Putting your phone in your back pocket and sitting down is in the same class of abuse as jumping into a swimming pool with your phone in your pocket. I would never expect any phone to survive either.
I really think this is a ridiculous statement - or maybe I don't weigh as much as everyone else.
Not until now has putting a phone in your back pocket been "crazy." I recently upgraded from the iPhone 4 (which I had for 3 years) to the 6, and for the life time of iPhone 4 I've sat on it for extended hours and had it my back pocket. I currently do the same with the 6.
What I really think has happened here is this whole thing is being blown out of proportion because 1.) its Apple and 2.) they moved 10M units in a weekend (if they had 1% defect rate, thats 100,000 angry tweets, status, youtube videos and blog posts).
FWIW the only videos I've seen of the phone actually bending are the non-measured ones when someone applies an inane amount of force with their hands trying to destroy the thing (with an Li-On battery inside!)
No, putting your phone in your back pocket has always been crazy. Some people do it, but it doesn't make it any less crazy. The only that's changed recently is that people have been discussing the practice of putting one's phone in a back pocket as a result of this story, to which the only rational response is, "that's crazy!" :) This is not a usage pattern that any handset maker tests for or designs their devices to deal with. If it works for you, great, but that's more a testament to either your relatively light weight or the sturdiness of the iPhone 4. It is most definitely not something the people who make smartphones assume their users are going to do.
I think water + electronics is a well-known bad combination. Apple never claims their products to be submersible, so of course a dip in the pool = death to the device (though I've had a Galaxy S3 survive a dip in the pool -- recovered completely after spending 3 days in a bag of rice). The point here is that an iPhone (or similar) is a device carried along with the person. That implies being stuffed in pockets, being dropped now and then, left in the car from time to time, and being sat on. A consumer device of quality would withstand such stresses. I guess if Apple were to make a car it would be okay if it was 'totaled' after running into a curb? I
> That implies being stuffed in pockets, being dropped now and then, left in the car from time to time, and being sat on.
I think it implies being stuffed in pockets and left in the car (barring perhaps the most extreme climates), and perhaps certain types of drops, but not being sat on.
The only time I consciously put my phone (Galaxy Nexus) in my back pocket while sitting was when we were going on a water ride at the amusement park. I think it was worth the risk because we got soaked of course, but I definitely tried to not put my full weight on it.
There have been other situations where I have unconsciously put my phones through pretty intense pressure, not realizing it was under me where I sit down or sleeping with it and it getting stuck in between mattresses/cushions/pillows whatever (although for other reasons I have been trying to not go to sleep with my phone anymore, leaving it plugged in somewhere else).
Used to have my phone in my front pocket, but the iPhone 4s made ugly "phone marks" on my jeans! So moved it to my back pocket where it appears to not do the same amount of damage.
I killed four phones to date simply by accidentally sitting down on them.