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There's no way to sugarcoat it, if keys can do this to the phone in mere seconds, there's no doubt the black aluminum is going to look like crap after a few months of normal use if you don't use a case. Kind of defeats the purpose of having the sleek look.

As much as people complain, polycarbonate plastic is still the best material to make a phone out of currently, ie HTC One X and Nokia Lumia. Maybe liquid metal or ceramic will change things but we aren't there yet. Frankly I saw this coming after seeing so many ipads backing scratched up, although it's even worse with a phone since you're less likely to baby it.
 
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There's no way to sugarcoat it, if keys can do this to the phone in mere seconds, there's no doubt the black aluminum is going to look like crap after a few months of normal use if you don't use a case. Kind of defeats the purpose of having the sleek look.

As much as people complain, polycarbonate plastic is still the best material to make a phone out of currently, ie HTC One X and Nokia Lumia. Maybe liquid metal or ceramic will change things but we aren't there yet. Frankly I saw this coming after seeing so many ipads backing scratched up, although it's even worse with a phone since your less likely to baby it.

PC isn't that scratch resistant too... I work a lot with PC...
 
I hate that They should used glass. I have iPhone 4 and it looks like new been dropped and always in my pocket. Still looks new

I thought nothing scratched as easy as the iPhone 4 back. Mine slid across some dust on the pergo floor (plastic fake wood floor) and got two huge scratches in it the first day I had it. Before my case came from amazon. It's been in that case ever since. Without the case, they're just slippery as hell in your hand anyway, making them even more drop prone. I don't understand why people wouldn't have a case for them.

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I'm getting the black one and taking a Brillo pad to it as soon as I get home... Taking a video of it, and then drop the link in here... I'm gonna make mine cool with an aged and worn look...

Hope your hand doen't slip about 2 or 3 millimeters and trash the lens.

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Umm, they might as well have used a hammer here. The kid is banging on the iPhone with a heavy, sharp, stainless steel multi-tool. These things weigh a ton and have sharp edges. There's nothing that would stand up to this kind of abuse. This is not just banging on the iPhone with keys.

Except for the iPhone 4s back, right? It was pretty much unscathed by comparison. Although my iPhone 4 back scratches if I look at it too sharply.

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This is not the kind of thing you want to condone your kid doing btw. Next time she sees mommies keys and iphone sitting on the counter at home...
 
No way to win

I just picked up the 5, black. My wife got the white.... We got cases, but I don't feel right about putting it on, especially after using my 4 without a case for a long time. Here's the kicker though, when I had the original and the the 3G, the cases I put on those collected lots of dust and grit and wore very obvious patches into the finish. I don't think there's any avoiding it. I could stick it in my coat pocket with my keys by mistake and oops, scratch... Or I could put a big bulky case on it and let the dust and grit that accumulates do it over time... Damned if you do, damned if you don't... And it's not really practical to uncase it and clean it regularly.
 
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I know it's a 2 year old, but if they are going to put her on camera where thousands or potentially millions of viewers will see her, they should at least comb the little girls hair. Just an opinion.
 
What is the point of buying a metal phone and placing it in a plastic case to prevent scratches? Just buy a phone with a plastic shell. A good chunk of the purchase price goes towards making these smartphones thin and looking good. Adding a case makes them simply thicker and uglier than a caseless phone with a few scratches here and there.
 
I just picked up the 5, black. My wife got the white.... We got cases, but I don't feel right about putting it on, especially after using my 4 without a case for a long time. Here's the kicker though, when I had the original and the the 3G, the cases I put on those collected lots of dust and grit and wore very obvious patches into the finish. I don't think there's any avoiding it. I could stick it in my coat pocket with my keys by mistake and oops, scratch... Or I could put a big bulky case on it and let the dust and grit that accumulates do it over time... Damned if you do, damned if you don't... And it's not really practical to uncase it and clean it regularly.

Sorry, but this is is the last post I read on this thread before switching off and becoming completely catatonic.
This represents an absurd level of fear and worry associated with owning a phone. "It might scratch, and it might not - I don't know what to DO!"
Listen. I can't stress these next points enough:
If you are likely to be mortally upset by the everyday tolerance of the materials used on a device you will typically own for 12 months, then you can do a couple of things to help you through.
Don't buy it - you will only ever be disappointed.
Don't drop it - any device will suffer in this circumstance.
Put a case or cover on it to protect the parts you don't want to hurt.
Replace the parts when they look a bit tired - nice and fresh.
Only use the device in soft surroundings with a strict 'no scratchy items allowed' policy
Worry instead about your relationships with actual living things. Learn to experience life in person.
Just try to get some sleep and don't panic about your pointless existence.

Just trying to help.
 
wheres that at ? im from usa :)
Are you serious dude? You are from US and you don't know where New Mexico is? that's a shocker.

Uhm. You know the state New Mexico, the one that's also in America? Am I being hit on?
I think you are indeed but it is not going very well. Lol.

In other other news I thought it was pretty much standard (for guys at least) to have the iPhone in one pocket and all your other crap in the other pocket.

Just to clarify I said mostly guys since I've seen most women just throwing it in anywhere in purses, backpacks and different pockets with all sorts of stuff next to it, I must also add that they tend to have it always wrapped with a cover.

Have u seen those ones with the huge rabbit ears? WTF

Anyway, yeah aluminum scratches when another metal object is applied to it. Who would have thought?
 
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Apple can't win. They use a hard material like glass, people slam them on the ground and cry about the glass breaking. They use a softer material like anodized aluminum, and people key the thing and cry about little scratches.

I prefer the glass, but oh well, nobody understands how good glass is until they see the alternative. This is like people complaining about the paint job on their Bentley after they drove it through a barrier into a ditch.

