iPhone 6 - page 13

Due to challenges receiving regulatory approval, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus has yet to make it into China through official channels.

That’s not enough to stop the New York Times running a story claiming that scalpers have already exhausted demand for Apple’s next gen handsets in the country that may one day overtake the U.S. in terms of iPhone sales, however.

The article notes that, despite the fact that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus will not officially go on sale for a few weeks (October 10, according to a leaked memo), the gray market has “already dried up” — with wholesalers who smuggled tens of thousands of iPhones into the country being forced to “[slash] prices to move inventory.”

Samsung is all too willing to leap down Apple’s throat at any perceived error on Cupertino’s part, but apparently that same degree of quality control is not turned inwardly on Samsung’s own industrial design department.

Having brought forward its release date to try and beat the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus into South Korea and China, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has been met with negative customer reviews since its September 26 launch — on the basis that there is a sizeable gap between the smartphone’s display and its casing.

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus may have been available to buy for a week now in the U.S. and other primary markets, but it’s still a hot enough ticket that it’s causing major lines this weekend, as eager shoppers try to grab Apple’s next-gen handsets.

In various cities around the world, a constant queue could be seen for much of the weekend, with many customers having to wait well over an hour.

Of all the carriers you could possibly get your iPhone 6 through, AT&T is one of the worst. But starting on Sunday, signing a new two-year contract with AT&T is going to get a little more attractive, especially if you use a lot of data: for a limited time, Ma Bell is offering double the data for Mobile Share Value Plans.

With Bendgate causing some worrywarts to question the structural integrity of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Consumer Reports set out to answer the question: “How much force does it take for a phone to bend — and not bend back?”

The independent consumer-testing outfit took six smartphones — including both iPhone 6 models and an iPhone 5s — into the lab and subjected them to experiments using an Instron compression testing machine. The results are surprising.

Here’s what they found (along with a video showing Consumer Reports’ torture testing).

Although the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus chalked up record-breaking sales, Apple’s week has been far from a celebration. A YouTube video showing the iPhone 6 Plus bending under seemingly normal amounts of pressure sent the Internet to crazyville, and Bendgate was born.

Watch Cult of Mac’s news roundup to see the latest regarding the Bendgate frenzy, why some iPads are being banned, and how one person surprised the world with her iPhone 6 impressions more than others.

Subscribe to Cult of Mac TV on YouTube to catch all our latest videos.

The iPhone 6 Plus bends because it’s thin and aluminium, right? Wrong, according to a poster on Imgur, who has analysed photos of the contorting iPhone phablet and places the blame instead on a badly-designed metal reinforcement.

Mesmerizing slow-motion videos have flooded the Internet in the last few days, showcasing the kind of amazing footage you rarely see outside a movie theater or Blu-ray disc.

What opened the floodgates? The iPhone 6. The device’s camera and software allows for a mind-boggling 240 frames-per-second shooting rate, letting videographers of all abilities try their hands at slowing down the action and making an impact.

Slow motion has long been used in your favorite films to convey the intensity of a moment (think The Matrix or anything by John Woo), but this is the first time the average consumer has this kind of stunning tech in their hands.

With more than 10 million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus units sold already, we’ll undoubtedly get slammed with even more beautiful slow-motion videos in the weeks and months to come. Here are a bunch we’ve found that show off the startling capabilities of the iPhone 6 while also proving that, seriously, people will film anything.

This week on The CultCast: Bendgate! Some say it’s Antennagate 2.0, but is there a legitimate issue happening here? We’ll tell you what we think about these “bent” iPhones… Then, we’ve used it for a whole week—catch our updated impressions of iPhone 6. Plus, why you should hold off on installing iOS 8.0.1, and what you can do if you already have. And finally, it’s not just the big screen, there might be another reason the iPhone 6 has been impossible to buy. We’ll tell you our stories from launch day…

Heartily guffaw your way through each week’s best Apple stories! Stream or download new and past episodes of The CultCast now on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing on iTunes, or hit play below and let the chuckles begin.

Our thanks to lynda.com for sponsoring this episode! Learn virtually any application at your own pace from expert-taught video tutorials at lynda.com.

Click on for the show notes.

While customers in the U.S. have been playing with (and bending) their iPhone 6 devices for a week now, today marks the sales debut of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in 22 secondary markets.

These include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.

Due to time zone differences, New Zealand customers have had their handsets for a full day already, while Twitter’s now buzzing with reports from plenty more excited customers in Europe and elsewhere.

The iPhone 6 originally launched in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK on September 19, racking up a massive 10 million+ sales during its first weekend.

We’ll have to wait and see how it does in today’s 22 new markets, but judging from the below pictures there’s no shortage of enthusiasm.

Today Apple spoke out on Bendgate, the international scandal that has set the world ablaze with questions about the iPhone 6 Plus like, “Will it bend?”

“With normal use a bend in iPhone is extremely rare and through our first six days of sale, a total of nine customers have contacted Apple with a bent iPhone 6 Plus,” said Apple in a statement. To further solidify its stance on not making bendy hardware, the company has laid out the five methods it uses to test iPhone durability.

“It just works.”

Those three words are synonymous with Apple. It’s the slogan Apple fanboys use when trying to convince their Android-loving friends that iOS is a better option. And it was used over and over by Steve Jobs as he unveiled new products at Apple keynotes.

That makes it even more embarrassing for the Cupertino company when things don’t “just work.” Especially when it royally screws things up — as it did with the hideously half-baked iOS 8.0.1 update that rolled out to millions of users Wednesday morning.

It turns out that things made out of thin pieces of aluminum will bend under enough force. Who’d have thought it? But fortunately for those who are experiencing the well-documented “Bendgate” issue with a new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Apple is not ignoring the problem: The company will replace devices under warranty so long as they pass a visual inspection.

