Updated @ 03:03, September 26: Apple has finally officially acknowledged Bendgate, stating that actual cases of bent iPhones are “extremely rare.” The company says it has only received nine complaints so far, supporting the idea that this is mostly just a few unlucky users who have been amplified by the undiscerning megaphone that is social media. Apple has also let a few journalists into its testing facilities, to show that the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are put through some very rigorous stress, pressure, and torsion tests.

Updated @ 12:38, September 25: This post has been updated with a new video that compares the relative bendability of the iPhone 6, HTC One M8, new Moto X, and Lumia 1020. The iPhone 6 appears to fare a bit better than the iPhone 6 Plus, with the Lumia 1020 and Moto X both being a lot tougher. The One M8 flexes a little, but not to the same degree as the iPhone 6.

First there was the iPhone 4 Antennagate. Then there was the iPhone 5 Scuffgate. And now, with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, there is Bendgate.

Yes, it seems Apple’s all-aluminium design can’t withstand the truly awesome stresses of being placed in the front pocket of a pair of skinny jeans. Numerous owners of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are reporting that their new phones have developed a noticeable bend or kink after being placed in a pants pocket. This isn’t people sitting on their phones, either: A tight front pocket, plus the curvature of your thigh, is enough to bend the new iPhone 6 or 6 Plus.

Furthermore, to prove that these bent iPhones aren’t just freak accidents caused by overly tight pockets, a crop of “bend test” videos (embedded below) have popped up on YouTube over the last 24 hours.

In most cases, these iPhones aren’t bending enough to break them — though presumably, over time, repeated bending will cause serious damage.

Design flaw, or just frothingly vehement Apple fans?

At this point, it’s pretty clear that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are indeed bendable. What we don’t know is if this is a design flaw, or if the issue is being blown out of proportion by the huge volume of new (and very passionate) iPhone 6 owners. Remember, there are now 10 million owners of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus who are spending a significant portion of their waking hours admiring and fondling their shiny new slice of Apple magic. All it takes is one iPhone 6 owner to report a slight unplanned curvature, and suddenly millions of other owners are looking for the same problem.

Putting aside such sociological concerns for now — I’m not a sociologist — let’s focus on whether the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have a design flaw or not.

For a start, bent phones are not a new phenomenon. The iPhone 5 and 5S both had a tendency to bend if you sat down with them in your rear pocket. The Sony Xperia Z1, which has a metal frame, has also been known to bend. Basically, if you look hard enough, most metal-bodied phones have been known to bend.

This might come as a shock to some of you, but metal bends — and specifically, the cheap, thin, and light metal that is used to make some smartphones (aluminium) is very bendy. This is actually one advantage of using plastic instead of metal: If you apply enough force to bend solid aluminium, it stays bent; plastic, on the other hand, is elastic and bends back into its original shape (assuming you don’t break the elastic limit and snap the plastic, of course — but modern thermoplastics are very tough).

Skinny jeans

In previous examples of bent metal phones, they mostly arose from being placed in a back pocket — and then being sat on. Even if you’re a light person, this is an awful lot of force for a thin piece of metal to endure. With the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, however, phones are reportedly being bent in front pockets, by the combined force of your tight pants material and the curvature of your thigh. This is a much bigger issue: Sitting on your phone is your fault, but just sitting down with a phone in your front pocket is fairly standard behavior for a modern human.

Obviously, skinny jeans and other items of apparel with tight pockets are a big factor. If you have larger or looser pockets, your iPhone would be free to move around, rather than being wedged up against your voluptuous thigh.

Read: iPhone 6 vs. iPhone 6 Plus vs. HTC One M8: Which one should you buy?

But the other distinct possibility is that, in its continuing effort to make its phones thinner and lighter than the competition, Apple made the metal body of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus just a little too thin. Shaving just a fraction of a millimeter from the iPhone 6’s aluminium chassis could yield significant reductions in both manufacturing costs and overall device weight (and perceived weight/balance).

The problem with the “design flaw” theory, though, is that it assumes Apple didn’t test its devices. I am fairly certain that Apple has a range of robots that put new devices through a series of rigorous tests — and I’m sure a bend test would be on that list.

But who knows. Maybe Apple messed up. Maybe Apple’s stress tests weren’t designed for these new, larger-screen devices. Maybe a last-minute decision was made to reduce the thickness/quality of the metal chassis. Maybe this was Apple’s way of finally giving us the curved phones that we’ve always dreamed of…

Or maybe, in true Apple fashion, you’re just sitting the wrong way. Maybe, in the next few days, Apple will issue an advisory on how to sit in such a way that your pants pocket doesn’t unduly stress your new iPhone 6. Maybe we’ll see the emergence of iPhone-approved skinny jeans; or maybe… just maybe… this is the killing blow that will finally mothball skinny jeans and resurrect gloriously voluminous cargo pants.

Now read: The 5 best new features of your new iPhone 6 (hint: bending isn’t one of them)