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unobtainium

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Mar 27, 2011
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I loved the matte anodized aluminum on my space gray 8 Plus. The stainless steel on the XS Max looks too shiny and tacky in comparison. I know SS is a “superior” material but it’s less aesthetically pleasing IMO. Anyone else?
 
I don't mind the stainless steel on the new stuff but I love the look of the aluminum. My perfect compromise would be the stainless steel look that the 4/4S had. I admire the effort they put in for the polished finish but I think it would look nice a little more roughed up. Makes me miss when you could send those devices in back then and get them finished how you wanted. I had a friend with an all black 4S and it was a beaut.
 
Everyone has their own opinion and I prefer stainless steel on my X as well as the Apple Watch. When the anodized aluminum scratches it’s permanent, stainless steel allows polishing to remove scratches. Plus it gives it a premium look with added torsional rigidity and weight.
 
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I could live with the aluminum on the phone, but if you went with the Max you got stainless steel. I don't like it for the watch and much prefer the aluminum because I am very hard on a watch. I got a stainless the first time and it looks horrible... Won't make that mistake again, which is why I replaced it with the S4 in space gray aluminum.
 
I loved the matte anodized aluminum on my space gray 8 Plus. The stainless steel on the XS Max looks too shiny and tacky in comparison. I know SS is a “superior” material but it’s less aesthetically pleasing IMO. Anyone else?
Stainless Steal is not superior. Why does Apple use Aluminum at all? Because it’s relatively strong and lightweight, doesn’t suffer from oxidation and it’s the most abundant metal on the earth’s surface, easy to recycle and relatively cheap. Apple tried Titanium and Magnesium and finally ended up with Aluminum.

The alloys, colors and finishes they came up with over the years are simply amazing. Stainless Steal by comparison as you said looks shiny and tacky and has all the impression of a cooking pot. I noticed Apple makes some of its products less shiny. The iPhone SE doesn’t have chamfered edges and looks so much better because of it. I wished the edges on my iPad Air 2 were like that.

The tone down look is another reason for me to prefer the iPhone XR. I just can’t decide which color?
 
I very much prefer aluminum over stainless steel and is one of the reasons why I’ll be going for an XR myself.
 
I loved the matte anodized aluminum on my space gray 8 Plus. The stainless steel on the XS Max looks too shiny and tacky in comparison. I know SS is a “superior” material but it’s less aesthetically pleasing IMO. Anyone else?

You can have best of both worlds. Buy a sand paper from discount store and rub it to the SS area of the phone. Probably you will have 8000 aluminum series finish.
 
In Terms of aesthetics, I do like the Stainless bands better and I think it looks more sleek, comfortable to hold. Although The 7000 series aluminum is very durable, which is another reason why Apple used it for the Apple Watch casing as well. I don’t really have a preference either way, but I really did like the aluminum for the iPhone 6/6S/7.
 
I prefer the gloss cause it adds grip. Looks wise I’m 50/50. But grip wise the gloss sides and gloss back make it 100% better than the matte finish
 
I like it better. It feels so much better than the aluminum did in your hand. It doesnt really dent but it does show micro scratches that buff out if you get the silver model. Those scratches on the space grey or id imagine the gold do not show these scratches. Aluminum dents and doesnt feel as good to me.
 
My favorite on all the devices has been the silver aluminum, and there was one gold they had on the watch (before it looked rose gold) that I really liked.
 
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