Samsung Responds to SquareTrade “Bendgate” Galaxy S6 Edge Video

Recently, gadget insurance company SquareTrade made some waves showing off a stress test of the Galaxy S6 Edge, claiming it had bending issues similar to the iPhone 6 Plus, and that it wasn’t as “bend resistant” as the HTC One M9.

Samsung today replied with a video showing how they test the durability of their phones, comparing it to the amount of force necessary to snap five pencils.

While a three point test is certainly dramatic, what’s concerned me about phone durability, since the release of the iPhone 6, has been deformation over time, especially uber-thin phones utilizing aluminum shells.

It’s all well and good that a phone can bounce back from one brief instance of extreme force, but how does it hold up to months of lower pressure “influence” exerted by pockets and the contours of the human body. In that regard, having a glass back plate might actually be a benefit, and we’ve seen (anecdotally) that the Gorilla Glass 4 shell seems pretty durable.

Does this response from Samsung assuage your concerns over claims of another “Bendgate”? Drop us a comment, and you can read Samsung’s full response below.

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Is the Back Glass on the Samsung Galaxy S6 Indestructible?

SM-G920F_002_Back_White_PearlObviously the answer to the question posed in the title of this blog post is “No”. Shame on you for clicking on link bait.

However, this Korean video shows the GS6 surviving some pretty incredible intentional damage. I would never have handled an iPhone 4 or Nexus like this.

It should go without saying however, that regardless how durable a phone might be built, if you intentionally try to damage it, eventually you will succeed. Still, this is better survivability than I would have assumed.

Choices! HTC One M9 on AT&T Shipping March 27 or Samsung Galaxy S6 Pre-Order?

Decisions decisions…

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AT&T announced their plans and pricing for two of the most anticipated Android phones of the year. The HTC One M9 will be available starting tomorrow, March 27th for $0 down on AT&T Next, $199.99 for a two year contract, or $708.99 off contract. HTC’s newest flagship will be available to ship SAME DAY if orders are placed before 1pm Central time.

Or…

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Also on March 27th, you can pre-order the Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge. The 32GB GS6 will cost you $22.84 on Next 24, and the Edge will cost a bit more: $27.17 on Next 24. AT&T declined to give two year or off contract pricing in their press releases.

So. Are you going to grab the HTC which will ship tomorrow, or will you be putting your money down on a Samsung which will ship next month?

You can get more info on both phones below.

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T-Mobile Offering One Year of Netflix with Samsung Galaxy S6 Pre-Order

t-mobile free netflix samsung galaxy s6 somegadgetguyAnnounced yesterday via his Twitter account, rambunctious T-Mobile CEO John Legere took the wraps off of a pretty sweet “value add on”, getting a one year subscription to Netflix when you pre-order a Galaxy S6 on Lil’ Magenta.

There’s quite a bit of fine print to this offer though. While it’s good from March 27 through April 12th, it seems that there might be a limited number of subscriptions to be had, as the offer details stipulate 92,000 available. If you were already planning on a GS6, does this motivate you to put your cash down on a pre-order?

(via T-Mobile)

MWC2015: Galaxy S6 & Samsung Pay! HTC One M9 & RE Vive VR Headset! Announcement Reactions!

It’s been a crazy start to MWC 2015 with a pair of killer announcements from Samsung and HTC! New smartphones, mobile payment systems, and a VR headset! What were your first reactions to the news? Drop a comment below!