iPhone 11 Pro Anyone think Stainless Steel is “meh”?

[spiderman0616]

the PVD finish on my midnight green is holding up really well.

Technically it should be really hard to scratch the PVD coating in normal use. That stuff is supposed to be very durable, though not as durable as the DLC coating on the Apple Watch.

I had the naked stainless on my X and XS Max. I’m trying the space grey on my 11 Pro Max. We’ll see how things go!

 

[Brien]

Gotta have steel on the watch for the weight and durability. On the phone I can take it or leave it.

If you have the steel Watch its nice for the phone to match, though.

 

[FlippyGonnaSnap]

Love it aesthetically and for the structural rigidity.

Surprised others haven’t done it.

 

[GhettoMrBob]

Aluminium is one of the most durable metals on the planet. That is an absolute fact. There’s a reason it’s used in structural and marine applications and with hard anodising it can achieve a very dense surface hardness, more than adequate for the use in a mobile phone. I never said it can be made harder than steel, not sure where you got that from?

I work for Hydro/Sapa and am a senior mechanical design engineer with my focus being on the automotive industry supplying mainly JLR, BMW and Aston Martin. I know about aluminium.

Not arguing, genuinely interested:

I've always preferred the stainless band from my iPhone 4 way back when to the aluminum offerings. I dropped my 4 WAY more often than any of my phones since and it literally has 1 minor, minor ding on the band. My 6s slid out of my pocket when getting out of the car about a week after getting it and the structural damage was SIGNIFICANT (maybe a 1 ft. fall onto the corner).

If aluminum can be made to be much harder, why doesn't Apple do this on their aluminum phones? Cost? Or if they already do, it still seems much less durable in terms of impact resistance?

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Not arguing, genuinely interested:

I've always preferred the stainless band from my iPhone 4 way back when to the aluminum offerings. I dropped my 4 WAY more often than any of my phones since and it literally has 1 minor, minor ding on the band. My 6s slid out of my pocket when getting out of the car about a week after getting it and the structural damage was SIGNIFICANT (maybe a 1 ft. fall onto the corner).

If aluminum can be made to be much harder, why doesn't Apple do this on their aluminum phones? Cost? Or if they already do, it still seems much less durable in terms of impact resistance?

It’s everything to do with cost I would say. Hard anodising is an expensive process as it applies a denser film of aluminium oxide to the surface of the material. Apple have always anodised their iPhones but it’s clear to me the early aluminium iPhones were done so for decoration rather than protection. These phones are not designed to be dropped though even if part of their marketing details ‘better drop resistance’. The glass on current iPhones is supposed to be their ‘toughest yet’ for example, however reports suggest it scratches much easier than its predecessors. Personally I think there’s more serious consequences of dropping your iPhone than the chassis damage and much more costly.

 

[spiderman0616]

Not arguing, genuinely interested:

I've always preferred the stainless band from my iPhone 4 way back when to the aluminum offerings. I dropped my 4 WAY more often than any of my phones since and it literally has 1 minor, minor ding on the band. My 6s slid out of my pocket when getting out of the car about a week after getting it and the structural damage was SIGNIFICANT (maybe a 1 ft. fall onto the corner).

If aluminum can be made to be much harder, why doesn't Apple do this on their aluminum phones? Cost? Or if they already do, it still seems much less durable in terms of impact resistance?

Wait a second--

Was the iPhone 4/4S bead blasted stainless? I honestly have always thought it was aluminum for some reason.

 

[newellj]

Wait a second--

Was the iPhone 4/4S bead blasted stainless? I honestly have always thought it was aluminum for some reason.

No, the 4 and 4S were stainless with a glass back. The 5, 5S, 6, 6S and 7 had aluminum bodies (back and sides).

 

[GhettoMrBob]

It’s everything to do with cost I would say. Hard anodising is an expensive process as it applies a denser film of aluminium oxide to the surface of the material. Apple have always anodised their iPhones but it’s clear to me the early aluminium iPhones were done so for decoration rather than protection. These phones are not designed to be dropped though even if part of their marketing details ‘better drop resistance’. The glass on current iPhones is supposed to be their ‘toughest yet’ for example, however reports suggest it scratches much easier than its predecessors. Personally I think there’s more serious consequences of dropping your iPhone than the chassis damage and much more costly.

Do you know approximately how much more costly than their standard anodization? At their volume I can’t understand if it costs merely a few dollars to be able to market it more so as being stronger.

I don’t disagree with internal damage being more of a consideration than cosmetic. I’ve just noticed more screen breaks as a result of a corner bending and putting pressure on the glass on the aluminum phones than with the stainless.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Do you know approximately how much more costly than their standard anodization? At their volume I can’t understand if it costs merely a few dollars to be able to market it more so as being stronger.

I don’t disagree with internal damage being more of a consideration than cosmetic. I’ve just noticed more screen breaks as a result of a corner bending and putting pressure on the glass on the aluminum phones than with the stainless.

