Apple Says Some iPad Pros Are Bent Out of the Box, Claims It’s Not a Defect

Bendgate is back.

Apple has confirmed on Wednesday that some of the company’s new iPad Pro devices are shipping slightly bent out of the box. Apple customers first started noticing the issue with their iPad Pro devices, reporting the issues online. The company confirmed the allegations to The Verge, claiming that the issue is not, in fact, a defect.

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The slight bent on the brand new iPad Pro devices is apparently caused during the cooling process of the device, according to Apple. Both the 11-inch and 12.9-inch devices are affected by the issue, and it’s more likely to affect the iPad Pro with LTE because of the external antenna lines.

It seems like the issue is affecting both brand new iPad Pros and regular devices. Some users are noticing the bend happening gradually as they use the device more in normal conditions, and some are receiving the bent iPad Pros directly out of the box.

Apple continues to claim the issue is not a defect, despite the fact that it requested The Verge’s Chris Welch to send his bent iPad Pro unit for its engineering team to review. So yes, it is a defect. Apple is just trying to avoid another bendgate.

Apple’s 2018 iPad Pro was a major step forward for the company’s iPad Pro line. But this incident could really affect the company’s reputation, considering the fact that Apple continues to boast its premium hardware quality. The bent is more than just a defect, it’s an obvious design and manufacturing problem that Apple will likely start accepting eventually, possibly even providing free replacements to affected customers.

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Conversation 39 comments

  • Pedro Vieira

    20 December, 2018 - 7:46 am

    <p>It's a feature.</p>

    • NT6.1

      21 December, 2018 - 8:19 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#384495">In reply to PeteMiles:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Can't innovate my ass!</p>

  • nbates66

    20 December, 2018 - 8:03 am

    <p>You bought it wrong. Obviously.</p>

  • Jason Peter

    20 December, 2018 - 8:23 am

    <p>Agreed – this is a defect. No one wants a bent iPad. </p><p><br></p><p>While I very much enjoy using Apple products, and am somewhat tolerant of some unintentional defects (all product categories eventually suffer from them at some point, even from the best designs), something like this is intolerable from a company that brags about engineering excellence and premium experience.</p><p>If this is a result of their cooling process, then they need to either find a new cooling process – or go back to the drawing board.</p><p><br></p><p>This is simply not acceptable. Excuses like this are unwarranted, and severely weaken their already-dropping reputation for selling products that “just work”.</p>

  • dontbe evil

    20 December, 2018 - 8:24 am

    <p>bhuahauhauah the famous apple quality and reliability, and don't forget the honesty to admit their errors… maybe you're unboxing it wrong</p>

  • dcdevito

    20 December, 2018 - 8:37 am

    <p>This is the double standard Apple affords to get by with. Had this been a Surface device the tech press would be losing their minds and MSFT's reputation and stock price would plummet. I bet there are Apple apologists defending this. It's absurd, this is clearly a defect. </p>

  • bennett_cg

    20 December, 2018 - 8:49 am

    <p>They're really trying to maximize the mileage on that reality distortion field, huh?</p>

    • jimchamplin

      Premium Member
      20 December, 2018 - 10:01 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#384541">In reply to bennett_cg:</a></em></blockquote><p>Unfortunately the effects are now being manifested in the physical properties of the products.</p>

  • waethorn

    20 December, 2018 - 8:54 am

    <p>"It's a manufacturing problem, but not a defect"</p><p><br></p><p>Translation: "we aren't going to fix our f*#&amp; up, suckers!"</p>

    • dontbe evil

      20 December, 2018 - 9:36 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#384547">In reply to Waethorn:</a></em></blockquote><p>till the next class action, as usual</p>

      • waethorn

        20 December, 2018 - 10:15 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#384582">In reply to dontbe_evil:</a></em></blockquote><p>Class-action lawsuits only include customers in the country that they're filed – usually the US. Anyone residing outside of that country has to file their own class-action lawsuit, and surprise, surprise: many countries make it difficult to file class-action lawsuits. Only in the US, where most lawyers are scumbag vampires, do you have loose courts that allow anyone to sue anyone else for often frivolous reasons, and losers aren't required to pay the winners legal fees.</p>

