SAN FRANCISCO – Apple’s newest iPhones ran into some glitches Wednesday after users complained that a new software update blocked their calls, and a video circulated to suggest that the larger of the two new models is vulnerable to bending.
Apple said it would stop providing the software update, which it began distributing Wednesday morning to fix several issues in last week’s iOS 8 operating system for iPhones and iPads.
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The decision to pull the update came after some people complained on Twitter and in Apple user chatrooms that the update, dubbed iOS 8.0.1, rendered their phones unable to make calls and caused problems with a feature that lets people unlock their phones with their fingerprint.
By midday Wednesday, Apple announced that it was investigating the reports and would issue advice to users “as quickly as we can.” Users are still able to the upgrade older phones to last week’s version of iOS 8, which Apple said has already been downloaded to nearly half of all iOS devices.
Some tech blogs reported the update only seemed to cause problems for the latest phone models – the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. It’s not uncommon for new software to contain bugs that have to be fixed with subsequent releases.
Meanwhile, social media sites were buzzing on Wednesday with reports that the aluminum shell of the iPhone 6 Plus is vulnerable to bending. Some Twitter users claimed their phones showed a slight curving at one end after several hours in a pants pocket. With a 5.5-inch screen, the iPhone 6 Plus is slightly longer and thinner than other iPhone models.
It’s not clear how widespread the complaints are. One YouTube video showed someone bending an iPhone 6 Plus by applying extended pressure with his hands – not from normal sitting.
Both the iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus were given high ratings in a recent “breakability” test sponsored by SquareTrade, a San Francisco firm that sells protection plans to consumers for their electronic devices. That test did not include bending, and SquareTrade plans further tests.
Apple did not comment on the reports of bending.
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