Proving there’s no honor amongst competitors, the #BendGate situation has brought out the worst in Apple’s fiercest rivals, most of whom have taken the opportunity to kick the company when its down. Not sure what #BendGate is? Apparently, the iPhone 6 Plus is a fragile thing, and will take on the shape of your leg, bottom, or anything else it spends time pressed up against. However, because it’s not built like the LG G Flex, it doesn’t spring back into shape.
Related: The iPhone 6, #BendGate, and why it probably won’t affect you
Updated on 09-26-2014 by Andy Boxall: Scroll down to see Conan O’Brien’s latest video, which rudely mocks #Bendgate, plus Pringles gets in on the fun too.
Rivals get stuck in
Predictably, Samsung hasn’t held back, and has delivered several blows to Apple’s solar plexus. The first came from the general Samsung Mobile Twitter account, where a picture of the new Galaxy Note Edge was given the tagline “Curved. Not Bent.”
Curved. Not bent. #GALAXYNoteEdge pic.twitter.com/OTPIYlI07f
— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) September 25, 2014
Over at the Samsung Mobile UK account, a side on shot of the Galaxy Alpha – another very slim phone, at just 6.7mm – said “Galaxy Alpha + Skinny jeans = No problem.” There’s another image doing the rounds, showing the Galaxy Note 4 with a bowing smartphone in front of it, along with the words “Bend to those who are worthy.” It’s funny, but we’re not sure it’s official. 
HTC hasn’t bothered making any unsubtle pictures, but has tweeted a not-so-subtle dig at Apple. Coming from the HTC USA account and hash tagged #HTCOneM8, the company assures us the metal smartphone is “Designed to withstand the most demanding environments. Like your pockets.”
Designed to withstand the most demanding environments. Like your pockets. #HTCOneM8 — HTC USA (@HTCUSA) September 24, 2014
LG hasn’t missed the opportunity to promote the truly flexible LG G Flex. LG USA decided it wasn’t messing around, and slapped the BendGate hashtag on a picture of the G Flex, saying “Our phone doesn’t bend, it flexes … on purpose.”
Our phone doesn’t bend, it flexes…on purpose. #bendgate pic.twitter.com/d1DudxDQgf
— LG USA Mobile (@LGUSAMobile) September 24, 2014
Over at the UK LG Twitter account, the slightly misquoted BentGate hashtag has been added to two separate tweets, one directing us to a promo video for the G Flex, and the other with an image of the phone joined by three, rather scathing, question marks. LG’s way of saying, “Really, Apple?”
#Bendgate http://t.co/LfyW1sPIHR — LG Electronics UK (@LGUK) September 24, 2014
Even BlackBerry has had a pop. CEO John Chen may have avoided talking about the iPhone directly during the Passport smartphone’s launch event, but it was pretty obvious what he meant when he encouraged people to try and bend the new square BlackBerry model.
Now let the rest of the world have a go
With Apple on the floor and its rivals all having put the boot in, it’s now time for the rest of the world to have a go. #BendGate is now a social media talking point, and opportunistic marketing teams, and media hungry individuals aren’t about to miss out on a bit of free publicity. Here are some of the best examples.
Conan O’Brien can never resist mocking the tech world, and his joke at Apple’s expense is one the funniest we’ve seen in a while.
KitKat perhaps has more right than most other confectionary firms to have a little dig, and sure enough, it tagged a KitKat photo with both #BendGate, and #iPhone6Plus saying, “We don’t bend, we #break.”
On the more savory side of things, Pringles says “Bends rule,” in a tweet hashtagged with #BendGate. The firm added the picture you see below to the message, which is a little more positive about bends than most.
A designer posted this amazing image of what he called the “Dali Edition” of the iPhone 6 Plus on his Deviant Art account.
Legendary spoon-bender Uri Geller, keen to get in on any subject vaguely related to metallic items distorting from their original shape, has chatted to MediaWatch. He says the iPhone 6 Plus’ woes are caused either by the phone being a bit to flimsy, or that the psychic energy from millions of excited buyers is to blame. Our money’s on the former, Uri. Ever the opportunist, he urges Apple to hire him to explain to the world it’s not the company’s fault.
The #BendGate bandwagon jumping is sure to continue until Apple comes up with an explanation, and we’ll add our favorites to the list as they come out.
Article originally published on 09-25-2014
