#Hairgate strikes as Apple’s iPhone 6 starts plucking beards
Just as Apple’s embarrassing #bendgate issues were receding from the headlines, a newer – and more painful – problem has emerged regarding its new set of iPhone 6 smartphones: they’re pulling out people’s hair.
No, that’s not a bad metaphor for some frustrating or broken features. Multiple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users have complained online that their hair is getting caught in the shiny new devices when they make phone calls. When they end their calls and pull their phones away from their faces, their beard and head hairs are being pulled away with them.
Unsurprisingly, this problem and apparent design flaw is now being labeled #hairgate on Twitter and other social media networks.
My hair keeps getting caught in the microscopic seam between glass and aluminium on my iPhone 6
— Kavan (@KavKilledKenny) October 1, 2014
The seam on my iPhone 6 where the aluminum meets the glass is definitely catching my hair and pulling it out. #seamgate#hairgate#gdhurts
— Scott Bilsky (@str8ngelybrown) October 6, 2014
Although complaints via Twitter date back to late September, the issue gained wider attention over the weekend, when a community member posted a short article on the Apple news website 9to5Mac complaining about his iPhone 6 Plus.
“Initially I thought it was the hair sticking to the screen protector,” the member wrote. “But upon closer inspection, it was the seam between the glass and aluminium– hair gets stuck and when you try to free it out, it hurts.”
Users online have noted that the potentially painful problem has a remarkably easy solution: slap a case on the phone. With a case covering the seam, the phone would not be able to grab hold of precious facial and head hairs. That proposition is controversial itself, though, with many iPhone users refusing to encase their phones in plastic for aesthetic reasons.
Soon after the hairy matter became publicized, the internet began doing what it does best: making fun of Apple and hipsters whose beards have now become a problem. Some have even suggested that the iPhone 6 and its larger-screened brother double as effective razors.
Stay Smooth! #iPhone6#HairGatepic.twitter.com/gAikdwKCRi
— maxcento (@maxcento) October 6, 2014
Apple has yet to comment on #hairgate, but the latest “scandal” comes in the wake of #bendgate, another highly mocked event that nonetheless highlighted the fact that iPhone 6 Pluses are subject to bending when placed in back pockets or sat on.
The technology giant downplayed the phone’s potential to bend, though, saying that less than a dozen customers complained about the issue soon after launch. It also said the phone may be bending due to its large size and very thin frame.
Haha newest complaint added by #iPhone6 users #hairgatepic.twitter.com/rmR4AKbLMH
— Adrian Bharath (@agbharath) October 6, 2014
Your phone may be smarter than ever, but leave the shaving to the experts. #beardgatepic.twitter.com/eEbH96bdS3
— Gillette (@Gillette) October 6, 2014
