For premium products, with premium prices, Apple really has gotten arrogant in recent years, and it concerns me. Phones should not be scratching up this quickly with the most basic use, i.e. using it as it's intended to be used. Then there's the mess of iOS/macOS26 that they released to the public. Good lord.
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Apple Modifies In-Store MagSafe Stands to Prevent iPhone 17 Marks
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I'm still keen to know why this is an issue now. Matte glass has been a mainstay since the 11 series. To my finger the texture feels different this time around.
We know they changed the material to ceramic shield. Did they also have to change the etching process? If it's the same process, is ceramic shield simply more abrasive than whatever glass was being used before?
We know they changed the material to ceramic shield. Did they also have to change the etching process? If it's the same process, is ceramic shield simply more abrasive than whatever glass was being used before?
The non-silver versions do in the Apple Stores at least, according to Apple, at least partly due to the hard white plastic Magsafe disc on the in-store display/charger stands (now with silicone!), though maybe retail iPhones that people have purchased might theoretically experience somewhat less of this since they're not being repeatedly taken off of and put back onto those stands many times a day by people who are less than careful.
I think with the titanium perimeter band atomically bonded to the inner aluminum frame, that made the titanium part of the structural frame of the iPhone.
Good questions. Maybe something is different about the manufacturing process and/or materials used to make the glass backs on the iPhone 17 models than previously.
Looking at the photo in this MacRumors article of the Magsafe disc on the in-store display/charger stands:
...makes me wonder if some shoppers at the Apple Stores, when placing iPhones back onto the Magsafe discs, are being careless about placement, scraping the backs of the iPhones against not just the hard white plastic disc, but also at an angle against the slightly recessed metal ring around the disc, until the magnets align. Some people might say "Who would be that sloppy and careless?", but that would just mean some people haven't yet noticed that some people are.
...makes me wonder if some shoppers at the Apple Stores, when placing iPhones back onto the Magsafe discs, are being careless about placement, scraping the backs of the iPhones against not just the hard white plastic disc, but also at an angle against the slightly recessed metal ring around the disc, until the magnets align. Some people might say "Who would be that sloppy and careless?", but that would just mean some people haven't yet noticed that some people are.
Yes, in the sense that it was the outer shell and was directly bonded to the aluminum frame, yes, they were both structural.
Apple made a big deal about the thermal bond between the two metals during the keynote. It is not epoxy. I recall something about an ultrasonic welding technique.
I'm sure the Macs aren't made out of recycled aluminum lol else they would be having these scratch gates
This isn’t about scratches on the aluminum sides of these phones. This is about “marks” on the glass backs. It appears that those marks are from parts of the MagSafe chargers rubbing off on the glass backs. There is no evidence that those glass backs have been permanently harmed by this. It just looks messy and people are on heightened alert for anything that might be a negative.
It was thin and did not provide any extra protection over the previous steel frame. Clever engineering allowed them to be cheap with their materials (replacing steel with aluminum for all but a thin band). That's the definition of marketing. Save money, but sell buzzwords.
I’m surprised this was a thing. My partner works at corporate for a chain. They have a replica of the store and user test the process for hiccups like these.
Apple has quietly added a protective silicone ring to its in-store MagSafe charging stands following reports of marks appearing on some iPhone 17 series display models, according to Consomac.
The apparent move comes after Apple last month confirmed that worn MagSafe chargers in retail stores were causing what appeared to be scratches on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. There have also been reports of the marks appearing on iPhone Air models.
Apple said the marks were actually material transfer from the stand to the phone, and could be removed with cleaning. The company also noted that other models like the iPhone 16 were affected by the problem.
It's currently unclear whether the in-store display change is localized to France, where the Consomac report originates, or if it's just a snapshot of a more widespread rollout to Apple retail stores in other countries.
Separately, Apple has addressed concerns about scratching on the camera plateau area of the iPhone 17 Pro models, saying the edges have similar characteristics to aluminum cases on other Apple devices, like MacBooks, and may show normal wear and tear over time.
(Thanks, Sylvain!)
Article Link: Apple Modifies In-Store MagSafe Stands to Prevent iPhone 17 Marks
It doesn’t seem like Apple does, which is surprising.
What's wrong with continuing to use iPhones as they age?
To me that's smart and what everyone should be doing as much as possible/practical.
I'm sure there was some cost cut somewhere.
It's always about money, one way or another, with Tim.
It's not a matter of which model it is, but rather the color. From what I saw in person, with the iPhones on display in my local Apple Store, prior to Apple applying a silicone coating to the hard white plastic Magsafe disk on the charger/display stands, the color coating on the backs of all the non-silver models (Air, base, Pro) was particularly susceptible to these scratches and smudges. I haven't been back to my local Apple Store after they made the change to the display stands to see if this is somehow still happening.
I went back a few days ago, i did see scratches on the base 17 in mist blue, but the green didnt appear to show much and the lavender didn't show even less. One sage green base 17 at another local nearby apple store did show very minute scratches but that could be because it's a busy apple store probably or people are rough handling with store models than their own personal iphone. The lavender is super pretty, but damn it's girly @_@
Maybe the difference in the number of scratches and smudges on the backs of different iPhone colors is an indication of each color's popularity, with the less-popular colors being picked up from and then put back onto their display stand less often, and so they experience less damage.