The first M4 iPad Pro bend tests are in, and the initial consensus appears to be that Apple has managed to make its thinnest device ever just as durable as the previous generation M2 iPad Pro that it replaces.
Two approaches were taken in bend tests by prominent tech YouTubers. JerryRigEverything for example forcibly applied pressure by bending the new device with his hands, while MobileReviewsEh took a different tack by placing the iPad under a force meter and applying gym weights on top to exert pressure within a limited contact area.
When bending the iPad Pro from the back in the horizontal position, JerryRigEverything found that the device held up "surprisingly well," as if "suspicious levels of black magic structural integrity" were going on.
When forcibly bent from the back, the glass screen eventually rippled away from the frame, yet the display and operating system continued to function normally. When it came to putting pressure on the device vertically, however, it was a different story, and the iPad Pro quickly suffered a catastrophic split up the middle, originating from the USB-C port.
Watch on YouTubeJerryRigEverything then removed the display to reveal and remove the internals, including the new metal cowling that runs down the middle of the device. "If Apple could add another more perpendicular spine running width-wise near the charging port, this thing probably would have survived," he added. Watch on YouTube
