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It's not OCD - iPhone 5

B

bjcskier

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 9, 2012
64
0
It's not OCD. It's the fact that Apple apparently has little to no quality control checks with the iPhone 5. Imperfect products absolutely shouldn't be delivered to customers. If you disagree, you're clueless.

The reason you, me and everyone else buys Apple products is because they are a step above the rest. And don't forget, we all pay a premium price for these devices because of their (usually) superior quality.

Apple should be embarrassed that even today, more than two months after the debut of the iPhone 5, it's still delivering new and replacement iPhone 5 devices that are marked/scratched up in some way - or even have other issues like dead pixels, clicking screens, and home button variation.

Apple made three big missteps with the iPhone 5 hardware:

1. Materials choice - the aluminum choices made for the iPhone 5 are simply poor. Figure out a way to better coat/color the aluminum and most of the discussion on imperfections would go away because it wouldn't be an issue.

2. Assembly / training for assembly: Workers feel that the device is incredibly difficult to assemble - but more importantly, they don't feel they were trained adequately on how to put it together. This shows in how things aren't perfectly delivered.

3. Quality control: How are phones that aren't perfect even making it through this stage?!? Does it not exist? Is it too lax?

They have an opportunity to really step up their game and get back to perfection with the next iteration (and hopefully with the help of some other fixes like software innovation for iOS and a more refined Maps product). Let's hope they do it.

But let's really hope at the very least that Apple stops delivering imperfect/cosmetically flawed iPhone devices. Now.

It's not OCD. It's asking for a perfect product - what customers deserve.
 
mattopotamus

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,666
5,879
The thing is, I have only seen the issue on the forums. In real life I know over a dozen people with the iphone 5 and zero have nicks, scratches, or defects. I really think the forums make it seem way more of an issue than it really is. You will find this with any launch of this magnitude.
 
B

bjcskier

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 9, 2012
64
0
mattopotamus said:
The thing is, I have only seen the issue on the forums. In real life I know over a dozen people with the iphone 5 and zero have nicks, scratches, or defects. I really think the forums make it seem way more of an issue than it really is. You will find this with any launch of this magnitude.
Click to expand...

Agreed that people on the forums make it more of an issue than the general population does. But - I've probably seen about a dozen iPhone 5 devices that are owned by friends/family and each really does have some sort of imperfection. Many don't care or notice, but those that do notice aren't thrilled.

Similarly, I've seen about a dozen replacement phones (between myself, friends, etc.) and each has something cosmetically flawed. It's hard to believe that Apple has gotten to this point...

----------
BFizzzle said:
why do you feel the need to justify yourself?
Click to expand...

It's not justifying myself - it's hoping to get other people on board with the fact that Apple is delivering imperfect products. Maybe if they hear the message enough something will change.

Do you think that delivering cosmetically flawed products out of the box is acceptable?
 
Risco

Risco

macrumors 68000
Jul 22, 2010
1,946
262
United Kingdom
Apple created phones that are desirable and cost a premium to boot. Years ago when I had my Nokia 5110, I did not care if I dropped it so long as it worked. Now I have an iPhone I don't want to drop / scratch / damage as it ruins the look. Also by making it easy to swap the phones for minor complaints it feeds the OCD compulsions of people.

My last point really makes any OCD issue irrelevant as Apple seem to allow almost unlimited swaps in the quest for perfection. I do not see them changing this philosophy as it clearly is not harming profits! Another thing to take in to consideration is case manufacturers. If Apple made an almost indestructible iPhone, then the bottom would drop out of the market and the manufacturers do not want that. Therefore the status quo remains, Apple make beautiful products that the public desire and the case manufacturers continue to flourish.
 
J

JayLenochiniMac

macrumors G5
Nov 7, 2007
12,819
2,389
New Sanfrakota
bjcskier said:
Apple made three big missteps with the iPhone 5 hardware:

1. Materials choice - the aluminum choices made for the iPhone 5 are simply poor. Figure out a way to better coat/color the aluminum and most of the discussion on imperfections would go away because it wouldn't be an issue.
Click to expand...

This is simply false. My black iPhone 5 still looks the same as it did on day one, with nary a scratch despite being naked. My mother's black iP5, which came out of the box with a couple of nicks and scuffs, also got no additional scratches despite being in a case. This rules out defective anodized coating seen on some members' iP5 whose black seems to rub off prematurely with normal wiping. So it's very possible to get nicks and scuffs during manufacturing even on normal anodized coating that will withstand normal wear and tear over a two month period.

The biggest factors are #2 and 3. The idiots at Foxconn are allowing predamaged iPhones to make their way into retail boxes in order to meet Apple's demand and don't give a *****.
 
Shrink

Shrink

macrumors G3
Feb 26, 2011
8,929
1,727
New England, USA
bjcskier said:
If you disagree, you're clueless.
Click to expand...

Well, that certainly puts me in my place. It also demonstrates an openness to discussion and genuine reasoned disagreement.

Lucky thing it doesn't sound too arrogant.

I, the clueless, bow low before your superior knowledge and dare not disagree.

