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iPhone 17 Pro is Vulnerable to Scratching, But Not Where You Might Think
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Going naked on (I do have a screen protector) my black iPhone Air. That way I can enjoy one of the main reasons I bought the phone. Doesn't make much sense for me to cover it up with a case (which adds bulk).
I understand its great to have a phone without a case, but at this point, you gotta know that its 100% necessary if you care at all about the condition of your phone/screen.
Why is it alarming? Sooner or later your tool will start to show some kind of wear and won't look pristine anymore. Nothing to be alarmed about.
Curious if this was an oversight by engineers or just that they were outvoted by the design team.
Design team one. No way engineers wouldn’t know what to expect.
Curious to know what their pitch was. Most use cases and those who don’t wont expect device to stay perfect?
I think it’s becuase of the discrepancy with recent models. My 15 Pro Max has never been in a case and and it still looks brand new, despite heavy use - I’ve heard other’s say the same.
They should have done black only in type III hard coat anodizing. THAT wouldn't be scratching like this particular type of anodizing. It would also have a grippier texture. Another option would be to hard coat all of them and then a use colored powder coat or ceramic coating on top of it.
Wow that would drive me mental. Would have to replace the entire device no matter the cost of penalty. I just couldn't live right day to day knowing my prized new iPhone is damaged and un-perfect. Its like trying to see clearly but there is always this bug flying around in the corner of the room. You can try to ignore it but its always there eating you away..
I'm concerned about the weaker material. I've dropped my titanium Pro many times and it's in like-new condition. Past aluminum iPhones get gashes.
This is odd.
For anyone who does any DIY, Model making or anything that you are going to spray paint.
We all know that you don't want a sharp corner as it will take a lot to get paint to cover a sharp corner.
Same at my workplace where we work on all high end metals, you never want sharp corners.
If anyone remembers a very old iPhone from years ago with a crisp 45% bevel around the edge of the frame and many iphones had tiny nicks/dents in them upon unpacking as anything is going to damage a sharp edge.
Does a clean, crisp edge look nice in photo's or when perfect, sure, but it's never going to stay like that.
From an engineering point of view it's very odd for the new models to be this way, and I'm 100% sure there were many people within Apple, who understand these things to have known this was not a good idea.
Sadly, as with most companies, others higher up the power chain call the shots.
For anyone who does any DIY, Model making or anything that you are going to spray paint.
We all know that you don't want a sharp corner as it will take a lot to get paint to cover a sharp corner.
Same at my workplace where we work on all high end metals, you never want sharp corners.
If anyone remembers a very old iPhone from years ago with a crisp 45% bevel around the edge of the frame and many iphones had tiny nicks/dents in them upon unpacking as anything is going to damage a sharp edge.
Does a clean, crisp edge look nice in photo's or when perfect, sure, but it's never going to stay like that.
From an engineering point of view it's very odd for the new models to be this way, and I'm 100% sure there were many people within Apple, who understand these things to have known this was not a good idea.
Sadly, as with most companies, others higher up the power chain call the shots.
Most of us case less iphone users use a skin as we know all iphones will scratch eventually from being laid down as they slide a bit, cases are more for drop induced scratches imo
I like the idea, but bare aluminum will oxidize and even pit, often in some pretty unsightly ways, especially if exposed to sea air since that contains salt. But aluminum with a clear anodized coat works well, preserving the shiny appearance of untarnished aluminum, and showing scratches much, much less than color anodizations. It's worked well in some iPhone models in Silver/Starlight, and Macbooks and iPads with a Silver finish, and some other Apple products like keyboards, trackpads, mice, the Cinema Display, Thunderbolt Display, and Studio Display in Silver, the Mac mini, older unibody MacBook Pros (2008–2015), and 24 inch iMacs in Silver.
Makes me want to go for the base 17 to be honest.
The pro’s and airs in my local store looked terrible on Saturday, just 24 hours after being put out. Why didn’t Apple use the backs of last years models? My 15 pro looks pristine 2 years later. I find this odd…
The pro’s and airs in my local store looked terrible on Saturday, just 24 hours after being put out. Why didn’t Apple use the backs of last years models? My 15 pro looks pristine 2 years later. I find this odd…
I put my 17Pm blue in a case like i did for my 15PM. No scratches. But i can understand as I have the feeling to go back to iPhone 5, nice colors but scratches magnet. Remember « piano black » 😅
My only frustration is that we still have same problem as we had years ago on iPhone 5 and same solution, a case… but when all the advertisement is about the phone NOT in a case this is a bit incoherent.
