Black iPhone 5 Anodized Aluminum Susceptible to Scratching?

[Shearwater]

It was obvious from the first sight of the new phone that is was going to end up messy!....

 

[AlanFord]

This is something it shouldnt happen to such premium smartphones.

 

[VenusianSky]

Seriously, Macrumors needs to take this article down from main page. It is just getting people furious over something that isn't news. Does Macrumors actually hate Apple and want to get people angry at them over aluminum being susceptible to scratching? It's not like Apple discovered aluminum...or did they

 

[KdParker]

just got my black ip5,


found scuffs near the top out of the power button, you can actually feel the scratch


and around the ban there is a white spot which isn't coming off, almost like a spot on a car that did not get any paint

Pics?

 

[Macist]

I always keep my tool rubbered-up before sticking it anywhere rough.

 

[jonnysods]

I'm ordering a film for the front and back of mine. I don't use cases but i always use zagg or the cheapies from china.

 

[Wrathwitch]

I knew as soon as I clicked on comments when I saw this news post that the main amount of comments would be things like:

"duh, metal mars when you scratch it"

"what a surprise, if you scratch things it makes marks"

et al

What I find humourous is that a majority of Apple fans or users, are SO OCD about their devices that THIS IS IMPORTANT INFORMATION. If you are very concerned with the look of your device, and I read COUNTLESS posts from people who constantly rave about how much better, premium, beautiful etc that the iPHone is, and yet when faced with an article that casts aspersions to the design and it's durability under wear (because face it, if you use it, and don't have a case, chances are excellent that the anodization will wear off on the corners of the black units) that in the initial posts they are the first to scream how this can't be so, and focus on the idiot that scratched up the unit, rather than the fact that the unit will show wear. Hard looking wear over time.
Especially since it was showing on the many "hands on" news feeds that were covering the iP5 presentation......

I expect that if this phenomenon is as bad as it indicates that it might be, a majority of people in this thread who were mocking the person who physically tested it, will be the first to be whining about how wear is showing on their phone, despite how careful they are with it.....

 

[KuntryBoy]

Yup

I was thinking this might be the case ever since they announced the black one. But seriously... The guy who scratched it deserves to pay for it. Maybe they should hold him down and take a key to his skin and see if his skin breaks with enough scraping across it.

 

[verniesgarden]

And here we go again...

Design over durability.

People didn't like the glass back of the iPhone 4 because it shattered easily (I know, because I broke mine). Now the aluminum back scratches easily.

I don't think there is any material on this planet that can't be scratched, doesn't shatter and is transparent to radio signals. So we have to live with what we have. Shame we have to put cases on such beautiful things but until this unobtanium material actually ever happens, we get to buy cases.

I bought a Samsung Galaxy S3 and while the back is plastic, at least I can buy a new one if it gets damaged of scratched. Not so with the iPhone 5.

carbonfiber is the closet

 

[breather]

I guess I´ll buy the white one then...

 

[votdfak]

I heard that if you take a set of keys to a $100k BMW 7 series, it scratches like this too!!! I have already sent BMW an official letter stating that I WILL NOT be buying a 7 series due to this serious flaw!!!

Cars/phones comparison is just not appropriate, I don't wanna say lame.

 

[Ice-Cube]

I got my iPhone 5 right here and i don't even dare to take it out of the box yet with all these news floating around. Guess i have to wait for my Bodyguardz film to arrive.

 

[pipa]

The original was prone to those same scratches right out of the box. Now, iPhones coming scratched out of the box is a different story.

Understood and I agree 100%, but companies are supposed to learn from there mistakes. I'm not saying that this is a deal breaker as most people will have a case on the, but when spending top dollar on a device like this you just expect to see a better material used. It really sucks cause I wanted the black one sooooo bad.

 

[BigBeast]

Come on Apple!!

Get your friggin head in the game Apple. I don't know WTF Jony was thinking when he designed this. This clearly wouldn't have met Apple's standards when Steve was around. Did Steve actually ok this??

 

[ClearCoat]

There's been no part of the iPhone I've seen thus far that's not susceptible to scratching. A friend of mine went about a week on the iPhone 4s without a screen protector, relying on the Gorilla Glass - if anything should've been resistant to scratches, it would've been that. However, the screen scratched - nothing is indestructible!

 

[myrtlebee]

People are so eternally stupid. The slate aluminum is the same as the slate aluminum on the iPod nano 3rd and 4th gen and the current iPod Classic. None of those have ever been scratch proof and they chip and scratch to raw aluminum too. What made people think this black iPhone suddenly came with a coating from heaven that somehow changes all of this? I don't remember that development.

That said, it is embarrasing that the world's largest electronics company hasn't figured out a scratch proof coating.

 

[PracticalMac]

Uh, Oh,

Titanium PowerBook G4 all over again.

Steve... <gun shot heard>

 

[violaboy]

free cases?

Maybe this will mean FREE cases from Apple?

I received free bumpers for my iPhone 4. Remember that?!

 

[iChrist]

.
The guy who scratched the phone did a large favor to everyone. Thank you.

Now we and people in store can know what happens and be careful. There are also many many reports of brassing on both white and black due to normal use. See your local Apple store, it is obvious after 1 day.

 

[Jimmy James]

You're scratching it wrong.

 

[Philalbe]

It scratches when you take keys to it?!

That's it, I'm getting a refund!

It will also spark if you put it in a microwave.

 

[/dev/toaster]

Happy I ordered the white one

 

[VenusianSky]

Understood and I agree 100%, but companies are supposed to learn from there mistakes. I'm not saying that this is a deal breaker as most people will have a case on the, but when spending top dollar on a device like this you just expect to see a better material used. It really sucks cause I wanted the black one sooooo bad.

Yeah, you would think that Apple considered that people may not like the idea of the aluminum back getting scratched up, but maybe they did not, I don't know. Maybe they forgot about the original iPhone, which would be weird. I thought about this when I heard that the new iPhone was going back to aluminum. One thing they got right with glass is the scratch resistance, however galss is extremely susceptible to shattering. Oh, and the plastic ones cracked. What's left to use that is affordable?

 

[euphlyusUNO]

The only thing outrageous about this is that someone scratched up a display version. Thats out of line.

I'm sure that guy has a galaxy S3

 

[MH01]

Seriously, Macrumors needs to take this article down from main page. It is just getting people furious over something that isn't news. Does Macrumors actually hate Apple and want to get people angry at them over aluminum being susceptible to scratching? It's not like Apple discovered aluminum...or did they

No, they need to remove the image and reference to the tool that scratched a phone with keys. It's sidetracking people who struggle to read the whole post and get attracted to images.