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Plenty of people use IonX and manage to take care of it. Sure it's not as scratch resistant as the sapphire, but don't believe the hype. It's not going to scratch if you look at it the wrong way. If you take care of your stuff you'll likely be fine.

Likely, but not certainly. Having had IonX before and acquiring a scratch or five, sapphire is a safer bet.
 
Hi guys, speaking of Jet Black Series 10, I am ready to purchase and it will be my first Apple Watch ever.
Newbie advice, have you ever considered screen protectors like film or glass? I would prefer to avoid clearly, but I wanted to understand if from your other experience in general with Apple Watch there is a risk of scratches over time.
I have also seen that there are cases, but no one wears them, so I hope they are not necessary. Thanks!
I would never put a case on my watch.

I baby my Apple stuff, but that would be going too far, for me.

But each to their own.
 
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I have also seen that there are cases, but no one wears them, so I hope they are not necessary. Thanks!
I have a case on my watch, but you wouldn't notice unless you looked closely. I once posted a picture here of me wearing a watch with a case, and at least one person didn't notice it until I pointed it out. So you might think "no one wears them," when in fact there are people who do, and you just don't notice.

But no, I don't think cases are necessary, just a personal preference. I have a mobility issue that causes me to make sudden involuntary movements, so I tend to bang my wrist into things more frequently than most people do. So for me, a case brings peace of mind. Another friend, who works as an EMT, also uses cases on his watch, because he doesn't know what kind of situations he'll get into at work. So it's really up to your situation, and what you feel comfortable with.
 
I did try an Otterbox case on an Apple Watch once after watching a colleague of mine smash his Stainless AW undoing a bolt. I found that particles get between the watch and the case and causes damage. Always prefer caseless tbh.
 
I have both the Ultra 2 black and 10 JB w/ zero scratches or marks. I rotate them during the week, workout with them and sleep with them, both holding up well. I haven’t banged the JB into anything yet but I have the Ultra 2 black, any mark just rubbed off.

Edit: I did put a screen protector on the JB, and luckily I did lol. I had one of those old fashioned coat hangers scratch the screen protector, but screen was thankfully ok. One reason I love the U2 B w/ the sapphire glass.

Edit 2: I did add the Apple Care for the JB just in case, not for the U2 though.
 
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Hi guys, speaking of Jet Black Series 10, I am ready to purchase and it will be my first Apple Watch ever.
Newbie advice, have you ever considered screen protectors like film or glass? I would prefer to avoid clearly, but I wanted to understand if from your other experience in general with Apple Watch there is a risk of scratches over time.
I have also seen that there are cases, but no one wears them, so I hope they are not necessary. Thanks!
I have never put a case on my Apple Watch but I did find that my old Apple Watch (S3) got a lot of scratches on the screen just from knocking it on doors etc.

So when I upgraded to my current Apple Watch (S9), I applied a highly recommended screen protector called LK Screen Protector. They come in a pack of 6 and are quite easy to install. You can find them on Amazon. You can barely notice it's there and it does the job very well. I didn't bother with a case though and haven't seen the need for one - personally I feel they ruin the look of the watch too much.
 
I purchased the Apple Watch JB Series 10 on launch day. After over a year of use, I’ve noticed some scuffs and scratches on the back. Interestingly, this never happened with my Series 5 Nike edition, which I used for five years with similar activities and day to day use.

Thankfully, I opted for AppleCare+ with the JB edition, so I plan to request a replacement before the two-year coverage period ends.

Going forward, a protective case is definitely a must for any Apple Watch with a Jet Black aluminum case.
 
I also got a Jet Black series 10 on launch.

I’ve been using a Caseology Capella case since day 1. Just a few weeks ago I noticed something that looked like water spots on the back. They didn’t come out.

Today the watch’s paint is falling out in flakes leaving bare aluminum behind.


I always keep the watch and case clean. And never had this issue with my previous watches. All in Space gray (aka Matte black).

This jet black anodizing is definitely a problem. If the next watch is not available in a matte black. I’ll have to go with Silver or Rose Gold.