Agreed... This just in... I took a set of keys to my MacBook Air and it also left scratches. This scuffgate conspiracy is bigger than we thought.

Anyone who has a problem with the iPhone 5 should go buy a plastic galaxy sIII
 
Sorry, but this is is the last post I read on this thread before switching off and becoming completely catatonic.
This represents an absurd level of fear and worry associated with owning a phone. "It might scratch, and it might not - I don't know what to DO!"
Listen. I can't stress these next points enough:
If you are likely to be mortally upset by the everyday tolerance of the materials used on a device you will typically own for 12 months, then you can do a couple of things to help you through.
Don't buy it - you will only ever be disappointed.
Don't drop it - any device will suffer in this circumstance.
Put a case or cover on it to protect the parts you don't want to hurt.
Replace the parts when they look a bit tired - nice and fresh.
Only use the device in soft surroundings with a strict 'no scratchy items allowed' policy
Worry instead about your relationships with actual living things. Learn to experience life in person.
Just try to get some sleep and don't panic about your pointless existence.

Just trying to help.

Ironic that a guy telling everyone to get some perspective on life is getting heated over a thread on an internet message board. Just had to point that out. :p
 
The pure Blind denial from some fanboys is sickening.

Lets face it. Apple f'ed up on the materials for this one, its there for all to see, yet they continue to believe its 'What will happen anyway'.

No, if i purchase a £500-£700 piece of hardware, i want it to look pristine out of the box, then after time, yes it may get a few dings and scratches, but nothing to the extent that they are coming right out of the box.

Don't get me wrong i have had iPhones since their launch in 2007, and will continue, but i'm just pointing out the truth.
 
Ironic that a guy telling everyone to get some perspective on life is getting heated over a thread on an internet message board. Just had to point that out. :p

Quite the opposite, just lazily wiling away a few minutes with a cup if tea before trekking up Snowdon today. Usually I wouldn't bother, but the sheer level of mass hysteria relating to an inanimate hunk of glass/metal that many people have even yet to receive struck me as an amusing indictment of the state of mentality in popular technology culture today.
People frozen in fear of the devices that are created to liberate our day to day?
Its weird.
I just wanted to flag up that particular theme on this 'internet message board' and much like you, i "just had to point that out". On an internet message board. Are you getting this?
Thanks for your (presumably unintentional) ironic contribution. Could I ask that you also police this post for me?
Thanks.
 
If you bought AppleCare plus with your black iPhone 5 and your iPhone got badly scuffed, could you purposely crack the screen to get a brand new iPhone for 50 bucks?

Apparently they are replacing screens instore now, not giving refurbs ack for broken screens.
 
Metal scratches?

I've just tried this key test on my neighbours car- it's now covered in scratches. Metal scratches, who knew

The sky is falling, the sky is falling!
 
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is apple really selling a faulty shipment? its all over the news here. apparently lots of black but also white ones come with a scratched bezel or the color is falling off immidiately
 
have you tested this?
No, but its what logic tells me. Aluminium is silvery, hence if you scratch the black coat you get a silvery line, but you scratch the silver surface if the white one you get a silvery looking scratch, hence less visible.
 
The pure Blind denial from some fanboys is sickening.

Lets face it. Apple f'ed up on the materials for this one, its there for all to see, yet they continue to believe its 'What will happen anyway'.

No, if i purchase a £500-£700 piece of hardware, i want it to look pristine out of the box, then after time, yes it may get a few dings and scratches, but nothing to the extent that they are coming right out of the box.

Don't get me wrong i have had iPhones since their launch in 2007, and will continue, but i'm just pointing out the truth.

I would hate to see my device scratched right out of the box too. But the most ridiculous part is just that people are stressing over the fact that the device is susceptible to scratches.
 
I'm seriously worried for humanity.

So am I but for more than this video... :eek:

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The pure Blind denial from some fanboys is sickening.

Lets face it. Apple f'ed up on the materials for this one, its there for all to see, yet they continue to believe its 'What will happen anyway'.

No, if i purchase a £500-£700 piece of hardware, i want it to look pristine out of the box, then after time, yes it may get a few dings and scratches, but nothing to the extent that they are coming right out of the box.

Don't get me wrong i have had iPhones since their launch in 2007, and will continue, but i'm just pointing out the truth.

"The truth"?

Then 'the truth' is that Apple screwed up on every iPod that came with a stainless steel back! My iPod Classic back is scratched beyond belief. From rolling around in my car, and my desk, shorts, etc, the back looks nearly like it was meant to be more of a brushed chrome than a shiny stainless. It's not black, but it's not 'pristine' and 'shiny' anymore. It's a device that holds music. I could have gotten a case for it. I accept the scratches. The iPhone is 'just a phone' to many people. I know people that have other plastic phones covered with scratches. Life sucks sometimes, and even the best case around, unless it hermetically seals the iPhone in it, is going to allow dust to get between the case insides and the iPhone. It's part of life. Don't like it, sell it.

Apple didn't 'f'up' anything. Scratches happen. I'm sure that Tim Cook sat in an office somewhere and said 'Let's create an iPhone that will look like poop in 2 weeks just to piss off Hudzilla'... Going 'commando' isn't going to be an option for many people with the new iPhone. I'm sure the case manufacturers are very happy...
 
This is shocking and made me wonder about the build quality of my iMac, sure enough I pushed it off the desk and the 27" behemoth hit the wooden floor with a sickening crunching sound, now it's broken. If it wasn't for this iPhone exposé I'd never have thought to check.

Later I'll be putting an electric drill to my Gibson and seeing if my arm can withstand a pass under a circular saw.

You sir have to win an award for this comment. I laughed. Still laughing.
 
Even if totally scratched and abused the black iPhone will look way better than the ridiculous white disco-girlie-iPhone.
 
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