The Story of a Bent iPhone →

Bendgate probably got more attention than it deserved, but that doesn't mean there wasn't some truth to it. I was surprised that very average (not tech nerds) people were extremely aware of Bendgate within only a couple of days of the iPhone 6 launch and often the first question people would ask me when they saw that I had a new iPhone 6 Plus was, "has it bent yet"? That was a little much, but Dan Seifert, who is a tech journalist at The Verge, tells his real life story of a bent iPhone 6:

I purchased an iPhone 6 the first day it was available and have been using it as my main device for the past six weeks. Last night, while sitting on my couch, I noticed that it seemed like the Apple leather case my phone lives in had some obvious curvature to it. Upon removing the case, I realized that the phone itself had a very apparent bend, and it could easily be rocked on a flat surface. I also noticed there was a dent on the back of the phone. Neither issue impaired usability, but neither could have been chalked up to normal wear and tear, either.

Note that this was an iPhone 6, not a 6 Plus. Most of the focus of Bendgate was on the iPhone 6 Plus. He continues: 

Following Apple's instructions, I used my bent iPhone to schedule an appointment at the Apple Store's Genius Bar for the following morning. I went to the store for my appointment, explained the situation to the employee, who then confirmed that the device was indeed bent without any obvious signs of abuse. I was then given a replacement iPhone and sent on my merry way. The whole process took less than a half an hour. From the time that I discovered my iPhone was bent to having a new phone in my hand was about 12 hours. Apple replaced the damaged phone under warranty at no cost to me, even though I had originally purchased the device from AT&T and not Apple itself. I'd never paid for any extended warranty or AppleCare Plus.

Seifert also notes that his Apple Genius said they'd only seen the issue a couple of times out of thousands of iPhones 6 at the Genius Bar. Before commenting on the level of service he received, he remarked that he was sure the Genius did not recognize him as a journalist, and thus he didn't get any preferential treatment. On the service itself:

I'm not thrilled that my iPhone 6 bent under normal usage, but I can't say I'm unhappy with the resolution. I discovered a problem with my phone late in the evening and had a replacement the very next morning. (I'm fortunate enough to walk past an Apple Store every day on my way to work, so I didn't have to travel far to a store.) The worst part of the whole ordeal was having to reprogram my fingerprints for Touch ID on the replacement device. One of the big reasons that I often recommend iPhones to others is because of Apple's support structure — I can't think of another company that could resolve this kind of problem so quickly and painlessly.

For the record, my iPhone 6 Plus remains unbent.