Google phone exposed to have a defect: it bends when you bend it

The Nexus 6P mobile phone, which is commonly known as Google's "own son", has recently been caught in a whirlpool of public opinion over the fact that it bends when bent.

An American netizen posted a video detailing the serious design flaws of Google's Nexus 6P, saying that it makes the phone very easy to bend and break. "Most smartphones are very sturdy, so I was shocked to find that this phone broke like a pretzel in my hand." Nelson said in the video, "Even my very young sister can easily break this phone in half."

This morning, Matt, a consumer electronics product reviewer from Engadget, said in an interview with the Legal Evening News that the cracks on the phone all appeared near the volume button. He believed that the gap between the battery and the motherboard was right at the opening of the volume button, and this gap became the weak spot of the Nexus 6P phone.

The reporter interviewed Google about this matter, but no response was received as of press time.

Three major flaws

Weak support + thin border + improper layout

According to the British Daily Mail, the video was uploaded to YouTube by Zachary Nelson from Utah, and he became the first person to carefully analyze the Nexus 6P "bending gate" incident.

In the video, Nelson explains why the phone bends when it is stressed in certain situations. The first is that the aluminum frame screws are not tightened and are not firmly connected to the shell. "They are completely separate, and the only support from the aluminum frame to the back of the phone is a piece of ultra-thin glass on the surface of the phone and some plastic parts." He said.

Nielsen went on to explain that the second flaw of the phone is that the side frames are too thin. "If the aluminum frame on the back of the phone is firmly connected to the middle frame, the thin frame is not a problem. But when the phone is bent, the middle frame and the back frame are not stable, so the side frame becomes a decoration and is meaningless."

As for the third design problem, it is the arrangement and layout of the internal components. Nielsen said that the battery of the Nexus 6P phone is placed in the lower part of the device and on the motherboard. These components are connected by an aluminum plate. This design is to increase the rigidity. But because it is located near the power button, it becomes a fragile part of the phone and also causes the phone to bend easily.

"Hybrid" products

Huawei's first foundry is said to be hoping to return to China

In September this year, Google launched a new generation of Nexus phones in an attempt to compete with Apple smartphones. The report pointed out that Google launched Nexus 6P and Nexus 5x a day before Apple announced record sales of the new iPhone in the first week.

Although the Nexus line hasn't sold as many units as the iPhone or iPad, it's become a way for the tech giant to showcase its latest advances in mobile hardware and software.

According to media reports, although this phone will not be sold in mainland China, it will be a very important step for Google to return to China. According to reports, Huawei has become the co-developer of Google Nexus 6P, which is also the first Nexus smartphone manufactured by Huawei.

It is reported that the Huawei (HUAWEI) logo appeared on Google Nexus devices for the first time, reflecting Google's strong desire to get a share of the domestic market.

Not unique

iPhone 6 suffers from "bending scandal" due to weak structure near volume button

The report said that Apple phones also encountered similar problems last year. The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus were exposed to be easily bent, mainly because they were made of aluminum. Aluminum is a relatively soft metal with good toughness and flexibility, so if it is subjected to enough pressure, it will bend and deform.

The report pointed out that no aluminum part in iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus is thicker than 0.64 cm, which means that it is very likely to bend in these vulnerable places. In the pictures exposed by netizens, it can be seen that many bends occur near the volume adjustment button and SIM card slot. In these areas, part of the shell is removed to make room for buttons and SIM card slots, so the aluminum plate is very thin and easier to bend.

To prevent the phone from bending, users must ensure that the middle of the phone is not subjected to strong pressure. For example, do not put the phone sideways in your pocket to avoid bending due to pressure between the pocket and the leg. Putting the phone in the back pocket of the pants will also have a similar risk. Therefore, it is relatively safer to put it in a shirt pocket or bag.

Expert interpretation

There is a problem with the structural design of the mobile phone, and a gap becomes a weak point

Matt, a consumer electronics product reviewer for Engadget, said in an interview with the Legal Evening News that the Google Nexus 6P could be easily bent because of structural design problems. It can be seen that the cracks are all near the volume button. "I think the main reason is that the gap between the battery and the motherboard is right at the opening of the volume button, which is also the most vulnerable part of the entire frame. Without the support of the battery and motherboard, this gap naturally becomes a soft spot." Matt said.

Matt believes that the Google Nexus 6P "bending incident" is actually a wake-up call for manufacturers. In other words, don't use the same mobile phone structure design again, otherwise the next product may also bend when bent.

Matt commented on the Google Nexus 6P phone, saying that overall, the glass panel of the Google Nexus 6P phone uses Gorilla Glass (Gorilla tempered glass) from Corning, which has good strength and scratch resistance. However, after using it for a few days, he found that the screen without a film still had several obvious scratches.

The front camera of this phone uses an 8-megapixel photosensitive element with a unit pixel size of 1.4 microns. The width around the earpiece is a bit large because it places the light and distance sensor below the earpiece.

China landing point

Taobao has a lot of purchasing information. Netizens complain that they can't access the Internet.

A search by a reporter from Legal Evening News found that Google Nexus 6P phones are sold on Taobao and JD.com. Among them, there are more than 100 sellers on Taobao, and more than 1,900 items of related product information. Most of them are sold in the form of "Global Purchase" and shipped from the United States or Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. The price ranges from 3,000 to 4,000 yuan. The payment purchase records range from about 6 to nearly 200.

The reporter found that in the reviews of stores selling this phone, many consumers gave it positive reviews, believing that the hardware was of good quality and the design was textured; but some people also complained that the phone did not come with headphones, and was only equipped with a charging socket and a data cable; the Google phone would always be in detection mode, and when connected to wifi, it would show that the wifi was connected, but it would not be able to access the Internet.

Currently, only one store on JD.com sells this phone, priced at 3,988 yuan, and the phone is shipped from Hong Kong, China. Consumers who bought this phone in this store have not given any reviews.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.