  • Daekar

    20 December, 2018 - 8:56 am

    <p>Amazing. The arrogance is just amazing.</p><p><br></p><p>Apple, these premium products cost an incredible amount of money. Don't blow smoke up our butts when it's obvious you've screwed things up. Own it, explain it, fix it, make it an illustration of your customer service.</p>

  • jimchamplin

    Premium Member
    20 December, 2018 - 9:18 am

    <p>picard_facepalm.gif</p><p><br></p><p><em>Not a defect!?</em> This is what happens when actual engineering and industrial design are thrown out in exchange for artsy “design” and the ludicrous pursuit of thinness.</p><p><br></p><p>Hey, Apple! Go back to the iPad 2/3 design. Those don’t bend.</p>

  • StevenLayton

    20 December, 2018 - 9:28 am

    <p>I like the slight curve in the iPad. It matches the slight curve in my hand as I hold it. </p><p>Apple should be congratulated for this innovation, not criticised for it.</p>

  • pointgrey

    Premium Member
    20 December, 2018 - 9:30 am

    <p>It's obviously a new feature… allows you to work around corners!</p>

  • Tony Barrett

    20 December, 2018 - 9:44 am

    <p>What? The bend is due to the 'cooling process'. Are they kidding? Are their customers that stupid to believe that? I've never, ever seen any device with a 'bend' caused by a cooling process. Ever. I've seen lots of devices too. If I saw that on a brand new device, out of the box, it's faulty and should be replaced. No argument.</p>

  • bharris

    20 December, 2018 - 10:00 am

    <p>For a company that positions itself as a luxury brand, to claim that a bent IPad is not a defect is insane. They would be much better off in the long run to just bite the bullet &amp; offer no hassle replacements immediately.</p>

  • rawkfox

    20 December, 2018 - 10:00 am

    <p>It's not a defect; you're just holding it wrong.</p><p><br></p><p>/s</p>

    • Cain69

      21 December, 2018 - 4:06 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#384598">In reply to RawkFox:</a></em></blockquote><p>You are looking at it wrong – our eyes are not calibrated to Apple straight. LOL</p>

  • Michael_Miller

    20 December, 2018 - 10:01 am

    <p>Why is Apple saying it is okay if its new IPAD Pro is bent? F___k you, that’s why.</p>

  • RobertJasiek

    20 December, 2018 - 10:14 am

    <p>Production or design mistakes can happen; take back the product and the problem is solved. However, selling destroyed products as new for the sake of greed is fraud and Apple managers must go to prison for that.</p><p>When I buy new hardware in a store, I check it visually the most carefully from all sides before paying. Luckily, in Germany, hardware bought online may be returned within 14 days after receival and is fully reimbursed.</p>

    • MikeGalos

      20 December, 2018 - 1:24 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#384607">In reply to RobertJasiek:</a></em></blockquote><p>That's what inspection is for. Apparently skipping that step is one of those "manufacturing efficiencies" that Apple is so proud of.</p>

  • Bob Shutts

    20 December, 2018 - 10:21 am

    <p>This is ridiculous. Apple fans should withhold their $$ and return their defective units until this is addressed. Apple is a premium brand and their products should look and act premium.</p>

  • provision l-3

    20 December, 2018 - 10:25 am

    <p>The quote from Apple is kind of ridiculous on Apple's part. And by "kind of" I mean completely f-ing ridiculous. </p><p><br></p><p>"<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Apple will likely start accepting eventually, possibly even providing free replacements to affected customers."</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">This </span>comment by Mehedi is kind of confounding. Did he actually read the Verge article? It clearly states that Apple is replacing iPads for the issue. Also, nice photo credit. </p>

  • Winner

    20 December, 2018 - 10:48 am

    <p>I guess gluing things together has its pitfalls.</p>

  • skane2600

    20 December, 2018 - 12:09 pm

    <p>If Apple ever produces a car, imagine all the defects that Apple fans would tolerate. "That bent axle is just caused by the cooling process".</p>

