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None of this surprises me. Anodized aluminum on sharp edges can and will scratch.

Folks should understand and set their expectations accordingly. If you think this will be a problem for you, put a case on it, a clear one so you can enjoy the color too. Otherwise go caseless and don’t concern yourself with any scratches.
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.
 
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?
 
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.
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.
 
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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.
 
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Mine has got a dent near the sim tray within hours and I don’t know how it happened. It’s bright and shiny. Quite annoying.
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..
 
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.
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.
 
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In other words, best to use a case.
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
 
Why not just release a non anodised version and call it a day
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.
 
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