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Increased iPhone 5 Quality Control Standards to Address Scratches Slowing Production

I've had my phone since launch and it has no scratches or flaws, nor do I use a case. I just don't place my phone in the same pocket as my keys. I haven't had to use it any differently than my 4 either. I can understand being upset if it came out of the box scratched, but honestly if you lived with a glass phone that easily shatters on one unlucky drop, I think you should be even better off with an aluminum phone. I'd rather have a scratch or 2 as opposed to a completely shattered phone.

Treat your phone like you'd treat any other $600 purchase, and if you're clumsy with your phones, get an otterbox.

Also, I don't understand why people are making such a huge deal of the scratching. My Samsung Captivate with a carbon fiber back plate scratched (from normal use) within the first 2 days of ownership, and I've NEVER used cases and NEVER have issues like that with my phones. the iPhone isn't the first to scratch with sharp objects scraping against it.
 
paulypants said:
I've been using a black iPhone 5 without a case since day 1. Take it everywhere, use it several times a day. Not one scratch or scuff on it yet. I clearly don't do obvious damaging things like drop it, put it in my pocket with keys & loose change...rub it against cement. :p
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But would you agree that if someone opens up their new iPhone 5 box and the item is scratched that they are entitled to an exchange?
 
Of all the "gates," this is the dumbest. Iodized aluminum scratches. Here are your options: (a) buy a different phone. (b) Buy a skin/case. (c) Get the white model. (d) Get over your OCD.
 
Virtualball said:
Well, I'm a white American male, so my jeans heh. The volume buttons have broken once, the power button twice, the battery holds half its charge, and the charging port once. I've bought replacement OEM parts from ebay and taken the phone apart multiple times to fix it. It's really not a huge deal to me, but I was reiterating the point that a scratch is nothing. Hell, my old 3GS' plastic cracked by the dock connector and the volume buttons/ringer switch broke at one point. Though, no one ever called it "crack-gate" when my plastic cracked. Hell, my TouchPad's plastic is cracked and that was a known issue. Know what happened? There was one thread about it on xda and HP would fix it if you sent it in. It just annoys me how Apple products can't get ***** scratches without it being on CNN. Seriously, wth is wrong with some people...

Edit: Oh, and it's the ATT Samsung Galaxy S II, if that helps in anyway.
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Exactly! People only say things about iPhone scratching, but fail to mention anything on the competition and their cheap plastic that creaks and cracks within a few months.
 
Tiger8 said:
I own an iPod Nano - second photo, and with the exception of a couple of scratches it is in great condition after 5 years (it is gunmetal black nonetheless). I take excellent care of my gadgets thank you very much.

But unless you at least can see that the iPhone 5 black is more scratch prone than the iPhone 4(s), denial is more than a river!
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What a ridiculous statement. Of course aluminum is going to scratch easier than gorilla glass; did you not realize that? :confused: If we're going to get mad at that, then why aren't we getting mad at the fact that the iPhone 5 scratches more than cinder block? Also, water's wet; what's with that?

If you honestly thought that a pocket with keys rubbing against metal wouldn't lead to scratches, then I have no words for you. It's called personal responsibility and buying a case. Remember the days where cases were used to prevent scratches and not expected to protect the device from a 6 foot drop? Seriously, 2 years ago, people would've laughed at the notion of "returning a phone because of a scratch," especially if you're not going to use a case.
 
I have a black 5 and have tried everything and usually only lasts a few hours before I decide to run it naked. Wrapsol full body, InvsShield, rocketfish case, eBay bumper. I run it totally naked and don't baby it at all and don't have a single scratch on it from anything I've done.

I do have some scratches from a metal yoyo my son was using that happened to hit the phone but thankfully it was a 5 and not a 4. If it was a 4 the glass would have shattered/chipped without question. He hit it right on the edge and it proceeded to "sleep spin" across the back. It was a metal yoyo which has been used to sleep on cement so the edges of the yoyo were like little saw blades. Do I regret not having any protection? Nope. It's a few nicks and it really isn't a big deal. I'm not trying to impress anyone with my phone and it still does what it's suppose to do.

