Following its highly-anticipated launch in September, the iPhone 6 has become a subject of controversy when it harbored a series of issues -- "Bendgate," "Hairgate" and claims of being a 2012 Android rip-off.

"Bendgate," the unintended flexing of the smartphone's body, has been reported by several users at the time. Some of them even posted their wounded devices online, NBC News said.

One user has kept an iPhone 6 Plus in his pocket for 18 hours. While the handset seemed to tolerate activities such as driving, sitting and dancing, the anomaly was discovered when reflection in the device's screen looked "slightly distorted."

Bend test videos eventually became viral, stirring arguments between those who defend and those who mock. Today, however, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have seen how their most recent competitors fared in such regard.

In case you haven't heard, comparative bend tests for the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and HTC One M9 are recently out. As told by MacRumors, the video comes from SquareTrade, a third-party warranty firm.

Results

As things turned out, the Galaxy S6 Edge is bendable at a pressure of 110 lbs -- similar to the iPhone 6 Plus, GSMArena noted.

However, a side of the Samsung flagship's screen, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4, cracked. This is contrary to the iPhone 6 Plus, which only bent upon pressure.

The second part of the testing involved bending the smartphones to their breaking points. The Galaxy S6 Edge endured up to 149 pounds of weight until it finally went dysfunctional.

The iPhone 6 Plus, on the other hand, pushed a little further to 179 lbs before breaking itself.

Interestingly, the HTC One M9 initially bent at 120 lbs, though this pressure also marked its breaking point.

Interpretation

Based on the figures above, it appears that the HTC One M9 is the least-bendable among the three. However, the iPhone 6 Plus looks to have the longest life, while the Galaxy S6 Edge sits safely in the middle -- at least for now.

Durability is a big factor that influences consumers when purchasing devices, but it's definitely not the sole consideration. VentureBeat's rule is simple: "To be safe, don't sit on your new phone."

As far as reports have cited, there is one other flagship that promises great durability, since those who tried destroying it (by hand) apparently failed. This phone is the BlackBerry Passport.

Previously, CEO John Chen challenged anchor Cory Johnson to bend and / or break the Passport. Referring to the latter's attempt, Softpedia wrote, "His attempts were met with Passport's rigidness, as the smartphone did not even flinch when Johnson applied as much pressure as he could."

"Apparently, there's no way you can break the Passport even if you want to, unless you put it through the hammer test," the outlet went on.

The Globe and Mail also tried bending the device, but the metal frame appeared to be very strong. You may also want to check this out.

What do you think of smartphones bending on your pockets? Is durability more important than anything else? Sound off in the comments section.

Watch SquareTrade's bend test below.