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Has your sapphire screen scratched yet?

  • Yes

    Votes: 16 15.5%
  • No

    Votes: 87 84.5%

  • Total voters
    103
It looks like a scratch on the oleophobic coating. And yes, the sapphire display does have the coating. Straight from the user guide:

The front of Apple Watch is made of Ion-X glass (strengthened glass) or sapphire crystal, each
with a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic (oil repellent) coating.
 
What is the point of having a sapphire display for scratch resistance, when it has an easily scratchable coating?!?

Madness.
 
Maybe they wanted to fill a few more Stainless Steel orders and used the normal glass because the sapphire yield was too low.

Maybe some jeweller has a test thingy shown in that video to verify.

Maybe the silliest thing on Today's Internet...
 
What is the point of having a sapphire display for scratch resistance, when it has an easily scratchable coating?!?

Madness.

Why couldn't Consumer Reports scratch it then?

I'm not convinced any scratches that appear are just scratches in the coating
 
One thing you could try is scratching that "scratch" with your fingernail. My other watch with a Sapphire Display got marks like that all the time when I accidently brushed past painted walls. That MIGHT just be paint from a wall which can easily come off with a fingernail.
 
Why couldn't Consumer Reports scratch it then?

I'm not convinced any scratches that appear are just scratches in the coating

Scratches on the coating are "hairline" and very difficult to spot unless you're examining it up close and under certain lighting with a "perfect" angle. If you refer back to the original post, the OP states that it is only visible under a very strong, direct light. Hence why I think it is a scratch on the coating.

It's possible that Consumer Reports either did not bother reporting the scratches on the coating, or they simply did not even notice them. Of course, it is also entirely possible that the OP's scratch is not the coating and is something wrong with the display, but I think that there's a good chance that it is in fact, just a coating scratch.
 
I wonder if your watch was assembled incorrectly. Perhaps you don't actually have sapphire on your watch.

:eek::eek::eek:


http://www.cultofmac.com/287021/iwatch-production-in-november/

Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, who is undoubtedly the most accurate Apple analyst on the planet, is saying that Apple won’t begin mass production of the iWatch until November. He has also lowered his sales projections considerably because of “complications” Apple has to deal with concerning new materials like sapphire.

Earlier this year, Kuo predicted that the iWatch would be released alongside a bunch of other new Apple hardware in the fall. That’s still the case by most accounts, but the timing seems to still be in limbo as Apple works out kinks in the manufacturing process.

According to Kuo, the iWatch will indeed have a slightly curved AMOLED display with a sapphire protective coating. It’s already been rumored that sapphire will be in the iWatch along with the iPhone 6, so that’s no surprise. A recent scratch test with an iPhone 6 display panel showed that sapphire is basically indestructible, which is what you want on your wrist.

A slightly curved AMOLED display with a sapphire protective coating

Sapphire is also complicated and expensive to make, and the most of it that Apple has ever put into its hardware is the Touch ID sensor in the iPhone 5s. Remember how constrained those supplies were around launch time last fall? Perhaps that’s why Kuo only expects Apple to sell around 3 million iWatches by the end of the year.

Other hardware details from Kuo include higher waterproof standards and a system-on-a-chip design that would greatly reduce the size of the chips needed to power the device. The iWatch is rumored to have at least 10 sensors for stuff like analyzing sweat, feature a 2.5-inch display, and possibly come in different sizes for men and women.

Kuo previously said that Apple will charge a premium and market it as a fashion device. We’re talking thousands of dollars. That sounds a little outrageous until you consider that Apple could have the device subsidized by insurance providers that want more access to your health information. It could be similar to how carriers subsidize the cost of a $600+ iPhone over the life of a contract.

Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/287021/iwatch-production-in-november/#dqQZF1mf4BcaRVQp.99
 
...yet everybody gets violently angry whenever somebody dares to talk about using as screen protector on their apple watch. :rolleyes:

I really don't get the screen protector idea. You have a beautiful device, but don't want scratches on it. Okay, I understand that.

But then you put an ugly screen protector on it, which completely destroys the seamless look of the screen. So you wear an UGLY screen protector 24/7. You can change it when it gets scratched, but isn't it then just better to get that ********ing scratch on the device, get over it, and then it's still beautiful?

It's like buying a great looking car, and covering it with bubble wrap because you're afraid of scratches.
 
Small update: I've been to an Apple Store. Of course, a problem like this would normally not be covered by warranty (...), but as the product is brand new Apple is calling back all the devices with "odd" problems (in my case, they couldn't explain how it got scratched, so they'll probably check if the scratch is under the display or what).
I'm the lucky third person in the world who had to return his watch.
At least is free of charge (!!!).
Now waiting 1-2 weeks to have it back :(

I must be number 2. (that doesn't read well, oh well.)
 
...yet everybody gets violently angry whenever somebody dares to talk about using as screen protector on their apple watch. :rolleyes:

Because a screen protector makes it look stupid 100% of the time. Sapphire crystals rarely scratch. I had a watch for 10 years that had a sapphire crystal. The steel case looked like it. The crystal looked brand new.
 
