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iPhone 14 Pro Ceramic Shield is soft?

black_knight

black_knight

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 2, 2021
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Feedback and experience regarding the scratch resistance/hardness of the “Ceramic Shield” glass on our iPhones…

I have a launch day 14 Pro that has somehow acquired a roughly 1/2” long scratch on the display. Phone always goes in my pocket with nothing else in it besides the phone. Nothing has been dropped on the phone. Somehow this has happened.

Is the Ceramic Shield all that it’s cracked up to be (durability and hardness)? I just sent back a launch day 12 Pro on trade that had a near mint screen after 2 years of use with nothing of the sort. I’m a little concerned that after 3 weeks, this has already happened after careful handling of the phone.

No, I do not use a screen protector.

Also to note, upon very careful inspection, the scratch seems to be underneath the glass? Would this be possible? Now, I’m not saying that it is under the glass, I just can’t tell if it’s on the glass or underneath…
 
I believe I’m right in saying that there is a direct trade off between shatter resistance and scratch resistance. As something becomes more shatter resistant it becomes more susceptible to scratching. As glass becomes more scratch resistant it’s easier to shatter.

I could be wrong and would be happy to be corrected by someone more knowledgeable!

As far as I’m aware Apple has never advertised Ceramic Shield as being more scratch resistant just that it offers better drop protection.
 
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Has Apple specifically mentioned “drop protection?” Apple says Ceramic Shield is “tougher than any smartphone glass.”
 
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Apparently it is. I always use a glass screen protector, not sure why other iPhone users don’t, I guess they take apples word that the screen will not scratch, ever. The glass screen protector is hardly noticeable and never gets in the way. I installed one on my 14 pro max before turning it on. Plus mine is anti glare which is fantastic by the way. Yes I know, good for you is what you probably are thinking. If so, then yes, good for me. If anyone damages their iPhone screen because you didn’t use a screen protector, then it sucks to be you…. Y’all have iPhone replacement money! Like speeders have ticket money.

Excuse the rant, but to point out your question, the coating is most likely soft. It doesn’t take much to scratch it apparently. If the scratch is under the glass, that’s Apple’s fault from the factory. The brass tab just above the front pocket of most jeans probably is the root cause of the scratch, assuming you, like a lot of people put their iPhone in the front pocket…if so, Why? Back pocket of shirt pocket is best.

Go to the nearest Apple Store no matter how far away (make an appointment online) and see what they can do. Local carrier stores won’t do anything for you. Worst case is you’ll have to buy a new screen / display.
 
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ToddH said:
Apparently it is. I always use a glass screen protector, not sure why other iPhone users don’t, I guess they take apples word that the screen will not scratch, ever. The glass screen protector is hardly noticeable and never gets in the way. I installed one on my 14 pro max before turning it on. Plus mine is anti glare which is fantastic by the way. Yes I know, good for you is what you probably are thinking. If so, then yes, good for me. If anyone damages their iPhone screen because you didn’t use a screen protector, then it sucks to be you…. Y’all have iPhone replacement money! Like speeders have ticket money.

Excuse the rant, but to point out your question, the coating is most likely soft. It doesn’t take much to scratch it apparently. If the scratch is under the glass, that’s Apple’s fault from the factory. The brass tab just above the front pocket of most jeans probably is the root cause of the scratch, assuming you, like a lot of people put their iPhone in the front pocket…if so, Why? Back pocket of shirt pocket is best.

Go to the nearest Apple Store no matter how far away (make an appointment online) and see what they can do. Local carrier stores won’t do anything for you. Worst case is you’ll have to buy a new screen / display.
Click to expand...
I’ll have to check my jeans around the pocket for any metal tabs. I wear them about once a week. 90% of the time the phone is going into my dress pants that do not have anything that could cause this scratch. Strange phenomenon, indeed.
 
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Softer glass is more susceptible to scratching and it’s more resilient to breakage. Hard glass breaks easer because it’s more brittle yet more scratch resistance. You can snap in half a well toasted slice of bread, but only bend the soft slice of bread.
 
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black_knight said:
I’ll have to check my jeans around the pocket for any metal tabs. I wear them about once a week. 90% of the time the phone is going into my dress pants that do not have anything that could cause this scratch. Strange phenomenon, indeed.
Click to expand...
It's not a "Strange phenomenon, indeed." if you scratched it on your pants that you're not even sure has a metal tab on them or not.
 
