[jyl]

Of course they test them, exhaustively. The usage that leads to bending isn't normal. Not normal to deliberately destroy your phone by bending it in half. Also not normal to cram a big phone into tiny tight pants and fold it with your body mass / weight.

When every new iPhone comes out, people look for ways to destroy it and post videos. Drop "tests", screen hammer "tests", scratch "tests". They always find lots of ways. Smartphones icluding iPhones aren't indestructible, they get broken all the time, the 6/6+ is no different. it is a $700 computer, people treat them like they are $100 because that's what they "paid", and then they learn their lesson.

I do think the phone would be stronger if it were thicker, and I'd gladly trade an extra 1/8" for more battery capacity. But most people seem to want thin phones.