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iPhone 17 Pro is Vulnerable to Scratching, But Not Where You Might Think
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Can you scratch it enough so you won't see that ugly orange colour anymore, and get space grey?
Why are you getting so personal? Some people actually like orange in its many varieties. What do you like so much about space gay?
I think that’s the point. Entice customers with new colors so they buy now, then have them wear easily so they upgrade to the next one sooner. It probably makes them worth less on the second-hand market, so that’s less competition for Apple too. Maybe even use a thinner coating to reduce costs? Seems like these are wearing out quicker than previous aluminum iPhones. Also helps with selling more cases. Just a thought.
That isn’t really true, because you’re going to be thermally limited by your case material and the phone-air interface, rather than your metal choice.
Apple just wanted to save themselves the extra $50 they spend on Titanium per phone, and didn’t want to project it as a cost saving measure.
“The phone body is not cheaper to manufacture, it’s just more thermally efficient! Yeah, that’s it!”
He already did, and he was impressed with its durability.
Early reports have suggested that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air are more vulnerable to scratches and scuffs, primarily due to damage spotted at Apple Stores.
Apple customers have discovered that the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models Apple has out for display at its retail locations have scratching in the area of the MagSafe charger. Those devices are handled by hundreds to thousands of people a day and are also attached to proprietary metal charging stands, so it's been unclear if iPhone models owned by customers will see the same issues.
YouTuber JerryRigEverything did a scratch test over the weekend, and his results suggest there is an area of the iPhone 17 Pro that's vulnerable to scratching, but it's not where Apple Store iPhones are seeing damage.
The iPhone 17 Pro models are made from aluminum this year, and Apple uses an anodization process to add color. The process provides a strong, scratch resistant finish that is similar to sapphire in terms of hardness. It's not easily scratched, and JerryRigEverything demonstrated that most of the iPhone 17 Pro's shell is going to hold up well against minor scratches, including the area where the Ceramic Shield 2 cutout is located for MagSafe charging.
Most is the key word when it comes to testing, because there is a vulnerable area. The camera plateau has a sharp, raised edge that is not chamfered, and it is a weak spot where the anodized layer is not well-adhered. The aluminum coating in the camera area does scratch easily.
Items typically found in a pocket, like keys and coins, did not cause damage anywhere on the iPhone 17 Pro, except at the edges of the camera plateau.
The scratch test results suggest that iPhone 17 Pro owners won't have to worry about the kind of scratching seen on iPhone models in Apple retail stores, but the camera is an area of concern. It is likely to get scratched, so if you're worried about that, you might want to use a case to prevent it. The coating on the iPhone 17 Pro models is thin, so more significant drops could cause damage in other areas.
Apple doesn't use the same anodization process for the iPhone Air as it does for the aluminum iPhone 17 Pro models. Apple has described its titanium coating process in the past, and it uses Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) to deposit a thin layer of colored titanium on the iPhone. It's possible the iPhone Air is more vulnerable than the iPhone 17 Pro, though it is looking like the scratched models in retail stores may have been damaged by the metal on the chargers that Apple uses.
Article Link: iPhone 17 Pro is Vulnerable to Scratching, But Not Where You Might Think
Well, this particular YouTuber makes a lot of money from showing how easy it is to damage things I've seen many of his videos and yes, all of these devices over the years will be damaged but you know if you're paying $1000 plus for a phone and wouldn't you want to take care of it? I think a lot of people think that they're meant to be indestructible. They're an electronic device just like a car. You have to have some form of maintenance on it and protection. I don't think any manufacturer that wants something to look special is going to make it for the proof if you want bulletproof then you go with those old Panasonic laptops so you can basically throw it into the sand into the fire and into the water at the same time and they still work. I've had a standard Apple case on my phone and it's kept it just fine. The glass on it is perfect and I've had it for quite a while and it's been dropped many times and the case has done its job and the phone. It's just fine so I don't understand why somebody would go to the trouble of damaging too good products to make a video to tell everybody that it's a crappy product. Every company makes products with short companies so he's just trying to get everybody angry.
If the body is exactly the same except curved on the plateau saying it was bad design and too bad if you bought it last year.
There is an actual industry standard specification for adding a rounded edge to aluminum parts being anodized. Apple chose to make a phone that is more expensive than many of their laptops (and more expensive than my first car), and ignored those specifications and added a sharp edge to make the phone 'look' better.
Your solution is to add a case to prevent this problem, covering up the exact 'look' apple was trying to achieve in the first place. Covering that section also makes the phone thicker, since any cover would need to protrude over the plateau. And adding a case will reduce the thermal performance of the phone - which was the the whole point of apple switching back to aluminum from titanium in the first place.
People paying for one of the most expensive phones available, shouldn't have to cover up the design because the design is prone to failure of the anodized coating. They shouldn't have to impede the performance of the phone by throttling it thermally.
Instead of making boomer 'back in my day...' comments, perhaps consider if apple could have just rounded the edge of the plateau. A simple design change that would have prevented this exact problem.
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If you don't want to see as many scratches, buy silver! That's the way it's always been with the iPhone and MacBooks. The armrest area near the trackpad on MBPs is very vulnerable in particular (especially to metal watch bands, like the Nomad band for my Series 9).
No cheap shot here. Did you even watch? While commenters have been stupidly losing their minds about "soft aluminum"--nevermind that most of Apple's product line has been using anodized aluminum cases for years--the video carefully points out that the issue is limited to the sharp edge around the camera plateau and it also explains the "why" of this happening. The "fix" is pretty simple: if you put your phone in a case, you're good--nothing to worry about. And if you go caseless, like I mostly do, don't carry your phone alongside metal objects like coins and keys.
The most significant juxtaposition lies in the iPhone’s durability this year compared to last year, without any cost adjustment to reflect the improvement. When Apple introduced Titanium, it was marketed as a premium material, which it indeed was. However, this year’s iPhone represents a downgrade in material quality. While this might have been more acceptable, the recent Apple Intelligence fiasco makes it more difficult to justify a sub-par model compared to last year’s.
These devices are handled by thousands of people a day? Assuming best case scenario that thousands just means 2,000 people, mall hours 9a-9p, that’s 3 people per minute handling an iPhone. 👁️👄👁️
We have developed the best iPhone in the world so that you can put a piece of **** plastic on it. And the most interesting thing is that people buy the cheapest and ugly cases for their phones
I see you do not understand the point of this video, There are certain international standards for working with aluminum that the apple has neglected.
No, it wasn't from the MagSafe charger,..it’s was very distinct scratching away from where the charger sits and could not be wiped off.
Let's hope you never work for a design or manufacturing firm. Obviously if you cover it from head to toe, it’s going to stay pristine. If Apple intended it that way, they wouldn’t even bother with a color.
People who never complain, are the ones that just are and as is. Even Jobs complained many times over his own hardware!
Some of us here are old enough to remember the bs known as "Antennagate" and got free bumper cases.