iPad Mini: Beware iPad mini Black Scuffs - Manufacturing Fault!

[adamirox]

Originally Posted by Mak47

For the love of God, please stop calling it paint. It's not paint. It's anodized aluminum. It's nothing like paint, it's not a type of paint, it's not a dye. It is a chemical treatment intended to give the metal increased corrosion resistance and cosmetic appeal.

The problem isn't that it's anodized, or that it's anodized poorly. It's that it's black. All aluminum scratches and flakes away if cut too thin (like the chamfered edges). It's not a problem if it's a light color or the natural silver. When it's black, you can't help but see every single imperfection.

Makes sense!

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Originally Posted by FlashHead

Seriously. It's your product now. I don't put my device in a situation where will get bruised, scuffed, scratched or even insulted. On the rare occasions I have, I marvel at how well it holds up. And if it does suffer some cosmetic damage, I know it's my own fault. How many cars can you bump without getting a scuff on your bumper?

My issue was i never scrached or bumped it etc. it was 4 days old, no one but me touched it and my ipad 2 is now 6mts old with no scuffs scratches etc

My particular model was simply of poor built quality. Was just wondering if anyone else had an issue like that since i read some complaints on the net of very similar cases

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Originally Posted by fenjen

They didn't take mine back :/

Guess it depends on the shop. Sorry to hear that. I was stressing out about if they take mine back but i guess they saw my point when they looked at it cause there was not a single scratch, just the coating coming off round the edges

[HoosierInFL]

I installed a Wrapsol wet-application protective shield to the back of my mini. Perfect install with zero bubbles. The wet application makes it so easy and you can't even tell it's on the device. If you're worried about scratches, check it out.

[jedolley]

I have had 3 black iPad minis... 1st one was pre-order, but was returned because I got $300+ gift cards from Best Buy and used it for my second mini. Then I exchanged that for a LTE one once available. None of them have had any issues, scuffs or otherwise.

I am considering getting a matte back from PhantomSkinz (40% off sale), mostly because I think it will look nice, but the extra protection is a bonus.

[EMAN19]

I had a Black & Slate iPad mini for a week before shiny scratches started appearing on the chamfered edges. Needless to say I returned it as none of the scratches were caused by me. I knew beforehand that there would be problems (ex: iPhone 5 Black & Slate) as far as cosmetic damage, but I decided to give it a try.

I now have the White iPad mini and love it.

[reputationZed]

I've had my black mini for just about a week now, no scuffs or scratches yet. My iPhone 5 was scuffed by the 3rd day. The anodizing on the mini may be a bit hardier than that on the iPhone 5

[lzyprson]

Originally Posted by fenjen

For everyone who want´s to know how it looks. This is after 4 days of usage and being pretty careful. There are two more more spots. These are just two of them.

Same problem with my ipad. All the local stores have been sold out and unfortunately I have to return it and get another one... I really live this thing. But the scratch-looking paint chips are super annoying...

[Medic311]

64GB LTE in Black/Slate - no scruffs/scratches. the entire aluminum back plate was in perfect shape, no defects whatsoever.

however it seems that my screen seems more "plasticky" than my iPad 3. it also seems to flex more easily. i notice when typing, as it makes a louder more hollow tapping sound than my iPad. it's actually much louder than on my iPad 3. has anyone else noticed their iPad Mini screen flexing more than their regular sized iPad?

[EMAN19]

Originally Posted by Medic311

however it seems that my screen seems more "plasticky" than my iPad 3. it also seems to flex more easily. i notice when typing, as it makes a louder more hollow tapping sound than my iPad. it's actually much louder than on my iPad 3. has anyone else noticed their iPad Mini screen flexing more th

I noticed that too! It does seem more plasticky and flexes more. I noticed it as I was typing. It doesn't bother me though.

[Jinzen]

Used mine for more than 2 weeks naked, into and out of bags, tossed around.

Still flawless.

[timek4]

Got my 64GB black iPad mini yesterday brand new and there's already two small scuffs on it. I know everything scratches but realistically your paying top dollar for their products. Not majorly bothered about it but still feel like apple should have made them properly. I won't be returning it as it was a mission to get this one when I was in Florida, and I am back home.

[Rogifan]

I was at the Apple store the other day and saw all the black iPad mini's on display. I checked everyone for scuffs or scratches and didn't see a thing.

[novono]

I don't understand why they went with anodizing. Even when it's done right, which seems to be a problem for Apple's manufacturers, anodizing is far from being the best option for a handheld mobile device. They should powder coat them IMO.

[adamirox]

Originally Posted by novono

I don't understand why they went with anodizing. Even when it's done right, which seems to be a problem for Apple's manufacturers, anodizing is far from being the best option for a handheld mobile device. They should powder coat them IMO.

Image

those rims look beautiful!! I totally agree!!

maybe they're more expensive to manufacture that way though....

[Amplelink]

Originally Posted by EMAN19

I noticed that too! It does seem more plasticky and flexes more. I noticed it as I was typing. It doesn't bother me though.

That's because the glass on top is actually really, really thin. Thinner than the glass on the big iPad. Definitely was a little weird at first.

[Defender2010]

Originally Posted by unagimiyagi

Form over function.
Aluminum is a poor choice for Apple products.
It dents and it scratches. Some would say better that than heavy and shattering.
OP is right that there's really nothing that Apple can do to fix these scuffs. They'll either happen in the factory or over time when you own it. It was just a bad choice from their materials engineers. No matter how much Apple thinks that the anodized aluminum is good, it doesn't change the facts.
It's not some revolutionary manufacturing process. Perhaps other companies investigated and felt like anodized aluminum isn't very durable and abandoned the idea.
Much scuffier than good old soft touch plastic.
Soft touch plastic does not need to be cheap. Look at some of the stuff HTC is putting out. No one can knock their build quality, although for some unknown reason no one buys their stuff. But as an OEM they are top notch and a great design house. They're in last place, but they don't deserve to be from a pure product quality point of view.

To those who don't care about the chips/scratches, great. But it is Apple itself who bills these devices as works of art and the pinnacle of engineering. If you're going to hype it up, price it up, then any "backlash" that happens is 100% on Apple. They haven't delivered, plain and simple. I would say that if you bought a BMW and there was a chip, or a Cartier with a scratch, complaining is justified. Apple in the electronics world is just that. This is the game they try to play--sell hardware at very high margins. They are the high end and only dabble in the high end. Well, you're going to get some customers who expect a certain level of quality when you play in the high end. No sympathy from me whatsoever if a guy wants to return 10 iphones.

HTCs latest model uses aluminium. I think the complainers here should be a little bit more careful with their products. I have never had a scuff or scratch on ANY Apple device/laptop and I have basically owned every model they ever released (as I always upgrade my model devices and laptops every year). I take my devices out and about and use them to their full extent, but I guess I am just careful and appreciative of the things I buy, compared to some here...

[Badrottie]

small or huge scruff does not bother me because it will happen always. I suppose God is perfect by take care of iPad?

[nia820]

invest in a case. soon as i got my mini it was put in a nice rubber case. aluminum is a soft metal and prone to scratching. at least the current idevices aren't like the old school ipods. the aluminum on those devices were like butter.