Both my 4s and 5 ended up getting little scratches, mainly from my keys. They are not visible when the screen is turned on but when it's turned off they are clearly there. That wouldn't bother some folks but it does me. The scratches I always assumed where to the coating since they are not too deep.
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shatter-resistance would be nice, but I've heard with sapphire when it gets large enough for a screen that benefit goes away? Not sure of that's true but that's what Corning claimed. "Micro scratches" are still scratches. If I didn't care about those I wouldn't care about having a device like the iphone. Defeats the whole point of having a beautiful device when it's got a bunch of micro scratches. Give me smudges I can wipe away over permanent "micro" scratches any day.
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Exactly
Nope. The scratches are not in the coating, they are on the glass. My phone has a few micro scratches that are visible only under bright, bright light such as spot lights or sunlight at certain angles. It doesn't bother me and is a fact of life. When they become visible when the device is being used or apparent under any light condition, that's because the scratch is much deeper and is a result of use/neglect on my part. Not a defect.