For those who get nicks and scratches out of the box that does suck and is unacceptable quality control. But seriously it's not as bad as people are making it out to be.

I have to say I love not having a glass or plastic back. The plastic scratched so much easier (and cracks with stress) and the glass would chip or shatter and I felt I had to really baby the damn thing. The 5 is a lot more durable then the media is giving it credit for. Even the front glass is more flush then the 4 (which I thought was a brutal design flaw to begin with).

I'd say if you like the black iPhone 5, get it. The only thing I regret about black over white (I usually rotate back and forth between versions) is fingerprints. White always just looks cleaner. Even the aluminum back shows smudges and prints.
 
I went to my local Apple shop and looked at the display phones. They are all a total mess around the bottom where they contact the display stand and around the lighting port. The stands are made out of perspex so the finish on these phones must be very soft. I think they need to use a much harder grade of aluminium alloy and a harder waring anodised finish. I was looking forward to upgrading my 4 but after seeing this I think I'm going to wait for the 5S. Looks like the S variants are the ones to get as all the problems get ironed out by version 2 ;)
 
RyanR. said:
They should be doing type III anodizing instead of II. Also known as Hard Anodizing. The colors would be richer and less likely to scratch. The problem with type III is that is doubles the amount of time to anodize.
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The article mentioned the aluminum, the iPhone 5 is made out of 6061 grade. They need to use the tempered version of 6061, which is 6061-T6. It's double the strength, but of course more expensive. Lets see if Apple changes to a tempered aluminum as this would make a much better, more dent/scratch proof phone.
 
really!

This picture is just like the video where someone takes a set of metal keys and scratches the heck out of the phone. Of course it's gonna scratch... If it were plastic there would be goudges of missing plastic.
 
Virtualball said:
Of course aluminum is going to scratch easier than gorilla glass; did you not realize that?
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Then you do confirm that the material change is a step DOWN in terms of scratch resistence? It is thiner, lighter, but more scratch-prone.

Now I agree Apple did get a lot of bad publicity for this simply because they are Apple, but to deny the problem altogether and try to justify it with 'what you expect' is ridiculous. I'll tell you what I expected: I expected no compromises from a device 2 years in design and costing $650+.
 
We got our Black Iphone 5 on opening day and it was flawless...And still is! It's mega fast and gorgeous....Scrolling is super smooth, apps open fast, LTE is like our cable internet at home, the screen yields gorgeous colors and detail, taking video and pictures is amazing for a phone...The appearance of the iphone is amazing IMO....Our friends that have gotten theirs have been flawless and enjoyable too...And they got theirs mid contract because they got the 4s just last year.

IMHO this thing has been blown WAY out of proportion...The majority of phones are perfectly fine...And someone taking keys and scratching with intent and purpose claiming "flaw" is the dumbest thing I've heard...Anything will scratch doing that...Has there been any flawed out of the box ? Sure, but ummm...That's going to happen and it happens with every manufactured product...Just take it back and get a flawless one...I mean there was a ridiculous post saying this is what you get when "thinness has gone too far"....lol

The iphone 5 is thinner and stronger...Something may feel stronger because it's bigger or heavier but in actuality is weaker or more fragile....Motorcycle manufacturers make frames that are much thinner and lighter yet say 20% or 30% stronger than their predecessor all the time...The biggest culprit for lighter and stronger is fewer parts to make up the frame, so they can actually use less material in the casting process..Or casting techniques can yield less porous alloys so they are stronger...But fewer parts can have a huge impact on strength....ala iphone 5 with it's unibody design.
 