It could be pence at the quantities Apple orders but that can be the difference between whether a process if chosen or not. You’ve got to remember Apple wants you to buy AC too so there is an incentive for a product that doesn’t survive every drop.

 

[spiderman0616]

No, the 4 and 4S were stainless with a glass back. The 5, 5S, 6, 6S and 7 had aluminum bodies (back and sides).

So, that being the case, I'm not sure bead blasted stainless would be super scratch resistant. I had a slide-on style 2 piece iFrogz case on my iPhone 4. It was felt-lined and super soft on the inside. I thought there would be zero chance of the phone getting scratched inside the case. I took the case off a couple of times so that people could see the phone in person without the case on--it was quite the coveted item at the time--and noticed that the sliding action left long scuffs down the sides of the antenna band. It was heart breaking. And those kind of marks cannot be repaired, especially on a bead blasted finish.

So I guess if I had to choose between that and polished stainless, I'd choose the polished. I will say that on my iPhone X and XS Max, the stainless definitely got scratched up similarly to how a piece of silverware would. It was mostly just from taking the case off now and then to clean out grime. Funny thing is, just KNOWING that I could polish it out was good enough for me. I never actually did it. I just liked knowing I had the option. Verizon didn't seem to care about any micro abrasions when I turned either phone in. I got full value.

 

[danniexi]

i prefer the stainless steel simply because of its more premium look and feel. aluminum looks and feels cheap in comparison now. same reason why i went with the stainless steel apple watch as well as the the iPhone 11 Pro (iPhone X before that).

from a build quality/durability stand point, it makes no difference whatsoever.

 

[newellj]

So, that being the case, I'm not sure bead blasted stainless would be super scratch resistant. I had a slide-on style 2 piece iFrogz case on my iPhone 4. It was felt-lined and super soft on the inside. I thought there would be zero chance of the phone getting scratched inside the case. I took the case off a couple of times so that people could see the phone in person without the case on--it was quite the coveted item at the time--and noticed that the sliding action left long scuffs down the sides of the antenna band. It was heart breaking. And those kind of marks cannot be repaired, especially on a bead blasted finish.

So I guess if I had to choose between that and polished stainless, I'd choose the polished. I will say that on my iPhone X and XS Max, the stainless definitely got scratched up similarly to how a piece of silverware would. It was mostly just from taking the case off now and then to clean out grime. Funny thing is, just KNOWING that I could polish it out was good enough for me. I never actually did it. I just liked knowing I had the option. Verizon didn't seem to care about any micro abrasions when I turned either phone in. I got full value.

I don't mean this in a snarky way, but if a few wear marks on your phone are really heart-breaking, you either need to give up on phones or adjust your expectations. *NOTHING* you carry and use every day is going to look like new for very long unless you live like you're in a museum. Some people do, but it puts a lot of fences around your life.

 

[spiderman0616]

I don't mean this in a snarky way, but if a few wear marks on your phone are really heart-breaking, you either need to give up on phones or adjust your expectations. *NOTHING* you carry and use every day is going to look like new for very long unless you live like you're in a museum. Some people do, but it puts a lot of fences around your life.

I had literally JUST gotten it after waiting a month for it to come off of back order. Cut me some slack.

 

[teknikal90]

Exactly. Aluminium is one of the most durable metals on the planet, far more durable than stainless steel

Not arguing, but how is aluminium more durable than stainless? Aluminium once bent cant be bent back, whereas steel can. No?

I only know this because of road bikes.

 

[Kardinal1911]

I prefer steel in the event that I decide to skip a cycle I know my phone is durable for another year. I kept my X for almost 2 years so... who knows what my Apple future holds

 

[44267547]

Not arguing, but how is aluminium more durable than stainless? Aluminium once bent cant be bent back, whereas steel can. No?

I only know this because of road bikes.

Speaking in terms of smart phones only, Apples 7000 series aluminum was extremely durable due to the anodization. They transitioned to this starting with the iPhone 6s, And used it for the Apple Watch casing as well, and I was really impressed with it’s overall durability against scratches. The drawback to the 7000 slSeries aluminum, once it chips away, it spreads.

The problem with the 316 L stainless, it looks good, but it dents/scratches easy, because it such a dense metal that doesn’t have any layered protection like DLC (Which the Space black stainless/space black titanium watches.)

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Not arguing, but how is aluminium more durable than stainless? Aluminium once bent cant be bent back, whereas steel can. No?

I only know this because of road bikes.

Being durable doesn’t mean it won’t bend. Aluminium can be stretched and formed post process so it could be bent back if necessary. Is this really relevant anymore in smartphones though? There’s a long list of damage that can be done to any phone if the intent is there.

 

[bluespark]

I ended up choosing the pro, but I honestly think aluminum is just fine. On the pro, aluminum makes sense because the back is matte and therefore slippery. The steel sides make it a bit grippy, which is nice. By contrast, the the 11 (non-pro) has a grippier back and therefore can be comfortably held with the more slippery aluminum sides. But both materials are nice in their own ways.