Month: May 2018

Enlarge (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

Newly released court documents reveal just how much Apple apparently knew about the iPhone 6's and 6 Plus' propensity to bend. A report by Motherboard shows parts of the documents that were made public by US District Court judge Lucy Koh (most of the documents remain sealed) and they say Apple's internal testing found that iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models were indeed bendier than previous iPhones.

"The iPhone 6 was 3.3 times more likely to bend than the iPhone 5s" and "the iPhone 6 Plus was 7.2 times more likely to bend than the iPhone 5s," the document states. Judge Koh wrote that "one of the major concerns Apple Identified prior to launching the iPhones was that they were 'likely to bend more easily when compared to previous generations.'"

Flashback to Bendgate

The bending issues with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus date back to shortly after the phones' release in September 2014. Many users reported their new smartphones bending easily from regular use, like sticking the phone in their back pocket. At the time, Apple highlighted the vigorous testing it puts handsets through before release, including a 3-point bending test.

Enlarge / For a prepper, this is badly undergoing it. (credit: California Public Health)

"Prepping," or getting ready to live without societal support, is apparently a largely American activity, and a recent one. Companies that cater to people who want to be self-reliant for food, water, and power have grown their revenue by about 700 percent over the last decade, and prepper products are now offered in places like Costco, Kmart, and Bed Bath & Beyond.

But it's not at all clear what's driving this growth—why are more people getting ready for society's collapse? Some explanations focus on a tendency toward paranoia in American society or fears of terrorism or natural disaster. But actual evidence that directly supports any of these ideas as the main reason is pretty sparse.

So Michael Mills at the UK's University of Kent decided to correct this gap in our knowledge. Mills went on an American road trip, spending time talking to (and butchering animals with) 39 preppers in 18 different US states. Rather than rampant paranoia, Mills suggests, preppers are motivated by non stop media coverage of natural disasters, as well as a government that encourages them to prepare for the worst.