  • orbsitron

    20 December, 2018 - 12:39 pm

    <p>A foreign exchange student who lives with us bought a Macbook Air (not the new one as of holiday 2018, as this was a year ago) and it makes a sound and you can feel components shifting in the chasis when you move the device.</p><p><br></p><p>He returned the device for a replacement and surprisingly, it exhibits the same behavior. Our student apparently tested the floor models and claimed he didn't hear/feel anything in an identical model. I too tried one out at a different Apple Store and couldn't reproduce the issue so it's not a consistent defect in every model. </p><p><br></p><p>Despite the clear evidence that his second unit exhibited the problem which is not present in every MacBook air, the <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"geniuses" at the Apple Store wouldn't swap a second time. </span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Instead, they contacted Apple's product team and the engineers claim, much like this iPad Pro bend issue, that it is "not a defect", despite the fact that apparently some MacBook Airs exhibit this weird, disconcerting, unexpected behavior and others do not.</span></p><p><br></p><p>Apple is so fearful of admitting any kind of fault, it's frankly disgusting. They charge an arm and a leg for their beautiful-but-flawed hardware and instead of owning up to mistakes and attempting to correct them, they deny, deny, deny even when there is clear evidence that they are either dishonest or ignorant. I don't know which is worse.</p>

    • Cain69

      21 December, 2018 - 4:04 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#384687">In reply to orbsitron:</a></em></blockquote><p>And I bet he KEPT the MB Air! </p><p><br></p><p>I am not sure where Apple was dishonest or ignorant… The knew about the "behavior" and they said it is "not a defect". </p><p><br></p><p>When something works – giving customers crappy devices and they line up for more – you keep on doing it. Apple is doing its job – its the consumers that are not holding up their end of the bargain. </p>

  • Patrick3D

    20 December, 2018 - 3:23 pm

    <p>Funny how they didn't mention it during the product announcement so that customers could look forward to experiencing this "feature". It's like they <strong><em>want</em></strong> to be sued these days.</p>

  • warren

    20 December, 2018 - 3:25 pm

    <p>These iPads are just jealous of Microsoft's upcoming foldable tablet.</p>

  • nbplopes

    20 December, 2018 - 4:00 pm

    <p>I don't care why it is bent. It is not supposed to be.</p><p><br></p><p>I feel Apple is loosing focus of what it is important in the role they play , and may be affected by "I'm invincible", "Bigger than life", "Your rules. don't apply at our scale. “ We are rule breakers" disease. We have seen many crumble with that one, and some fall.</p>

  • markbyrn

    Premium Member
    20 December, 2018 - 5:21 pm

    <p>Just another absurdity to prove that Tim Cook is far more concerned with promoting his politics and playing legal games vice quality and innovation. </p>

  • tmslayton

    20 December, 2018 - 9:19 pm

    <p>Man, just another reason I am so glad I just picked up a new Surface instead on an iPad Pro! They need a new Steve over there!</p>

  • MikeGalos

    21 December, 2018 - 11:10 am

    <p>Of course, making it worse is that while Apple is allowing exchanges within the 14 day purchase window, this is December.</p><p><br></p><p>A lot of those will have been Christmas presents and won't be unwrapped and unboxed until the 25th. And even for those that have receipts a good percentage of them will have been purchased (and likely shipped from other states) earlier than last Wednesday and will thus be outside the 14-day window on the first day an Apple store is open for an exchange. </p><p><br></p>

    • rmaximogaliana

      21 December, 2018 - 2:10 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#385358">In reply to MikeGalos:</a></em></blockquote><p>Apple’s holiday return policy allows devices to be returned until January 8.</p>

  • NT6.1

    21 December, 2018 - 8:18 pm

    <p>The Apple premium experience. What a joke. LMAO!!!</p>

  • SvenJ

    21 December, 2018 - 10:07 pm

    <p>If you lay it on a table, and it doesn't lay flat, it's wrong. Simple as that.</p>

  • TEAMSWITCHER

    21 December, 2018 - 11:30 pm

    <p>Another non-story … story. If you get a bent iPad … take it back for a replacement. In 2003, I purchased a 12-inch PowerBook G4 that had two dark pixels near the center of the display. I took it back to the store .. immediately .. and got another one. Apple won't make you keep a device that you don't want. Most companies will do this.</p>

  • kroembke

    25 December, 2018 - 10:16 am

    <p>I think its time to trot Tim Cook out there to say, "You're holding it wrong!"</p>

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