:rolleyes:
 
L

lke

macrumors 6502a
Jun 19, 2009
570
15
I hope that Apple is listening about this issues instead of thinking that everything is ok.

If they think that everything is ok and don't do nothing about the bend and scratch issues sooner or later they are going to be affected because people want almost perfect products from Apple.

Steve Jobs always say that Apple products were the best and because of that we want that Apple products are almost perfect.


Who wants to buy an iphone 5 that if drop it bends, or who wants to buy an iphone 5 that after some months it looks terrible.
 
K

Kashsystems

macrumors 6502
Jul 23, 2012
358
1
To be honest, I am kind of nutty myself about this sort of thing. My wife is more even keeled. I got my iPhone 5 and there is a nick in it. To make sure I was not imagining this, I showed it to my wife. I plan to switch it out, but I have to say the way the shipping was done, the phone box was sliding around. So I still will have faith.

Some of these issues are magnified and exaggerated as a form of attention or agenda. I have no negative experiences with Apple's customer service so I am going to assume that case will continue when I go in to swap my iPhone.
 
F

FlatlinerG

Cancelled
Dec 21, 2011
711
5
I have yet to see an iPhone 5 in person that has any of these so called issues. What you read on the internet =/= what everyone experiences. Usually only the bad experiences get posted because people feel the need to rant.

Seems like most of the responses to these threads are people like me replying that they don't have any issues with their product.
 
S

sevendust

macrumors newbie
Oct 24, 2012
28
0
I somewhat agree in terms of having a perfect phone out of the box. Brand new things should be flawless when bought new but after that I don't expect my phone to be flawless after a month of use, surely that would be hard coz i am using it.
 
Risco

Risco

macrumors 68000
Jul 22, 2010
1,946
262
United Kingdom
sevendust said:
I somewhat agree in terms of having a perfect phone out of the box. Brand new things should be flawless when bought new but after that I don't expect my phone to be flawless after a month of use, surely that would be hard coz i am using it.
Click to expand...

Nail, head, hit.
 
J

JayLenochiniMac

macrumors G5
Nov 7, 2007
12,819
2,389
New Sanfrakota
lke said:
Who wants to buy an iphone 5 that if drop it bends, or who wants to buy an iphone 5 that after some months it looks terrible.
Click to expand...

You mean like that one iPhone that got bent because someone dropped a 25 lb dumbbell on it?

The only iPhone 5 that look terrible after some months are those with defective anodized coating, which is a QC issue and should be swapped. The rest of us have iP5 that are still flawless to this day. At least they don't get scratched to hell like the mirror iPod Touch.

The biggest problem lies with the QC issues, period.
 
KdParker

KdParker

macrumors 601
Oct 1, 2010
4,793
998
Everywhere
bjcskier said:
Agreed that people on the forums make it more of an issue than the general population does. But - I've probably seen about a dozen iPhone 5 devices that are owned by friends/family and each really does have some sort of imperfection. Many don't care or notice, but those that do notice aren't thrilled.

Similarly, I've seen about a dozen replacement phones (between myself, friends, etc.) and each has something cosmetically flawed. It's hard to believe that Apple has gotten to this point...

----------



It's not justifying myself - it's hoping to get other people on board with the fact that Apple is delivering imperfect products. Maybe if they hear the message enough something will change.

Do you think that delivering cosmetically flawed products out of the box is acceptable?
Click to expand...

Sounds like you are just playing the apple bashing game. Why does it seem like everyone who had an issue claims to see some crazy number of scuffed iPhones.

I don't spend time checking out everyone's iPhone (non OCD), but the ones that I have seen haven't had any scuffing out of the box.
 
aliensporebomb

aliensporebomb

macrumors 68000
Jun 19, 2005
1,907
332
Minneapolis, MN, USA, Urth
Sigh

Mine were perfect.

However, a friends 64GB he scratched to hell by accidentally putting it in his coat pocket with his car keys for a day while running around town.

OUCH. The back looks terrible now.
 
BFizzzle

BFizzzle

macrumors 68020
May 31, 2010
2,443
0
Austin TX
bjcskier said:
Agreed that people on the forums make it more of an issue than the general population does. But - I've probably seen about a dozen iPhone 5 devices that are owned by friends/family and each really does have some sort of imperfection. Many don't care or notice, but those that do notice aren't thrilled.

Similarly, I've seen about a dozen replacement phones (between myself, friends, etc.) and each has something cosmetically flawed. It's hard to believe that Apple has gotten to this point...

----------



It's not justifying myself - it's hoping to get other people on board with the fact that Apple is delivering imperfect products. Maybe if they hear the message enough something will change.

Do you think that delivering cosmetically flawed products out of the box is acceptable?
Click to expand...

i disagree.. apple is accepting returns on the FEW products that are damaged.

I know 10+ people with iphone5s and they are all pristine including myself. This problem seems bigger on the internet because only people who are upset are going to take the time to complain.. if everyone with a good device came on here to " complain "there would be an insanely larger amount of those treads.
yes some have defects coming from manufacturing, but apple is handling the issues correctly.


get real.
 
areyes163

areyes163

macrumors 6502a
Jun 15, 2012
571
356
Everything thing you can buy in this world will have units that come off the line damaged. Cars, phones everything.

