San Francisco, May 25 (IANS): Apple's own internal testing has shown its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices were far more susceptible to damage from bending than previous models and the company shipped the phones knowing they would bend, media reported.

However, Apple had maintained at that time that only a small number of users complained about the bending of the devices and said in a public stance that there were no engineering issues with the iPhones.

"A lawsuit over 'Touch Disease', from which the new documents emerged this week, alleged that Apple indeed knew in advance about the problems with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus," Apple Insider reported late on Thursday.

The "touch disease" or "bendgate" as it was commonly referred to, surfaced in 2016, when users in larger numbers began noticing a small flickering towards the top of their screen on iPhone 6 Plus.

In November 2016, the Cupertino-headquartered giant reportedly reacted by launching a programme which offered repairs for a $149 service fee.

"That followed reports, in August 2016 that about 11 per cent of Apple Store repairs at the time were in relation to that particular issue," the report added.

The released court documents also show that in May 2016, more than six months after the release of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the company began using epoxy to strengthen the affected part of the logic board.