Apple has promised to roll out a new iOS 8 update in the “next few days” that will fix the issues plaguing iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users who updated to iOS 8.0.1. In the meantime, users are being advised to downgrade to the initial iOS 8 release that came pre-installed on their devices.

With iOS 8, iPhone and iPad owners for the first time ever can replace Apple’s default virtual keyboard with a third-party alternative.

Doing so — with keyboards made by SwiftKey, Swype, Fleksy and others — could vastly improve your touchscreen typing experience. Not only do some of these keyboards make typing easier, but they also boast innovative features, like the ability to type words using simple swipes instead of taps. Many of these keyboards are completely customizable, so you can set their size and color scheme to suit you.

If you haven’t already installed a third-party keyboard, you’re missing out on one of iOS 8’s best features. In this guide, first we’ll tell you about the best keyboards available from the App Store right now. We’ll also run through the features that make them unique, show you how you can customize them and make them work for you, and explain some important concepts, such as “Full Access.”

The YouTuber who set the world ablaze by bending the iPhone 6 Plus is back.

Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy has a new video out in which he tries to bend the regular iPhone 6 like the Plus. Those who are actually worried about their iPhone’s bendability will be glad to see that the 6 holds its shape much better than its larger sibling. And you’d basically need some kind of power tool to bend the iPhone 5s.

Hilsenteger also tries bending some iPhone competitors, and the most durable smartphone might surprise you.

“Will it bend?” has become the hottest question in tech this week as some iPhone 6 owners have discovered that the laws of physics still apply to the aluminum frame of the new Apple phones … even when neglected in a back pocket.

We pointed out yesterday that any smartphone made of metal will bend when subjected to pressure, but the Internet has jumped on the BendGate controversy like a joyful Steve Wozniak pounding through the polo fields on his mighty Segway.

#BendGate, #BentGate and #BendGhazi started trending on Twitter within the last 24 hours, and while Apple’s PR machine remains silent, the Internet has given its hilarious opinion on the controversy.

Here are some of the funniest BendGate reactions:

Update: iOS 8.0.1 upgraders are reporting problems with Touch ID and cellular connectivity after installing Apple’s update. You should wait before taking the plunge. If you’ve already installed iOS 8.0.1, here’s how to downgrade to iOS 8.

Apple has pulled an iOS 8.0.1 update that fixed problems with HealthKit and various other features after iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users discovered the update broke Touch ID and blocked cellular connectivity.

The iOS 8.0.1 update was also supposed to improve Reachability on the iPhone 6, but it has already been removed while Apple addresses the nest of new bugs it unleashed.

The iPhone 6’s sleek design is undeniably sexy, but the big glass display and those sexy curved edges can cause problems if you leave your phone sitting on a smooth surface.

If you’re not careful, you could find your iPhone in pieces on the floor.

The difference between an iPhone 5, and iPhone 6, and an iPhone 6 Plus sounds like it would obvious, but it’s not: a 4.7-inch iPhone 6 has a 38% bigger screen than an iPhone 5, and the 5.5-inch iPhone Plus has a screen that is almost 89% larger than the 4-inch iPhone 5s. The point is, it can be hard to mentally visualize the difference between a 4-inch iPhone, a 4.7-inch iPhone, and a 5.5-inch iPhone.

Apple knows this. That’s why in the latest issue of Rolling Stone, Cupertino’s advertising department has taken out a full page ad, showing the actual size of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. All you need to do to see how much bigger an iPhone 6 is over your current phone is place it next to the magazine.

Very simple, but also very brilliant. For the iPhone 6, Apple’s selling size, not speed, and this is a great way to make it relatable to everyone. Nicely done, Apple.

Source: Mac Observer

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus is a 10 million unit selling wrecking ball — and Samsung is running scared.

Trying to boost its falling mobile sales, Samsung announced on Wednesday that its new Galaxy Note 4 smartphone will go on sale in China and South Korea as early as this Friday, with the handset available on all mobile carriers in both countries by the end of the month.

For those keeping track, that’s before much of the rest of the world, including the U.S.

Why are China and South Korea getting Samsung’s flagship handset before nearly everyone else? Because the iPhone 6 isn’t available in these markets yet, which has caused a mad dash for the South Korean company to try and get in there first — particularly since the massive iPhone 6 and 6 Plus has now neutralized Samsung’s big-screen differentiator.

President Obama, sadly, does not have an iPhone 6. But he totally wants one, leading him to openly lust after Apple’s newest handset in a meeting Tuesday at the United Nations.

Bend-Gate is slowly taking over the Internet this morning as Apple fans discover the startling fact that when pressure is applied to an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus frame, it bends – just like every other smartphone ever made of metal.

The bending problem has been reported by a number of iPhone 6 owners who pocketed their big iPhone 6 only to retrieve it later with a significant curve in the frame. Some sites are deeming the new iPhones “more fragile than expected,” but the truth is we’ve seen this problem almost every year.

In fact, last year ran we an article titled “iPhone 5s Bending in People’s Pockets.” Any phone made of metal is still subject to the laws of physics, but to reiterate that this isn’t exactly a problem exclusive to the iPhone 6, here’s a look at other Android and Apple phones that have bending problems.

Apple has debuted two new ads, featuring the combined vocal talents of Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon, to advertise its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets.

When you sell 10 million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices in your first weekend on sale, it doesn’t just disrupt other smartphone companies, but notebook manufacturers as well.

According to a new report from Digitimes, notebook sales took a massive hit in August due to customers waiting on Apple’s new handsets. Since sales of the iPhone 6 family devices will most likely continue through the fourth quarter, many notebook vendors are reducing their orders from manufacturers to avoid unsold inventory piling up.