Side note, is there such discussion on android forums when Samsung release a new phone ? Does the other constructors / manufacturers figured out a working solution against the scratches ?
My only frustration is that we still have same problem as we had years ago on iPhone 5 and same solution, a case… but when all the advertisement is about the phone NOT in a case this is a bit incoherent.
Side note, is there such discussion on android forums when Samsung release a new phone ? Does the other constructors / manufacturers figured out a working solution against the scratches ?
First world problems are a bummer, eh?
To be honest, it's just a fact that sharp edges are rarely ergonomic. Humans tend to only like them visually and rarely enjoy them when in physical contact.
I loath the sharp edge of my MacBook. It leaves deep grooves in my wrists after even 15 minutes of heavy typing.
I end up needing to use a hanky under my hands to cushion the edge.
I would expect scratching and scuffing in the first week from cheap Chinese knockoff.
Which costs 3-4 times less and is not marketed like some sort of a Jesus phone.
Selling uber-expensive brick of glass and aluminium that cannot withstand normal use without looking like **** is inexcusable.
Now that is a good idea!
Call it "Factory Raw Exclusive Greta Tumbler Edition", claim it prevents cancer and stops global warming, up the price 10% because of the magical invisible baby seal-based coating.
Basically product red, but even more profit.
I just went to my local Apple Store to have my first look at the new iPhone models.
I looked at three or four of each model. Many of the iPhones in colors other than silver had the same (and even more) scratches on their backs as people have been reporting, not just on the anodized aluminum areas, but also on the glass panel on the rear. For some reason the Cosmic Orange iPhones had fewer scratches. But I didn’t see any paint scratched off of the sharp upper edge of the camera plateau. The only scratches I could see on the rear of the models in silver or white, which have a white back glass panel, were very faint and I couldn’t see them unless I tilted the iPhone at just the right angle to see their different reflectance characteristics, and there were far fewer such scratches on these white backs. It looked as if the color that was applied to the back glass on the non-silver models (and to the silver/white models too?) was largely on its top, exposed surface instead of its rear surface, though the back glass on these models still looked frosted, so this is puzzling.
From left to right: 17 base, Pro Max, another Pro Max, Air, Pro Max in Cosmic Orange. Before taking these photos, I rubbed my fingers over the scratches to try to buff them out a bit, and this is the result. If some of the scratches seem minor from a normal viewing distance, look at them close up. The longer, deeper scratches on the second Pro Max look like they might have been deliberately made by someone testing for scratchiness while the Apple reps weren't looking, but should rear glass scratch deeply like this, as if it were aluminum?:
It’s true that display models in a store get a lot more handling than a typical owner’s phone, but it’s only been since last Friday that these models were put on display in Apple Stores, so the handling they’ve gotten might represent maybe only several weeks’ worth of normal owner handling, and if so, then it means a lot of people will soon see these scratches on their new iPhones. I couldn’t figure out how the round MagSafe puck stands that these models were displayed on could cause these scratches, but I guess with enough clumsy handling, even that’s possible.
So at some point (next production run, after Apple runs out of current parts?) Apple should probably apply a harder color anodization process to the aluminum, and the back glass on the non-silver models shouldn’t have any color applied to its outside surface, but only to its inner surface. Getting rid of the sharp upper edge of the aluminum cover on the camera plateau on the Pro models (it's not solid aluminum--there's an antenna ring around the side perimeter of the plateau) will probably have to wait until the iPhone 18.
My other observations:
• The iPhone Air is pretty nice. Its thinness felt good to me. Some people find it too thin to handle easily, but I didn’t have any issues with that, though I handled it for only a few minutes. My hands are big so I didn’t have a problem with its width, but that’s just me. I could tell that it was lighter than my iPhone 16 Pro Max, but not hugely so. I like its polished titanium perimeter, which is shinier and slightly darker than on the iPhone 15 and 16 Pros.
• The Pro and Pro Max, even without a titanium band, still feel premium enough to me. But that might be because I keep my 16 Pro Max (and before that my 15 Pro Max) in a case, so I don't often put my hands on its band anyway. The new unibody construction makes the Pro models feel like they kind of already have a case on them, though without the advantages of a case.