Last edited:
black_knight said:
Has Apple specifically mentioned “drop protection?” Apple says Ceramic Shield is “tougher than any smartphone glass.”
Click to expand...
If you want better drop protection (cracks/shattering) you trade off for less scratch resistance. You can't have both unfortunately.. As far as scratches from your pocket, lint can contain small particles of sand or grit that definitely can put shallow scratches in the display.. If the scratch is deep then I'm not sure what could of done it. Seems unlikely the metal rivet by the 5th pocket could cause that damage
 
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black_knight said:
I’ll have to check my jeans around the pocket for any metal tabs. I wear them about once a week. 90% of the time the phone is going into my dress pants that do not have anything that could cause this scratch. Strange phenomenon, indeed.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that is strange. If it didn’t scratch that way. Usually the pants I think I’m talking about are Levi’s. But I guess other pants can have them too, but probably not dress pants. Anyway, I really hope you find out What did it or at least can get it fixed For free. Keep us posted.
 
black_knight said:
Feedback and experience regarding the scratch resistance/hardness of the “Ceramic Shield” glass on our iPhones…

I have a launch day 14 Pro that has somehow acquired a roughly 1/2” long scratch on the display. Phone always goes in my pocket with nothing else in it besides the phone. Nothing has been dropped on the phone. Somehow this has happened.

Is the Ceramic Shield all that it’s cracked up to be (durability and hardness)? I just sent back a launch day 12 Pro on trade that had a near mint screen after 2 years of use with nothing of the sort. I’m a little concerned that after 3 weeks, this has already happened after careful handling of the phone.

No, I do not use a screen protector.

Also to note, upon very careful inspection, the scratch seems to be underneath the glass? Would this be possible? Now, I’m not saying that it is under the glass, I just can’t tell if it’s on the glass or underneath…
Click to expand...

Scratches simple do all of a sudden appear, something had to cause it. If it is on the back side of the screen glass, then you have a warranty issue with Apple.
 
Saladin12 said:
I’m like 90% sure when Apple announced the iPhone 12 series they described it as 4x tougher drop protection.

Edit: just found a tweet -
https://twitter.com/x/status/1409802224650293249
Click to expand...
Ok, cool, I guess. Apple literally says on their website, “tougher than any smartphone glass.” My point still stands.

For a smartphone to have glass that is “tougher than any other smartphone glass,” I wouldn’t think a scratch that seemingly came out of nowhere, would be associated with a phone that has glass that is “tougher than any other smartphone glass”
 
ToddH said:
Yeah, that is strange. If it didn’t scratch that way. Usually the pants I think I’m talking about are Levi’s. But I guess other pants can have them too, but probably not dress pants. Anyway, I really hope you find out What did it or at least can get it fixed For free. Keep us posted.
Click to expand...
Checked my pants for anything that could have potentially caused the scratch and nothing presents itself.
 
We don’t know what any other screen would have done had it gone through the exact event that scratched your phone, because none did. Maybe they’d have come out looking worse— no one knows.
 
black_knight said:
Ok, cool, I guess. Apple literally says on their website, “tougher than any smartphone glass.” My point still stands.

For a smartphone to have glass that is “tougher than any other smartphone glass,” I wouldn’t think a scratch that seemingly came out of nowhere, would be associated with a phone that has glass that is “tougher than any other smartphone glass”
Click to expand...

That's not how material science works. The harder the glass (to avoid scratches), the more brittle it is and more prone to shattering. Ceramic Shield is designed to reduce shattering so its "tough" in this regard. Downside is it doesn't have a high hardness which is prone to scratches with objects that have a hardness greater than 6.
 
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So, the answer to my thread according to the experts on the MacRumors forum is that Ceramic Shield, is, indeed, soft.
 
gwang73 said:
That's not how material science works. The harder the glass (to avoid scratches), the more brittle it is and more prone to shattering. Ceramic Shield is designed to reduce shattering so its "tough" in this regard. Downside is it doesn't have a high hardness which is prone to scratches with objects that have a hardness greater than 6.
Click to expand...
While what you stated may be true, Apple didn’t make that claim, did they? When they describe a product as “tough,” easily scratched glass doesn’t immediately come to mind (I know, I know, my opinion and interpretation and all that).

There could be a few different scenarios at play here.

A.). The scratch that is now observable and present on my phone may not have been caused by me and was not caught in a QC inspection. Full disclosure, I didn’t inspect my phone immediately after unboxing. I just assumed it would be perfect.

B.). I did, indeed, scratch the phone unknowingly. This is entirely possible and haven’t ruled it out. However, as stated in my OP, my 12 Pro that had 2 years of usage has no such scratches. Same pants, work and casual were what the phone went into.

I will do some research about the claims being made by the materials experts here on MacRumors regarding scratch resistance, versus material strength and the relationship between the two.
 
Have you ever bruised yourself without knowing how it happened? Scratches on phone displays are incidental for the most part, I’m sure most of the scratches on phone displays happen incidentally without the perpetrators knowing how it happened
 
ChoiMinji said:
Have you ever bruised yourself without knowing how it happened? Scratches on phone displays are incidental for the most part, I’m sure most of the scratches on phone displays happen incidentally without the perpetrators knowing how it happened
Click to expand...
I questioned myself if I should bother posting anything at all. This, along with a few other replies in this thread reassure me of my predictions.
 
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