Are you kidding? This is macrumors, anything is possible here.
I take them with a pinch of salt. Only diamond can scratch sapphire and that is a fact.

Another sapphire can also scratch sapphire, but yes, it's very difficult to scratch.
 
Scratches on the coating are "hairline" and very difficult to spot unless you're examining it up close and under certain lighting with a "perfect" angle. If you refer back to the original post, the OP states that it is only visible under a very strong, direct light. Hence why I think it is a scratch on the coating.

It's possible that Consumer Reports either did not bother reporting the scratches on the coating, or they simply did not even notice them. Of course, it is also entirely possible that the OP's scratch is not the coating and is something wrong with the display, but I think that there's a good chance that it is in fact, just a coating scratch.

I'm farily certain that Consumer Reports would do a thorough test including a thorough examination. There is no way they would simply "not notice" them.
 
Are you kidding? This is macrumors, anything is possible here.
I take them with a pinch of salt. Only diamond can scratch sapphire and that is a fact.

Sapphire really belongs to a broader ceramic material called corundum, which you find as the abrasive stuck on sandpaper. Both corundum and sapphire are rated at a 9 on the Mohs hardness scale. However, that scale is intentional lacking precision — generally it's given either just as an integer value or perhaps one place after the decimal (notice that the rated hardness is 9, not 9.000). Tiny variations in material composition can mean that they are slightly harder or slightly softer than the integer value they're assigned on the scale. Beyond that, scratching can occur between two materials with the same Mohs rating. So, yes, common hardware store sandpaper can scratch a sapphire watch crystal.
 
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I'm farily certain that Consumer Reports would do a thorough test including a thorough examination. There is no way they would simply "not notice" them.

Then they most likely didn't bother to report on it as it was obvious it was going to scratch, and it doesn't affect legibility of the display at all. Olephobic coating scratches fairly easily- I found a small one on my iPhone 6 within the first two weeks despite treating it like a baby, and then another a week later. There is no way the coating didn't scratch during those tests.

Again, it would have been irrelevant to the tests as the coating doesn't reflect the hardness of the sapphire, and it does wear off over time anyway thus making the scratches "disappear".
 
I really don't get the screen protector idea. You have a beautiful device, but don't want scratches on it. Okay, I understand that.

But then you put an ugly screen protector on it, which completely destroys the seamless look of the screen. So you wear an UGLY screen protector 24/7. You can change it when it gets scratched, but isn't it then just better to get that ********ing scratch on the device, get over it, and then it's still beautiful?

It's like buying a great looking car, and covering it with bubble wrap because you're afraid of scratches.

No, It's like buying a great looking expensive car and getting a clear-bra front end protection installed to keep the front end from getting chipped up. You can barely see it and you can barely see the screen protector. No need to be a drama queen about it. Live and let live.
 
No, It's like buying a great looking expensive car and getting a clear-bra front end protection installed to keep the front end from getting chipped up. You can barely see it and you can barely see the screen protector. No need to be a drama queen about it. Live and let live.

I could live with a screen protector on the iPhones up to 6. But iPhone 6 have a rounded screen (like the Watch), and it just looks ugly with screen protectors, as they can't follow the screen.

They all look something like this (Zagg Invisibleshield):
sir-lancelot-iphone-protector.jpg


And that destroys the whole user experience when swiping from the sides where it feels super smooth with the rounded screen.
 
I could live with a screen protector on the iPhones up to 6. But iPhone 6 have a rounded screen (like the Watch), and it just looks ugly with screen protectors, as they can't follow the screen.

They all look something like this (Zagg Invisibleshield):
Image

And that destroys the whole user experience when swiping from the sides where it feels super smooth with the rounded screen.

Tech Armor's Edge to Edge screen protector is the only way to go. http://www.amazon.com/Tech-Armor-Ba.../B00OY5T3OQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430328721
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I have knicked a sapphire watch crystal before but it wasn't easy. It was cranked hard on a sharp surface.
 
I could live with a screen protector on the iPhones up to 6. But iPhone 6 have a rounded screen (like the Watch), and it just looks ugly with screen protectors, as they can't follow the screen.

They all look something like this (Zagg Invisibleshield):
Image

And that destroys the whole user experience when swiping from the sides where it feels super smooth with the rounded screen.

Yeah, that looks pretty bad but if you're using a screen protector it's highly likely they are also using a case, in which case, the seamless edge effect is already mitigated.

I ordered the Tech Armor Apple Watch screen protector (it was only $1 at the time). I haven't used a screen protector since 2010 and I'm really not sure I'm going to start now.

If you're OCD, I understand the reasoning; knowing that deep under all that plastic is a perfect and pristine glass screen can be reassuring. When it comes time to sell the phone/watch you peel off the protector and reveal a perfect phone.

This is the sticking point for me... I see a perfect phone and I think to myself.. "**** I just spent all that time and money taking care of this phone for somebody else, I didn't even get to touch the screen."

In the end, the scratches seem to affect resale value <10% (0% if you use trade-in services). Worth it.
 
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