Rocko1 said:
The article mentioned the aluminum, the iPhone 5 is made out of 6061 grade. They need to use the tempered version of 6061, which is 6061-T6. It's double the strength, but of course more expensive. Lets see if Apple changes to a tempered aluminum as this would make a much better, more dent/scratch proof phone.
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Bingo. That and how material's properties change when it's been fabricated beyond tolerance, coupled with selecting an appropriate anodizing formula.

There is often a gulf between a designer making something look cool on paper and the persons responsible for bringing it to reality; within money and time constraints.
 
justperry said:
Apple should use better aluminium, 7075 T6.
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Somehow, I think that the billions of dollars in profit that Apple produces for its shareholders on Wall Street is an indication that Apple knows what it is doing. If and when you produce the finest made and biggest selling and most profitable products in the world, then maybe you'll be in a position to give advice to apple. Until then, not so much.
 
Tiger8 said:
This will minimize disappointment when people open the box, but they are not addressing the real issue: This thing SCRATCHES EASILY. So if the poor Foxconn employee makes a scratch free unit, it is only a matter of days (hours) before you yourself scratch it!
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It is not enevitable that your phone will be scratched.

Maybe don't put them in the same pocket with your keys or let your kid have it with whatever sharp object they can find.

Secondly, of course it scratches easier than plastic and/or glass. Like anything else that is not plastic or glass.

Since we know it will scratch, put a sleave on to protect the phone and move on.
 
Have we figured out yet that the scratches in the photo wipe off? Or are we still trying to lose our minds over something?
 
iGrip said:
Somehow, I think that the billions of dollars in profit that Apple produces for its shareholders on Wall Street is an indication that Apple knows what it is doing. If and when you produce the finest made and biggest selling and most profitable products in the world, then maybe you'll be in a position to give advice to apple. Until then, not so much.
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This is really an unintelligent statement. There is a problem. The problem is the grade of aluminum used as well as poor anodizing process. You don't need to be Hans Wilsdorf to realize this. Your blind faith in Apple is really, well, making you blind.
 
Tiger8 said:
Then you do confirm that the material change is a step DOWN in terms of scratch resistence? It is thiner, lighter, but more scratch-prone.

Now I agree Apple did get a lot of bad publicity for this simply because they are Apple, but to deny the problem altogether and try to justify it with 'what you expect' is ridiculous. I'll tell you what I expected: I expected no compromises from a device 2 years in design and costing $650+.
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if you can spend 650 dollars on the phone, you should be able to put a sleave on the back for 30 dollars.

Just seems blow way out of proportion to me.
 
Let me get this right. Phil says its normal and now they want to slow production for quality control. Can you say Phil is a stone faced liar!!!!!!!!!!!


James
 
Tiger8 said:
Then you do confirm that the material change is a step DOWN in terms of scratch resistence? It is thiner, lighter, but more scratch-prone.

Now I agree Apple did get a lot of bad publicity for this simply because they are Apple, but to deny the problem altogether and try to justify it with 'what you expect' is ridiculous. I'll tell you what I expected: I expected no compromises from a device 2 years in design and costing $650+.
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A step down in terms of scratch resistance ? Good luck to you finding a plastic phone with better scratch resistance than alloy...Dude it's alloy...Probably one of the best all around materials with the fewest compromises. And if you expect no compromises then you have rationally left planet earth.
 
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All these people saying get over the scratches? Really??? You're paying 500+ dollars for a phone that is touted as "beautiful" and "the next big thing" you'd expect it to live up to those standards. Imagine buying a BMW and getting it with scratches from the Factory and having them tell you... cars scratch get over it!
 
Mattie Num Nums said:
All these people saying get over the scratches? Really??? You're paying 500+ dollars for a phone that is touted as "beautiful" and "the next big thing" you'd expect it to live up to those standards. Imagine buying a BMW and getting it with scratches from the Factory and having them tell you... cars scratch get over it!
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Maybe you shouldn't be driving that BMW around town!!!!!
 
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