Consumer Reports puts iPhone 6 bending rumors to test

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A YouTube video sparked a viral storm earlier this week about the iPhone 6 being prone to bending.

Consumer Reports decided to take one sample each of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus along with other comparably-sized competitors into its labs for stress testing.

Using a special Instron machine, testers apply force to the phones until they deform.

"Turns out, it takes a lot of force to permanently bend one of these new iPhones -- or any of the other phones we tested for that matter," said Glenn Derene with Consumer Reports.

Even the phones that bent first -- the iPhone 6 and the HTC One M8 -- took 70 pounds of force before bending permanently.

The iPhone 6 Plus took more punishment at 90 pounds. The smaller, thicker iPhone 5 outperformed both in the tests, with no noticeable deformation until 130 pounds.

Finally, the LG G3 and Samsung Galaxy Note 3 sprang back to form until the testers applied 130 pounds and 150 pounds respectively. At that point, their screens separated from their cases and stopped working.

So what's the bottom line? Consumer Reports says based on its comparative tests, while the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are not the strongest phones on the market, fears of a serious structural design flaw seem overblown.