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Apple Blames In-Store MagSafe Chargers for iPhone 17 Pro Display Model Scratches

FlavorfulTreat said:
Then why did we not have these same threads for the 15 & 16?

Why didn’t Jerry Rig Everything talk about it with the 15 & 16?

Will you show me the links to the articles or forum posts where this happened last year or at any other point in the past with new model launches?
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I remember seeing these marks on the iPhone 16's last year. The issue seemed to be with the matt glass which when knocked against things picked up small marks on it. Oil from peoples hands on the back of it will also show a circle on the matt surface when it's been repeatedly attached and detached from a MagSafe charger. Wiping it will clear it but it wasn't an issue with the previous glossy backs.

JerryRig and others are talking about the anodising and the sharp edge of the camera 'plateau' on the rear which is a weak point and will scratch off over time if not covered. This is simply a poor design which could have easily been prevented by having a subtle curve to the edges. Having a sharp edge wasn't an issue when the rear panel was made of glass, anodised metal however is very different.
 
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awer25 said:
What I’ve seen from regular users’ pics on other social media is that the color is being scratched off down to the silver aluminum around the camera bump. The one I believe I recall most was the orange model, but the dark blue was bad too. Aluminum is just a softer metal vs the previous titanium, to me this was bound to happen without a case.
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The shaving down at the edges of the camera plateau are not because aluminum is soft, but because the edge is too sharp for the anodization to hold well. Apple deliberately did not round off or chamfer that edge. It’s the anodization that gets shaved off, not the aluminum.

With titanium, the colorful anodization wouldn’t have been possible in the first place.
 
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klasma said:
The shaving down at the edges of the camera plateau are not because aluminum is soft, but because the edge is too sharp for the anodization to hold well. Apple deliberately did not round off or chamfer that edge.

With titanium, the colorful anodization wouldn’t have been possible in the first place.
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So chalk it up to Tim Spindler's bean counting skills again.
 
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dannyyankou said:
But this means anyone who puts their iPhone on a MagSafe stand like this one will receive scratches.
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I think some MagSafe stands are gentler than others. I currently have an Otterbox and a Twelve South HiRise. The OtterBox has a smooth surface. It seems safe. The Twelve South has a rough surface. I already stopped using the Twelve South for AirPods a while ago because they get too warm. The Apple Watch charger is too wide when your watch has a band attached, making it pointless. I plan to ditch it entirely.

Where are the new Qi2.2 stands other than Anker and Belkin? Apple should offer a first-party stand.
 
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GMShadow said:
They 'solved' it by eliminating the Slate color.

Jet Black was also extra prone to scratching. There's no magic fix for some colors and finishes.
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Apple made lots of dark-coloured aluminum iPhone models since then. Lots of MacBooks in space grey and other dark colours too, for that matter.

None of them scratched/degraded like the iPhone 5 did, so clearly they improved something. The black aluminium sides of my iPhone 13 still look pristine after years of use.
 
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JetBlack7 said:
Many customers take their butter fingers to try the new phones and aren't careful. Many let the phones slip and drop on the table and others don't place them properly on the Magsafe chargers...and they fall.
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I witnessed this multiple times last Friday during about 10 minutes at the Apple Store. But doesn't this customer behavior occur all the time? The new iPhones are probably a little more prone to scratches but should be fine if treated with care.
 
Apple has been using anodized aluminum on iPhones and MacBooks for a very long time so the 17 Pro isn't anything new. It's titanium iPhones, only used for two generations, which are the exception. Regarding the edges on the 17 Pro camera plateau MacBooks have always had sharp edges. I have 10 of them in my house and all the corners have dings. The reason people haven't noticed is because MacBooks are usually silver. It's the combination of dark colors and sharp corners that make dings much more noticeable due to the contrast. Personally I don't care about scratches and dings but most people who do put a case on their phones so it's a solvable problem. It's interesting that this level of OCD seems to only happen in the Apple community and there isn't similar scrutiny for Android and Windows products.
 
Sami13496 said:
Who honestly gives a flying penguin about a couple of scratches? It’s a phone, not some priceless jewel you’re going to display in a museum. Scratches are just a natural part of using it. The moment you take it out of the box and actually live your life with it, little marks are inevitable.

At the end of the day, your phone is a tool, not a trophy. It’s there to help you message people, take photos, navigate places, and keep you entertained. None of those things stop working because of a faint line on the screen or the back. And if anything, those scratches just show that the device is being used for what it was meant for.

Stressing over every tiny blemish is like buying a car and refusing to drive it because a rock might chip the paint. Or like never wearing a pair of sneakers because you don’t want the soles to get dirty. It defeats the whole point.

So yeah use your phones, enjoy them, and stop treating them like fragile little artifacts. In a few years, you’ll probably upgrade anyway, and by then those scratches you once obsessed about won’t matter at all.
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Let me remind you, pro model costs like 2k on top spec, tell me it is cheap… but you know what is funny some models that cost like 500$ don’t have any of those issues… You paying friking 2k $ for the smartphone which will have like from day one scratches!!! Is it normal I think not, not for this price! And not for this company! Fffs
 
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Funny not so funny anecdote from my previous life. iPhone 13 mini vs iPhone 12 Pro. My girlfriend tried to hit me with her 13 mini instead she hit my 12 pro lying on a bed. 13 mini got dent and back glass broke. 12 pro was just fine.
 
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votdfak said:
Funny not so funny anecdote from my previous life. iPhone 13 mini vs iPhone 12 Pro. My girlfriend tried to hit me with her 13 mini instead she hit my 12 pro lying on a bed. 13 mini got dent and back glass broke. 12 pro was just fine.
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This is a very sad story.

Anytime a Mini phone is lost in the line of duty, it hurts me a little bit.

Screenshot 2025-09-24 at 14.01.00.png
 
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dannyyankou said:
By the way, if you really want to see for yourself how much Apple is BS’ing, go to an Apple Store and take an iPhone 16 on off one of the MagSafe cases. Then compare it to an iPhone 17 Pro. This is clearly a phone specific issue.
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I stopped believing anything they said after the iPad 3. A completely unfinished product that they released anyway only to discontinue it a year later
 
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tomtad said:
I remember seeing these marks on the iPhone 16's last year. The issue seemed to be with the matt glass which when knocked against things picked up small marks on it. Oil from peoples hands on the back of it will also show a circle on the matt surface when it's been repeatedly attached and detached from a MagSafe charger. Wiping it will clear it but it wasn't an issue with the previous glossy backs.

JerryRig and others are talking about the anodising and the sharp edge of the camera 'plateau' on the rear which is a weak point and will scratch off over time if not covered. This is simply a poor design which could have easily been prevented by having a subtle curve to the edges. Having a sharp edge wasn't an issue when the rear panel was made of glass, anodised metal however is very different.
Click to expand...
Over time, this is happening right away.
 
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It's minor issue but I think Apple (rightfully) focused on the durability of the front screen, back glass, and internals and performance. I would rather have a durable screen or functional phone or one that looks pristine but breaks after one drop.
 
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