Of all the controversies surrounding Apple’s products over the past few years, this new one definitely takes the cake.
Customers who have purchased Apple’s newest iPad Pro have complained on online forums such as MacRumor’s claiming their device shipped bent directly out of the box. The issue was first reported by viewers of JerryRigEverything’s YouTube video where he bends an iPad Pro in half. Of course, that required deliberate force, but according to users, they aren’t abnormally holding or putting pressure on their iPads to bend them.
With all of this complaining, it was inevitable that some journalist, somewhere would reach out to Apple and ask them about it. Well, Chris Welch of The Verge was that journalist, and according to the company, everything’s normal.
According to The Verge‘s article, Apple has stated the bending phenomenon affecting new iPad Pros out of the box is due to a manufacturing process which involves cooling the metal and plastic components of the device. Apparently, when these parts are cooled, it can cause a slight bend along the edge of your iPad. Welch reported seeing the bend issue with his iPad Pro after two weeks of purchasing it, only to find the replacement tablet Apple gave him exhibiting the same symptom fresh out of its packaging.
It’s also worth mentioning this issue is a bit more pronounced on models with LTE since the plastic strip along the body of the iPad Pro is more delicate than the all-metal Wi-Fi version. Still, both variants have exhibited the condition, so there’s no easy way to pinpoint exactly which models will be affected.
Now sure, this issue might just be a bug in Apple’s system which can be ironed out going forward. But according to the company, it’s simply a normal reaction to whatever cooling process the company has implemented. Apple calling this issue “normal” isn’t even the worst of it; they said the bend won’t affect device performance or worsen over time. That basically indicates the company isn’t in the least bit concerned.
I don’t know what Apple’s thinking letting this issue occur. The company admits it isn’t seeing a higher-than-average return rate for this new iPad Pro over older generations and it will work with customers if they bring their issue up to Apple support, but this shouldn’t be happening in the first place. Apple builds quality products that have, historically, always been precisely manufactured and carefully taken care of before being shipped out to customers. This bending issue just seems out of character for the Cupertino company, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear from the company once again in the future regarding this matter.
And honestly, it sounds like they can just change their manufacturing process a bit. How about instead of using the cooling process you’re using now, you use a different one? I don’t know anything about manufacturing devices, but it just seems so obvious that you’d want to change the thing that’s causing a hardware problem on your products.
Maybe I sound stupid, but it’s just the dumbest thing I think of ever heard when it comes to Apple. Hopefully, we hear from them soon regarding this issue and potential fixes.
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