Samsung weighs in on the bendability of its new phones

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
The S6 Edge - maybe not all that bendy after all.

Last week we posted details of a lab test run by US insurance firm SquareTrade showing that both the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and the iPhone 6 Plus from Apple - subject of the notorious 'bendgate' incident - could withstand the same amount of pressure before buckling.

Now Samsung has something official to say on the matter. First of all, Samsung says the 110 pounds of pressure that bent the Galaxy S6 Edge would never happen in your back pocket - the most you'll get there is 66 pounds of force, according to the company.

Secondly, the South Korean firm says, the tests didn't do enough to show off the strength of the back of the phone. "Some smartphones have different durability in each the front and back sides respectively," explains Samsung's blog post. "SquareTrade has only tested the front side, which may mislead consumers about the entire durability of smartphones."

Breaking point

As a result, Samsung wants another SquareTrade test to show both the front and the back of the handset under pressure. It has been busy carrying out its own tests, which you can see in the video embedded below.

"All our devices are put rigorous high-quality validation tests before they are delivered to consumers," says Samsung. "These tests include various conditions, such as dropping, bending, and breakage. And we are confident that all our smartphones are not bendable under daily usage."

The point of the test (and our subsequent report of it) wasn't really to claim phones could break under daily usage - it was more to show an interesting comparison of the durability of this year's flagship phones. Still, now you know Samsung's official riposte.

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.