Black iPhone 5 Anodized Aluminum Susceptible to Scratching?

[powerbook911]

Does anyone know if Apple Store online phone support can setup an exchange for a white one? IE, they get back the black one and ship out a replacement?

Or will I have to just return it for a refund, wait on eligibility and reorder?

 

[Popinbottles]

Really?

And how many scratched up plastic phones have you seen? Give me a break people. I bought a new black BMW 6 months ago and guess what, it has scratches and dings on it too.

 

[eezing]

Guess what happens when you itch poison ivy?

Perfectly said. Wait so your telling the iPhone 5 is made of uh... material?

 

[Arisian]

I wonder what is going on here.

Did they not notice this when testing the phones?
Quality control had the bottom drop out?
Tim Cook is blind?

 

[darkplanets]

In other news, any object scratches when put against a harder object.

Aluminum certainly doesn't win against steel.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Mine is going in a case so not too concerned

BUT

For a company as obsessed with material quality as Apple how does this consistently happen? Did they learn nothing from the iPod nano scratching and resulting law suit?

 

[pipa]

Yahoo just posted something on this. Between this and the bad press for the map app, Tim cook dropped te ball big time. This is going to hurt

 

[Tonewheel]

I'm not seeing this wear and tear issue being a big deal on the back of the phone. And I'm not buying the weakness of the finish based upon deliberate scratching.

However, mark my words, where this WILL be an issue is the chamfer (bevel) on the side. If you use this phone sans case, the in-and-out and rubbing within your pants pocket will cause this reported wear in short order.

Better keep a Sharpie or two on hand...

 

[Arisian]

And how many scratched up plastic phones have you seen? Give me a break people. I bought a new black BMW 6 months ago and guess what, it has scratches and dings on it too.

I bought a 96 Corolla with 40% of the original paint left on it... Not a single scratch to be found.

 

[damitssam]

OK, so it scratches. I'm sure a large percentage of iPhone users have normal wear and tear on their phones. I, for one, am a user who typically does not like to use cases. I am, however, trading in my iPhone 4 of two years of use through Gazelle and getting $163 back for it with regular use.

Of the options they give (3), they are "Broken", "Good", and "Flawless". The price difference for my return would be about $5 from "Good" to "Flawless". I guess my point is, that if it scratches then so what, it's normal wear and tear. If you want to keep it pristine for years to come and upgrade to another phone down the road- whether you keep the iPhone 5 or trade it in, the money-back price does not change much. Don't get me wrong, there are other reasons to obviously use a case, but in my example, keeping it in pristine condition does not effect your return if you end up trading it in.

As another commenter said- iPhone in the right pocket, keys and everything else in the left.

Lol, you are fool if you ever take in these trade in offers. EBAY rewards phones with no scratches. Looking to bank $300 for my unlocked i4 with 0 scratches thanks to this handy dandy old school Belkin cover.

 

[Tonewheel]

And how many scratched up plastic phones have you seen? Give me a break people. I bought a new black BMW 6 months ago and guess what, it has scratches and dings on it too.

An enthusiast would see to it that scratches and dings would never happen.

 

[powerbook911]

I'm not seeing this wear and tear issue being a big deal on the back of the phone. And I'm not buying the weakness of the finish based upon deliberate scratching.

However, mark my words, where this WILL be an issue is the chamfer (bevel) on the side. If you use this phone sans case, the in-and-out and rubbing within your pants pocket will cause this reported wear in short order.

Better keep a Sharpie or two on hand...

Excellent point. Furthermore, people who put it in a case, when they take it out, it will be scratched up on that edge.

 

[eezing]

I'm barebacking this thing. I got the $99 AppleCare for a reason. People, it's a phone that will be nothing more than a paperweight in 4 yrs.

 

[kerosene]

Wow, good idea, let's go down to the Ferrari, Porsche and Rolls Royce stores and see if my keys will scratch them...WTF?

 

[pipa]

....the black ones smell like licorice and the white ones smell like coconut. Kidding. First off, these phones will scratch no matter what. I just got my white one delivered and its the exact aluminum used for the Macbook Pros. And these Macbooks do scratch if you're not careful.

I'm putting mine in a small sock for now until I get myself a good cover.

Do you know how crazy that ounces that your $700 phone has to be kept in a freaking sock to make sure it doesn't get scratched. This is ridiculous. I just can't believe what's going on right now.