I’m very disappointed 🙁.
 
Jet black was a miss overall. I bought one - my Series 7 green simply looked better. I ended up returning the 10.

I also don’t like the move from ceramic to aluminum on the back of the entire Series 10 line.

Like I’ve posted a few times here, I think the Series 10 represented a bit of a step back in a lot of ways. Weird aspect ratio, lack of color variety in the aluminum watches, loss of real stainless steel. Combine that with blood oxygen just now coming back, and the loss of leather straps - it’s clear Apple needs to recalibrate a bit IMO for the regular watch. And both the Series watch and the Ultra need new capabilities.
 
I use my JB Apple Watch caseless, with an LK screen protector. I bought it a few months post launch.

The front and sides are scratch free. But the back of the watch that makes contact wit the skin has a lot of round paint chips in the finish. It seems that the new paint job is not sweat resistant.


Agree with @Adelphos33, that making the back aluminum instead of ceramic was a bad idea.
I hope they go back to ceramic backs in the Series 11.


Like others here I've owned Aluminum Apple Watches for years and never had issues with the finish. (other than accidental scratches, but that's inevitable unless you use a case).

This reminds me of the shinny JB iPhone (7?) that also peeled and scratched easily. It seems to be the same finish.
I can't understand why Apple decided to abandon the space grey anodization, for this crappy paint.

 
I purchased the Apple Watch JB Series 10 on launch day. After over a year of use, I’ve noticed some scuffs and scratches on the back. Interestingly, this never happened with my Series 5 Nike edition, which I used for five years with similar activities and day to day use.

Thankfully, I opted for AppleCare+ with the JB edition, so I plan to request a replacement before the two-year coverage period ends.

Going forward, a protective case is definitely a must for any Apple Watch with a Jet Black aluminum case.
The problem seems to be with the back only. It doesn't seem to resist sweat or skin contact and the paint fails.
 
I also got a Jet Black series 10 on launch.

I’ve been using a Caseology Capella case since day 1. Just a few weeks ago I noticed something that looked like water spots on the back. They didn’t come out.

Today the watch’s paint is falling out in flakes leaving bare aluminum behind.


I always keep the watch and case clean. And never had this issue with my previous watches. All in Space gray (aka Matte black).

This jet black anodizing is definitely a problem. If the next watch is not available in a matte black. I’ll have to go with Silver or Rose Gold.

I’m very disappointed 🙁.
Same here. I am very bummed out about this issue. it is such a shame to witness the paint flakes falling out as you put it, and i’ve read numerous posts like this but yours is the first that mentioned using a case!! which just makes it even more egregious how Apple employees at the stores pretend it’s not an issue. (and i get it, that cases may not cover the back part but still…)

Same here about choosing another color next time, I like the Jet Black but never again when it’s shown to be so prone to this outrageous deterioration.


Btw, i guess it didn’t get many views since only about 20 voted so far, but i posted a thread and poll about it not long ago with a photo of my back deterioration. so far, most photos i’ve seen with this issue are just like mine, just ridiculous how it would straight up decompose like this for no reason. :-(
 
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Same here. I am very bummed out about this issue. it is such a shame to witness the paint flakes falling out as you put it, and i’ve read numerous posts like this but yours is the first that mentioned using a case!! which just makes it even more egregious how Apple employees at the stores pretend it’s not an issue. (and i get it, that cases may not cover the back part but still…)

Same here about choosing another color next time, I like the Jet Black but never again when it’s shown to be so prone to this outrageous deterioration.


Btw, i guess it didn’t get many views since only about 20 voted so far, but i posted a thread and poll about it not long ago with a photo of my back deterioration. so far, most photos i’ve seen with this issue are just like mine, just ridiculous how it would straight up decompose like this for no reason. :-(

I went and voted. Most of the pics look just like mine and most of them are peeling in the back.

The case I use covers the back. And for people that use the watch without a case the back is protected by the wrist. As @RebeccaL mentioned, the problem must be with sweat or moisture damaging the weak anodization.

Now I wonder if this is happening to the other colors due to the aluminum back. Or just the JB.
 
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