, while it took some 81.2 kilograms to break the iPhone so badly that it no longer functioned.

Unlike Apple, which defended the bending allegation a few days later, Samsung responded to the test immediately.

“It is extremely rare to apply 50 kilograms of pressure through daily use, especially for luxury goods such as a smartphone,” the company said via its official blog. “Both Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge passed requisite stress tests to endure real life use.”

The company also pointed out that SquareTrade should have tested the phone on both its front and rear sides, saying testing only the front side cannot prove the phone’s durability.

Samsung said it planned to deliver its opinion to the company and suggest testing both sides again.

To test the phones’ breaking points, SquareTrade used a robot called the “BendBot,” which was created by a robotics scientist from U.C. Berkeley. “Bendbot” simulates what happens to a phone when it is placed in a person’s back pocket and accidentally sat on.

“As manufacturers strive for larger screens on thinner devices, they can be more susceptible to bending or snapping,” said Jessica Hoffman, head of communications at SquareTrade.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)