 

[DAVIDUGLY]

Galaxy S3 has been in my pocket since release date with zero damage so not sure what you mean.

 

[OutSpoken]

Oh great.. well there goes the thought of me rocking this phone naked... I really didn't want to cover it up with a case and being so overly precious with it but seeing as it will be so easy to scratch with everyday usage, this actually bothers me!

I actually reckon cases like the hard shell snap cases might pose a problem too, by rubbing against the edges etc

Get ya black sharpie ready folks.

 

[VenusianSky]

Dude you just don't get it. I own every recent apple product that's been released including rmb, iPad 3,4s and a 27 iMac. And I'm going to still buy a white iPhone 5 today. I'm actually on line as we speak. It's about sacrificing quality for a better design. I would rather them charge $20 more for the phone and use a better coating material them having me have to look at the coating vanish before my eyes over time. It just baffles me. This is where Steve jobs comes in. He would have nipped this in the butt after the first testers experienced the wear, cause now if this turns out to be a issue that every device experiences then Samsung and every other company is going to bash apple every chance they get. This will make the national news and could really hurt apple. I don't care what any body says, but if this phone scratches very easy then apple is so wrong for releasing it like that. I just googled iPhone 5 photos and even in some pictures where there showing off the phone you can see scratches all over the metal part of the phone. It does not look good at all. And it's a shame cause I really think the design of the phone is amazing and the best looking phone I ever seen. I can't wait to get one in my hands and see in a week how it looks. I just hope I'm not disappointed.

I hear you. I would be fine with paying a little more for a better quality product. Unfortunately, we aren't the target market any longer. I don't really care that much because I don't mind scratches. I just need a phone that can play all of my music, which some I purchased on iTunes years ago prior to them going to DRM free music. And I don't want to carry a phone and music player together. That is the only reason I ever bought an iPhone in the first place.

 

[Arisian]

I'm barebacking this thing. I got the $99 AppleCare for a reason. People, it's a phone that will be nothing more than a paperweight in 4 yrs.

Except for the fact that I sold a 3GS last month for $200 and then an iPhone 4 for $300... still not worthless to those not wanting to pay the contracts.

Hell I sold a 3G last year for almost $250...

 

[Tonewheel]

Galaxy S3 has been in my pocket since release date with zero damage so not sure what you mean.

Well take it out and use it!

 

[Jibbajabba]

Not true. My iPhone4/4s fell number of times on the floor in my living room (ceramic tiles) without a scratch.

I said glass, not iPhone 4 ...

 

[teknishn]

Oh here we go, first we have excuses for the Maps fk up, now all the fan kiddies wanna make excuse for the shoddy durability that has always been a trait of iPhones. Apple has always been about form over function. We all know this. We also know the fan kiddies just don't care. When android phones were thinner and lighter, it meant cheap phones that were too light. Because iPhone users here have repeatedly said they want to be able feel the phone in their pocket. They didn't want a phone that was so thin and light that it felt like it would snap in half. But NOWWWWW....they love thin, light phones. Because it's just so unreal and amazing.

Oh here we go, another Android zealot wasting their time coming to an all Apple site and reading through and posting comments. Congrats, you have no life.

 

[powerbook911]

Wow, good idea, let's go down to the Ferrari, Porsche and Rolls Royce stores and see if my keys will scratch them...WTF?

A phone tends to get manhandled by most people much more than a car though. People aren't out grabbing their hood and doors all day. They do with their phone. There should be some great durability with such a product, like the 4S.

 

[pipa]

I hear you. I would be fine with paying a little more for a better quality product. Unfortunately, we aren't the target market any longer. I don't really care that much because I don't mind scratches. I just need a phone that can play all of my music, which some I purchased on iTunes years ago prior to them going to DRM free music. And I don't want to carry a phone and music player together. That is the only reason I ever bought an iPhone in the first place.

Got you. I play a ton of games on my phone and I can assure you that millions of others do, and what it looks like is your going to eventually be able to wear that coating right off.

 

[iChrist]

Wow, good idea, let's go down to the Ferrari, Porsche and Rolls Royce stores and see if my keys will scratch them...WTF?

Oh boy, ANOTHER car analogy. Good one, kid!

Anyway, you don't grab your car do you? Well with a phone, people wear rings, especially married people.