Over the last few days, some iPad Pro owners have taken to the web to complain about subtle but noticeable bends in their iPad Pros. Of course, it goes without saying that if you spend a minimum of $800 on a brand new tablet, the last thing you want to see is an aesthetic imperfection.
Apple earlier this week confirmed that some iPad Pros will exhibit a slight bend, while also emphasizing that the bend is simply a normal part of the manufacturing process and that it will not get worse with time. Put simply, Apple doesn’t consider iPad Pro units with a slight bend to be defective.
In the wake of Apple’s admission, a MacRumors reader named Craig emailed Tim Cook about the issue. Craig subsequently received a reponse back from Dan Riccio, Apple’s Senior VP of hardware engineering.
Riccio explained that the bent iPad Pro units meet all of Apple’s stringent quality control tests with respect to “flatness” and that the standard of quality Apple uses on its 2018 iPad Pro models is actually higher than what it’s been on previous models.
Riccio’s message reads:
Relative to the issue you referenced regarding the new iPad Pro, its unibody design meets or exceeds all of Apple’s high quality standards of design and precision manufacturing. We’ve carefully engineered it and every part of the manufacturing process is precisely measured and controlled.
Our current specification for iPad Pro flatness is up to 400 microns which is even tighter than previous generations. This 400 micron variance is less than half a millimeter (or the width of fewer than four sheets of paper at most) and this level of flatness won’t change during normal use over the lifetime of the product. Note, these slight variations do not affect the function of the device in any way.
Now, that all sounds well and good, but if you’re one of the unfortunate users with an iPad Pro that just looks a tad askew, I’m sure Apple’s talk of micron precision won’t do much to alleviate your frustration.