• I like Cosmic Orange even if I wouldn’t buy one for myself. But this was marred by the scratches on the rears of a couple of the three or four orange Pros I looked at.
I’m not very concerned about the scratching myself, since I always put my iPhones in some kind of case (sometimes trying various cases throughout the time I own them), but a lot of people who don’t won’t be pleased. I don’t see any way around this unless Apple does a selective recall for people requesting a replacement once Apple has this issue fixed. In any case, I’ll be waiting until some time next year anyway to buy a 17 Pro Max.
I looked at three or four of each model. Many of the iPhones in colors other than silver had the same (and even more) scratches on their backs as people have been reporting, not just on the anodized aluminum areas, but also on the glass panel on the rear. For some reason the Cosmic Orange iPhones had fewer scratches. But I didn’t see any paint scratched off of the sharp upper edge of the camera plateau. The only scratches I could see on the rear of the models in silver or white, which have a white back glass panel, were very faint and I couldn’t see them unless I tilted the iPhone at just the right angle to see their different reflectance characteristics, and there were far fewer such scratches on these white backs. It looked as if the color that was applied to the back glass on the non-silver models (and to the silver/white models too?) was largely on its top, exposed surface instead of its rear surface, though the back glass on these models still looked frosted, so this is puzzling.
From left to right: 17 base, Pro Max, another Pro Max, Air, Pro Max in Cosmic Orange. Before taking these photos, I rubbed my fingers over the scratches to try to buff them out a bit, and this is the result. If some of the scratches seem minor from a normal viewing distance, look at them close up. The longer, deeper scratches on the second Pro Max look like they might have been deliberately made by someone testing for scratchiness while the Apple reps weren't looking, but should rear glass scratch deeply like this, as if it were aluminum?:
It’s true that display models in a store get a lot more handling than a typical owner’s phone, but it’s only been since last Friday that these models were put on display in Apple Stores, so the handling they’ve gotten might represent maybe only several weeks’ worth of normal owner handling, and if so, then it means a lot of people will soon see these scratches on their new iPhones. I couldn’t figure out how the round MagSafe puck stands that these models were displayed on could cause these scratches, but I guess with enough clumsy handling, even that’s possible.
So at some point (next production run, after Apple runs out of current parts?) Apple should probably apply a harder color anodization process to the aluminum, and the back glass on the non-silver models shouldn’t have any color applied to its outside surface, but only to its inner surface. Getting rid of the sharp upper edge of the aluminum cover on the camera plateau on the Pro models (it's not solid aluminum--there's an antenna ring around the side perimeter of the plateau) will probably have to wait until the iPhone 18.
My other observations:
• The iPhone Air is pretty nice. Its thinness felt good to me. Some people find it too thin to handle easily, but I didn’t have any issues with that, though I handled it for only a few minutes. My hands are big so I didn’t have a problem with its width, but that’s just me. I could tell that it was lighter than my iPhone 16 Pro Max, but not hugely so. I like its polished titanium perimeter, which is shinier and slightly darker than on the iPhone 15 and 16 Pros.
• The Pro and Pro Max, even without a titanium band, still feel premium enough to me. But that might be because I keep my 16 Pro Max (and before that my 15 Pro Max) in a case, so I don't often put my hands on its band anyway. The new unibody construction makes the Pro models feel like they kind of already have a case on them, though without the advantages of a case.
• I like Cosmic Orange even if I wouldn’t buy one for myself. But this was marred by the scratches on the rears of a couple of the three or four orange Pros I looked at.
I’m not very concerned about the scratching myself, since I always put my iPhones in some kind of case (sometimes trying various cases throughout the time I own them), but a lot of people who don’t won’t be pleased. I don’t see any way around this unless Apple does a selective recall for people requesting a replacement once Apple has this issue fixed. In any case, I’ll be waiting until some time next year anyway to buy a 17 Pro Max.
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My 15 Pro went in a case on day one. Stayed in one for two years and when I took it off to sell, had a scratch on one corner 😂😭 It was in a Mous case so my example suggests both the phone and case were not durable - or more likely that some dirt got inside the case. Either way, it’s just part of owning and using a tool. Might get damaged, might not.
I think it depends what ‘heavy usage’ is classed as, as well (not a dig at you, more putting context to my point about damage on mine despite a case).