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

[krakenrelease]

They should make an iSponge in the same color as the case for cleaning the marks

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

Only on the front, not the back.

Yeah but what about Ceramic Shield 5? How can we ever sleep.

 

[killhippie]

Its so easy to say "take care of your damn things" until you have a coffee and your cat jumps on your table and as you reach to protect a spillage the phone you were chatting on speaker gets knocked to the floor. (I have a very bouncy black cat) but my 16 Pro has never over heated or dented, maybe that metal casing on the 16 pro's helped who knows like the stainless on the 14 pro (I dont update each year as you just don’t see a difference and if you are a certain kind of person you will defend that knowledge that not enough did change to warrant over £1000 just a year later.

Its like taking cash and burning it. Anyone who did not see Apple cutting back on build quality, maybe battery quality, or the myriad of things they can do and maybe did and then added a vapour chamber that looks like a copper chewing gum wrapper under that battery while that plateau glows white with heat in many videos cant act shocked. This year Google, Samsung and now Apple have all gone the path of least resistance and made cutbacks and used way to much AI in the cameras rather than phones like the Vivo X200 that use good quality Zeiss lenses and sensors with along with a 6000 mah battery. The USA and Europe has no competition and belts were being tightened within Apple this year, I mean would Jonny Ive have designed the 17 Pro's Plateau? Apple lost a fortune money to the political arena. Then presented the host of it with a golden prze that screamed "please stop hurting us"

I bought my M4 40 Core GPU Mac Studio this year because god I did not want a Mac Mini over £2800 that was sucking its own warm air back in with minimum paths for dust clearence and more limited IO (and no I don't want dongles) I also needed more power and the IO that the current Studio has, because Apple will want to save cost on it when they update it and nope I didn’t want that but I know its coming.

So yes its sad the rim and the back of the iPhone 17 Pro can look battle weary in a day. The Air, well it looks beautiful but to many compromises were made for my liking and Samsung fitted more in to a simalar space. Maybe if Apple had not been so greedy with its cost more would have sold, and yes it would be a great basic phone, but with far to many caveats for my liking.

This year was very evidently a year of cutbacks. And if you were shocked then where were you looking when Apple lost so much money and talent in 2025?

 

[JetBlack7]

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.

This is true, both of your statements.

 

[chineseguy38]

Another BS from Apple. They were using the same charger for iPhone 16 Pros. They weren't scratched like that. Still try to spin for downgrading from titanium to cheaper Aluminium in order to get better profit margin.

 

[scrapesleon]

Of course let’s blame the chargers instead of the cheap materials used to make the device

 

[cardfan]

So you're telling me the internet jumped to conclusions and made something overblown? Didn't see that coming…

No one mentioned this problem last year though..or in prior. lol

 

[maxfromdenmark]

Ok then FIX IT!

 

[stealthytolkien]

How about just voting with your wallet?

Return the phone. Today.

Control the urge. Until you read reports about a phone that’s not prone to scratching like this one is. And then buy that phone.

 

[jimscard]

But this means anyone who puts their iPhone on a MagSafe stand like this one will receive scratches.

And lol at “material transfer”. I looked at these iPhones yesterday at a store, and tried to rub out the scratches on one phone. Nothing happened. They’re scratches. And I use an old MagSafe stand without a case. I never have any material transfer.

I just know for iPhone 18 they’ll bring Ceramic Shield 2 to the back glass and call it a “feature”.

A similar thing happened with the 15 and 16s and people thought they were scratches, but they came off following the instructions on Apple's web site. It's a fact of physics - when two surfaces meet, material transfers from the softer to the harder.

 

[jimscard]

So they basically are not owning their decision for how the bump scratches easier. Got it!

I don’t have that wear issue on my MacBook Pro. It it also isn’t handled the same way a phone is. Haven’t been successful putting my laptop in my pocket for a while….

Or it doesn't actually scratch easier. People also falsely claimed similar things about nanoglass...

 

[dcingie]

Anyone who bought one of these monstrosities and funded Apple phoning it in this year deserves a scratched phone 😂

 

[usmaak]

So you're telling me the internet jumped to conclusions and made something overblown? Didn't see that coming…

It’s all Reddit’s fault! 😂

 

[1984]

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

Exactly and Apple is very well known for being a design and detail oriented company that puts a lot of effort into making things look premium, often to the point where some would argue that it’s form over function, particularly during the Jony Ive years. If it was just a tool people wouldn’t care what it looked like. Is it a tool or a trophy? It’s both.

 

[mxrider88]

Blame the accessory they made? WOW.

 

[Xenomorph]

I've been to two Apple Store locations in the St. Louis area (West County and the Galleria). I went from iPhone 17 Pro to iPhone 17 Pro, picking them up and looking over their sides and backs. I found no scratches on any of them. Not even on the plateau edges.
Any scuffs (on ANY phone, not just the 17 Pro models) that I noticed were from them rubbing on the stands Apple has them on. It's not damage to the phone (the phones damage the stands, not the other way around).

I've seen the JerryRigEverything video where he *tried* to scratch the back of an iPhone 17 Pro with a coin and a key. All it did was grind down the coin and key. I listened to him talk about how hard the anodization process made the backs of the iPhone 17 Pro phones.

I'll even quote him:

"The colorful exterior aluminum oxide anodized layer on the iPhone is a level 9 on the Mohs scale of hardness, second in hardness only to diamonds, which are a level 10."

I find it strange that there was such a sudden amount of people claiming the backs of these phones were scratched up. Even now, this thread is 7 pages long, with people complaining about the aluminum, making jokes like "you're holding it wrong", etc.
So Apple is lying about the hardness, Zack Nelson (JerryRigEverything) is lying about the hardness, but random internet people are totally telling the truth and not just posting garbage?

Is anyone familiar with the MacBook Pro? Every one I've had has been made of aluminum. Apple has been making all kinds of things out of aluminum for years. Decades, even. My 2021 MacBook Pro, complete with its sharp edges, still looks new, and isn't all scratched up.

 

[2128506]

Tim's attempt at firing up Reality Distortion Field.

Pathetic.

 

[bsmr]

Coming back to the main topic....: 'Someone at Apple told someone from a blogging platform....'?!

So what? Is this an official statement from Apple or ist it just someone working at an Apple Store telling someone else, that the 'MagSafe chargers' are the issue?

Come on... Let's wait for an official statement from Apple and then call it 'official feedback'.

 

[dampfnudel]

Serves you right for buying those ridiculous colours

Haha

My silver is amazing!!

Yeah, silver is the way this year. If you pick a dark color, get a case ASAP.

 

[bsmr]

Yeah, silver is the way this year. If you pick a dark color, get a case ASAP.

Yes - this! And don't forget to not drop your phone. Even with cases on it, as the 17 Pro dent quite fast. Apple Cases don't help that much!