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roznstyle

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 23, 2011
13
0
Do the new iPhone colors (specifically the space gray) indicate that Apple has dropped the Anodized coating we saw on the first Black iPhone 5? I really hope so because after a year I've found that unless you put that phone in a museum under glass, its next to impossible to not end up with a scratch here or there.
 
They changed the color because the black shows every pinhole nick and imperfection whereas the lighter space gray should be more forgiving. But yes, they are anodized. Keep in mind there are many different levels of anodizing and assume Apple is using the cheaper side of the spectrum.
 
Do the new iPhone colors (specifically the space gray) indicate that Apple has dropped the Anodized coating we saw on the first Black iPhone 5? I really hope so because after a year I've found that unless you put that phone in a museum under glass, its next to impossible to not end up with a scratch here or there.

Whoa you and I were on similar wave patterns. I don't see why it couldn't be an aluminum alloy blended in such a way to achieve the colors we have. It would explain the reason for the lighter black. I'm no metallurgist though, perhaps it is not possible to achieve these colors.
 
They are still anodised but theres many, many different kinds of anodisation so we don't know if the 5s will be more durable or not yet.
 
Do the new iPhone colors (specifically the space gray) indicate that Apple has dropped the Anodized coating we saw on the first Black iPhone 5? I really hope so because after a year I've found that unless you put that phone in a museum under glass, its next to impossible to not end up with a scratch here or there.


I bought a slate iPhone 5 on launch day, and I treated it like ABSOLUTE DIRT. I literally threw the phone across the floor on a weekly basis and I dropped it at least twice a day onto hard surfaces like tile and rough concrete on the curb of a busy street. I kept the phone in pocket with keys that you could HEAR making obvious scratching noises on the bare metal as I walked. I have ZERO, ZERO signs of marks at all on my Slate iPhone 5. Zero.

Why? Because I used a bumper.

sgp4.jpg



This is my iPhons 4S, which I also got on launch day:

ip4b.jpg


Look at the lock button, the headphone jack/mic & the vibrate toggle. Those aren't black shadows or fingerprints. That phone was so weak that it couldn't even handle being touched by fingernails day in and day out or rubber coated buttons and got scratched to hell around any exposed or moving metal surface, and that's WITH the Apple bumper.

I used these phones in the exact same way, except the iPhone 4S had a thick front and BACK screen protector. My iPhone 5 was bare exposed aluminium with zero protection yet my iPhone 4S was scuffed to hell, and my iPhone 5 looked brand new on every surface.

The iPhone 5 (in both slate and silver) is the most durable iPhone Apple has ever made in terms of being able to shrug off damage completely. The surface scratch resistance is second only to diamond, which is why my iPhone 5 screen protector has huge gouges but the back looks new. The iPhone 5, is almost impervious to scratches. What actually damages it is once you start to break the actual metal down and ding and scrape the device then the phone shows damage. more obviously.
 
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The non-tempered aluminum on the 5S will dent just as easily as the 5 no matter the level of anodizing used. They chinsed out.
 
I'm really disappointed they went away from the Slate for the 5S. I even considered getting a 5 this week ($99 at at&t). I guess I'll go with the Gold.
 
Same here, the 'space grey' which is the closest one to black is not really calling me. Will have to see it in person, but coming form a 4S, 5 black might not be too bad...
 
Any anodized aluminum scratches some colors are less visible. While darker colors tend to Dow off the scratches more. Of course there is different levels of anodizing and topical coatings which are put on to limit the scratch and blemishes
 
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