2 days into owning my Space Grey 38mm watch there was a hairline fracture down the left side of it. I babied it and only wore to it work and home. Not a scratch on the thing so not sure how this happened other than using Force Touch? I was pissed when I found this and I thought Apple was going to charge me to replace it but to my surprise they did not! I took it to a store on Saturday and they are sending me a new one. I guess Apple doesn't need any bad coverage right now so they are doing everything they can to appease their customers?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Ion-X Cracked in Less than 2 Days
- Thread starter theboss19
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Hairline cracks are generally considered manufacturing errors and are usually covered by warranty on apple devices. Wife's cracked 6 Plus was replaced for free, even though she cracked it by tripping with the phone in her hand.
You're not going to find a decent watch that doesn't have a sapphire glass display, I predict many threads about cracked Apple watch sport displays
The sapphire on the stainless steel and edition watches is actually more prone to cracking than the sport watches.
Theres no way to know for sure unless someone buys a bunch of watches and drops them all but theoretically the glass on the sport is more crack resistant than the sapphire.
Not literally "on paper". I mean if you believe what you read then sapphire is more prone to cracking/shattering than x-ion
That is simply WRONG!
While sapphire might be brittle in comparison to the I-On glass, it is MUCH stronger is very hard to break.
I will take the Sapphire any day.
Funny the confusion about Ion-X vs Sapphire, it's very simple.
The Ion-X is less brittle, therefore it is more shatter resistant BUT it's less hard at the same time meaning it takes damage easier leading to fracturing sooner than an equally used Sapphire setup with the same abuse. A threshold of fracturing for each material is needed to shatter; the X-Ion fractures easier but needs more fractures to reach the point of a shatter. The Sapphire on the other hand is harder and thus gets fewer fractures for the same abuse as the X-Ion, and while it might take fewer fractures to shatter, it DOESN'T get the fractures at the same rate as the Ion-X in the first place and therefore in general use will shatter later in use than an Ion-X. A significant blow will shatter Sapphire a bit easier than Ion-X, but that is not typical use, the more likely case is the Ion-X will accumulate more fracturing and with a less traumatic blow will shatter sooner in use than Sapphire.
The problem is the general public equates fracturing and shattering, and one (shattering) is a result of the other (fracturing).
The Ion-X is less brittle, therefore it is more shatter resistant BUT it's less hard at the same time meaning it takes damage easier leading to fracturing sooner than an equally used Sapphire setup with the same abuse. A threshold of fracturing for each material is needed to shatter; the X-Ion fractures easier but needs more fractures to reach the point of a shatter. The Sapphire on the other hand is harder and thus gets fewer fractures for the same abuse as the X-Ion, and while it might take fewer fractures to shatter, it DOESN'T get the fractures at the same rate as the Ion-X in the first place and therefore in general use will shatter later in use than an Ion-X. A significant blow will shatter Sapphire a bit easier than Ion-X, but that is not typical use, the more likely case is the Ion-X will accumulate more fracturing and with a less traumatic blow will shatter sooner in use than Sapphire.
The problem is the general public equates fracturing and shattering, and one (shattering) is a result of the other (fracturing).
Not sure where your getting your information from but everything I've read states that sapphire is more prone to cracking while the sport glass is more likely to scratch.
I currently own 3 watches. One accurist and two hugo boss watches....one of which cost around £500. None of them have sapphire screens and neither of them have cracked. Apple aren't the only manufacturer to produce watches with non-saphire screens. I would guess the vast majority of watch wearers have non-saphire glass in their watches and people aren't all walking around with cracked glass!
Last edited:
My information comes from years and years of use. You watch and see in this forum which watch faces breaks the most. Just because the sapphire is harder and more brittle due to that fact, it is MUCH stronger and would take a much higher force to break it. The Ion glass is well it is just glass with a surface that is "supposed" to resist scratches. Other than that it is just glass as you will see.
100% this. There are going to be a ton of mad people in 6 months.
----------
We'll see.
There is no such thing as "just glass". Look into just Gorilla Glass as an example, each OEM has the formula tweaked for their desired characteristics.
But as for the underlined...seeing as the Sport is going to sell many multiples of the sapphire versions be careful in how you view that. My guess is you'll see the product that is selling many millions more will have more commentary on it (both good and bad).
I was this close to ordering a Sport watch. The SS watch is really a little too expensive for me.
I'm glad I didn't preorder. Within just a few days it became clear that the Sport is just too fragile. I expected it would get dents because it's just aluminum, but the scratched up glass is just unacceptable to me. I figured this "Ion-X" stuff (sounds like something Doctor Doom would invent) would be a lot tougher than it apparently is.
So I sucked it up and shelled out a few extra dollars for the SS.
I'm glad I didn't preorder. Within just a few days it became clear that the Sport is just too fragile. I expected it would get dents because it's just aluminum, but the scratched up glass is just unacceptable to me. I figured this "Ion-X" stuff (sounds like something Doctor Doom would invent) would be a lot tougher than it apparently is.
So I sucked it up and shelled out a few extra dollars for the SS.
Just glass with a hardened surface to "help" protect from scratches.
We agree on the sport selling more than the sapphire versions as Ford sold more Escorts than Lexus sold LX570 units.
Sounds like you are defending your own purchase
, I am sure that Apple will sell more of the cheaper watches, hands down, you win that argument
Just glass with a hardened surface to help protect scratches.
We agree on the sport selling more than the sapphire versions as Ford sold more Escorts than Lexus sold LX570 units.
Sounds like you are defending your own purchase
I haven't purchased an Apple Watch.
Might want to read up on how glass production works before you make statements like the underlined...
Sorry but I do not need to. You will see it all played out in this forum over and over.
Have a great day.
The "issue" is that most mechanical watches have a metallic (or plastic) bezel surrounding the inset crystal, so the crystal itself takes fewer impacts.
Apple Watch of course has edge-to-edge curved glass, so striking the edge results in direct impact to the curved crystal - no bezel to take the brunt of the force. This can more easily result in cracks.
So it's not that somehow Apple's glass is magically inferior to others'... it's that the design of the watch leaves the glass more exposed. And that for many people, especially those not used to wearing a watch, don't realize how many impacts their arms are prone to each day.