Fact of life. Whining on these forums will never change that.

Unless your buying full price the subsidized cost for the iPhone is the same as most other top smart phones with the exception of the 64 gb so I wouldn't call it a premium.

Most people post are on forums when they have issues or problems. Most people don't not say "wow I love this phone so much and it is so perfect I better join a forum to tell everyone in thread format".

If you get a defection product exchange it period. Don't whine don't complain unless the company will not help you which apple clearly helps everyone so there's no problem. If its such a problem for you that you have to open a thread to complain and attempt to justify yourself then guess what buy something else and move on. Simple.

But I have seen more "perfect" phones than not so I would say their quality control is just fine. Stop whining,stop opening threads to complain on issues others have done already. Your not telling us something others have not already stated.
 
Interstella5555

Interstella5555

macrumors 603
Jun 30, 2008
5,219
13
You're right, it's not OCD. OCD is a medical condition, what you have here is petulant whining by spoiled people who should open a window a window once in a while and realize that a cell phone is a tool, not a piece of priceless art that needs to wrapped in rubber and covered in plastic to use.
 
VandyChem2009

VandyChem2009

macrumors 6502a
Oct 25, 2011
528
0
Houston, Texas
Interstella5555 said:
You're right, it's not OCD. OCD is a medical condition, what you have here is petulant whining by spoiled people who should open a window a window once in a while and realize that a cell phone is a tool, not a piece of priceless art that needs to wrapped in rubber and covered in plastic to use.
Click to expand...

Loved your little rant till you repeated repeated "a window". Lol see what I did there?
 
A

AlphaHumanus

macrumors 6502a
Feb 12, 2012
514
85
lke said:
I hope that Apple is listening about this issues instead of thinking that everything is ok.
Click to expand...
It's Not? Apple just made ****-**** TON of $$. LMAO @you if you think they care.


bjcskier said:
It's not justifying myself - it's hoping to get other people on board with the fact that Apple is delivering imperfect products.
Click to expand...
No. You want to justify your whiney, woe is me attitude.

KdParker said:
Sounds like you are just playing the apple bashing game. Why does it seem like everyone who had an issue claims to see some crazy number of scuffed iPhones.
Click to expand...
THIS. Every damn one of them is THE authority on how damaged the production line is. They've all got a warehouse full of defect phones, and a class action suit just WAITING. Never once mentioning that the device(s) work flawlessly, and that case they're about to slap on, hides that scratch anyway.

I spend a lot of time inspecting other peoples phones however. In fact, I personally handled an easy hundred or so until just a few days ago, while working for AT&T. I've yet to see one of these "faulty coatings" or more than a crumb sized speck. Lot of "vocal minority" when you hang out online.

(you know why carriers open the product for you? It ISN'T to activate it. it so you don't break it when taking it out of the box.)
 
I

iRCL

macrumors 6502
Nov 2, 2011
284
0
bjcskier said:
It's not OCD. It's the fact that Apple apparently has little to no quality control checks with the iPhone 5. Imperfect products absolutely shouldn't be delivered to customers. If you disagree, you're clueless.

The reason you, me and everyone else buys Apple products is because they are a step above the rest. And don't forget, we all pay a premium price for these devices because of their (usually) superior quality.

Apple should be embarrassed that even today, more than two months after the debut of the iPhone 5, it's still delivering new and replacement iPhone 5 devices that are marked/scratched up in some way - or even have other issues like dead pixels, clicking screens, and home button variation.

Apple made three big missteps with the iPhone 5 hardware:

1. Materials choice - the aluminum choices made for the iPhone 5 are simply poor. Figure out a way to better coat/color the aluminum and most of the discussion on imperfections would go away because it wouldn't be an issue.

2. Assembly / training for assembly: Workers feel that the device is incredibly difficult to assemble - but more importantly, they don't feel they were trained adequately on how to put it together. This shows in how things aren't perfectly delivered.

3. Quality control: How are phones that aren't perfect even making it through this stage?!? Does it not exist? Is it too lax?

They have an opportunity to really step up their game and get back to perfection with the next iteration (and hopefully with the help of some other fixes like software innovation for iOS and a more refined Maps product). Let's hope they do it.

But let's really hope at the very least that Apple stops delivering imperfect/cosmetically flawed iPhone devices. Now.

It's not OCD. It's asking for a perfect product - what customers deserve.
Click to expand...

Oh just stop it.
 
D

Damolee

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2012
512
79
Apple's biggest selling point has always been QUALITY.

If they cannot maintain that, they have nothing.

Your paying over the odds for a dual core clocked phone with 1gb ram and the competition are churning out quad cores with 2GB ram and comparable screens.

I have one very very tiny nick on the bottom of mine, but it's miniscule so i'm not bothered about it.

What concerns me is how easy further nicks and scratches will appear on the frame work.

This isn't a phone I would dare use naked, unlike most others I've owned.
 
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