In the promo Video, all Johnny Ives had to do was say, we designed the new iPhone with extreme attention to detail. The manufacturing process that we're using now has never been achieved before. In fact, we designed the chamfered edge to wear much like a fine watch, a beautiful antique, an old brass camera, or a well worn pair of jeans, so that as you make your iPhone your own, going on adventures together, it develops a beautiful patina, attesting to the incredible durability and longevity of this product. Yes, we even took into account how the iPhone 5 looks as it ages.
Personally I don't care much about the scuff issue, but I understand that some would be upset to either receive a badly scratched/dinged phone out of the box, or perhaps a bad batch of anodizing. I always use a case. But Apple does market the aesthetics and beauty of the phone. You can't go on and on about super high power cameras that photograph hundreds of glass and aluminum edges to assure a perfect fit, and then ship what must be thousands if not tens of thousands of cosmetically challenged new phones. Can't have it both ways.
This being said, anybody who is upset or returns their otherwise perfect phone because there is a miniscule, pinprick mark on the black coating, is probably being a little ridiculous. Mine had a tiny, tiny mark below the antenna gap on the side, honestly I'm pretty anal and it just didn't bother me at all. I get much more bothered by functional issues. And so far other than a Wi-Fi issue that I appear to have solved, the phone is awfully good.
You know, I'm sure a lot of people returned a perfectly good phone because of a truly tiny mark in the black coating, only to receive a replacement that had actual issues that affected function. Not a good trade in my opinion. Often times you need to pick the lesser of two evils, and recognize that nothing man-made is ever really, truly perfect.
