Scuffgate - is Apple going to make an official statement?

I seriously doubt it. Did you ever own one of the original iPods? Those things scratched by wiping them with a soft cloth. Apple didn't release a statement then.

I think this is a little different than "antennagate". Apple has made anodized products for years, and they always show wear. That's just what happens. As far as phones being beat up out of the box, I'd imagine based on their history that such people would have no problems getting them swapped. But I don't see how that would warrant an "official statement".

These are mass-produced as fast as possible by people-I'm sure there will be less-than-perfect models that come off the line. You'll find examples of that with anything, no matter the cost. I collect watches-the last one I bought new (which cost 15x the full retail of an iPhone 5) had a scratch on it out of the box and it had never been touched. My screen has two hairline scratches on it that came like that out of the box.

Nothing is perfect, unfortunately.

Apples official statement:

"Now you knuckleheads know why we use uncoated aluminum for our entire product line. End of message."

It's not so much about imperfections, but the percentage of them. This condition is at a high rate. Alloy versus anodizing formula could be incorrect. I have anodized flashlights in a toolbox that are not scratched.

GoodBoy said:

Welcome,
So now that almost everyone have experienced or heard about the so called scuff issue, should we expect any official statement from Apple?

Click to expand...

GoodBoy said:

Welcome,
So now that almost everyone have experienced or heard about the so called scuff issue,

Click to expand...

GoodBoy said:

almost everyone

Click to expand...

Love these claims.

How are you guys with scuff gate looking at the phone when it arrives. Are you examining it under microscope? 10x 20x magnification? I took mine out of the box, looked at it front to back, about 3 seconds and done. Nothing on it. Clean and spotless. I mean if you look at anything close enough you are going to find something. Even diamonds have flaws.

At the end of the day, the iPhone is still made in china and this is what u get with china made goods. It's not goin to be perfect. If it was made in Germany, I'd be pissed as hell.

richpuer said:

At the end of the day, the iPhone is still made in china and this is what u get with china made goods. It's not goin to be perfect. If it was made in Germany, I'd be pissed as hell.

Click to expand...

Thats an interesting point. We expect that almost every product in our house that is "Made in China" will contain some sort of imperfection or fall apart within a year. But when it comes to Apple products then we expect perfection? Why? In the end it's still made in a place that is known for making poor quality goods.

I had no problems out of the box. I had to take a45 minute trip an put the phone between my legs like i always did with my iphone4. I looked at it about halfway thorough my trip and look at that. Paint had chipped off. Nothing too big but noticeable. Havent even put it in my pocket! Lol

Where's the freaking Apple bumpers?

nfl46 said:

Where's the freaking Apple bumpers?

Click to expand...

That wouldn't help with my scuffed screen What do you expect from letting 8 year olds work in the factories in China

Official statement from Apple: "your holding it wrong"

appswipe said:

Thats an interesting point. We expect that almost every product in our house that is "Made in China" will contain some sort of imperfection or fall apart within a year. But when it comes to Apple products then we expect perfection? Why? In the end it's still made in a place that is known for making poor quality goods.

Click to expand...

Engineered in China vs. Engineered in US, country of engineering matters more than country of manufacturing to a certain degree. This is why Apple products though made at the same factories are much much higher quality than say a knock off product.

They won't make a statement, they'll just change the anodizing process and be done with it.

Apple anodized the iPhone 5, but its definitely not up to par with some of their past anodized products. My wife has an old school iPod shuffle and I see no wear at all. And she used that practically everyday for a two years. I think the anodized process they chose this time is inferior.

I've had my iPhone 4, which was made in China, for over a year. It's arguably the highest quality product I own, in terms of build quality. It looks as if I bought it yesterday.

The excuse that it's "Made in China" is a defense mechanism to direct the blame away from Apple. Apple prides itself on its processes, and it seems as if their process wasn't as good as they thought it was. Simple as that.

If this were any other company, it wouldn't be such a big deal. But when you release videos proclaiming the process being used to make this thing is "revolutionary" and "never been done before", people expect the end product to meet those claims.

Apple is advertising perfection, so they have to deal with the consequences when 40% (based on poll number) of their product ships defective. That's a HUGE defect rate. Every product ships with defective units, but what's key here is the 40%.

richpuer said:

How are you guys with scuff gate looking at the phone when it arrives. Are you examining it under microscope? 10x 20x magnification? I took mine out of the box, looked at it front to back, about 3 seconds and done. Nothing on it. Clean and spotless. I mean if you look at anything close enough you are going to find something. Even diamonds have flaws.

At the end of the day, the iPhone is still made in china and this is what u get with china made goods. It's not goin to be perfect. If it was made in Germany, I'd be pissed as hell.

Click to expand...

What time to pay for them it should doesn't feel like we're paying for cheap/ ok china made product.
We pay for top notch product that's been known and advertised as such.
Just because you don't care doesn't mean people that care wrong, apple talks about perfection and that's exactly what most of us want to have.

It would just be, "Don't rub it on things and it wont scuff" - Apple

You're scuffing it wrong.

I believe their statement would include something about your wild exaggerations and poor spelling.

resale rates are gonna bomb

GoodBoy said:

Welcome,
So now that almost everyone have experienced or heard about the so called scuff issue, should we expect any official statement from Apple? The problem seams to be widespread, houndreds of people (on this forum alone) reporting cosmetic problems with their new iPhones - scuffs either out of box or shortly after few hours of use. It seams like at this point Apple is playing poker face about all this. They replace affected iPhones no questions asked, yet remain mum about it, at least on the official level. They probably want to minimize bad PR, although it seams like inevitable.

Click to expand...

yourtoys7 said:

What time to pay for them it should doesn't feel like we're paying for cheap/ ok china made product.
We pay for top notch product that's been known and advertised as such.
Just because you don't care doesn't mean people that care wrong, apple talks about perfection and that's exactly what most of us want to have.

Click to expand...

Guess what... water is wet.

And

Metal get scratched.

Apple never claimed the Anodized Aluminum Casing as scratch resistant. Scuffgate? Don't think so.

GoodBoy said:

Welcome,
So now that almost everyone have experienced or heard about the so called scuff issue, should we expect any official statement from Apple? The problem seams to be widespread, houndreds of people (on this forum alone) reporting cosmetic problems with their new iPhones - scuffs either out of box or shortly after few hours of use. It seams like at this point Apple is playing poker face about all this. They replace affected iPhones no questions asked, yet remain mum about it, at least on the official level. They probably want to minimize bad PR, although it seams like inevitable.

Click to expand...

Issue a statement? Seriously?

My reaction: This whole thing is overblown.

I was at an AT&T store today. They had a demo black display model (they had no white models on display). You can tell it had gotten a lot of "use" from all the fingerprints, but there was no evidence of scuffing whatsoever. In fact, if you cleaned it up and put it in a box, you could probably sell it and the buyer would be none the wiser.

I have the white version, but the black model looks nice, as well.

Only time will tell, but it just seems like some were scuffed out of the box...not that they are prone to scratch easy.

The fact it's made in china doesn't have anything to do with it at all. If Apple gave Foxcon the instructions to change/improve the anodising process and paid them them accordingly - the products would be fine.

Manufacture in China, India, Indonesia is just as good as anywhere else in the world - these facilities can make products to any standard they are contracted to. If apple says 'make a flawless product' they can make it - it's down to what Apple specifies and how much they are willing to pay. Foxcon is state of the art, it wouldn't be any better if it was made in the USA if Apple gave the same instructions/tolerances.