Apple Inc. was once highly respected for quality control in relation to its high-priced, premium hardware but for a number of years, it seems to have fallen short.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, however, it turns out iPad Pros have bends in them. Worse yet, the company Steve Jobs founded is claiming that bended iPad Pros, a device that starts at $799, are normal, or at least not a defect it will make right.

Reports that iPad Pros were first shipping with a bend in them first emerged on the Macrumors forum in November.

Speaking to The Verge, Apple confirmed that some of its 2018 iPad Pros are shipping with a “very slight bend in the aluminum chassis” but then went on to claim that it’s a side effect of the device’s manufacturing process and is not considered to be a defect.

“The bend is the result of a cooling process involving the iPad Pro’s metal and plastic components during manufacturing” Apple said. Certain models are said to be more prone to bending, in particular the LTE model, where the fold tends to occur near the point where the antenna for the 4G modem sits.

Apple claims that return rates for the model are not out of the ordinary, although at the same time, some disgruntled customers are reporting that Apple refuses to offer a refund on the iPad Pro and instead insists on an AppleCare claim.

Exactly how bent iPad Pro’s are is subject to some debate. Pictures from users show a slightly small bend to some that are more significant.

The bigger problem for Apple may be the iPad Pro’s malleable nature. In November, a YouTuber by the name of JerryRigEverything posted a video on how easy it is to bend an iPad Pro than other devices such as Microsoft Corp.’s Surface Pro. In the video, he noted that “structural integrity is important” because he managed to bend an iPad Pro with little effort.

Photo: Macrumors