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That looks like galvanic corrosion (or battery acid damage). I am really curious what your case was made of if that is the only thing you said changed from usual.
 
This looks more like a user error to me, Apple won't do anything about to be honest because most likely this'll get passed on as a user issue rather than the hardware issue.

Never seen this before [corrosion wise on iPhnes] but what the heck was your case made of ? :\
 
So.... Aluminum doesn't rust. The anodization should prevent most reactions. To me this looks like what happens when aluminum comes in contact with mercury.
 
So.... Aluminum doesn't rust. The anodization should prevent most reactions. To me this looks like what happens when aluminum comes in contact with mercury.

Nope, it does not, but it can definitely corrode (and I have seen people often refer to corrosion as "rust" due to simply misunderstanding the process or terminology, which the OP may doing). I had an anodized aluminum back plate (for scuba) suffer very quickly from galvanic corrosion due to steel book screws once it was exposed to salt water. Within a couple days of diving, the aluminum around the book screws looked VERY similar to OP's phone. The fact it was anodized probably only delayed the reaction slightly. It can happen fast in the right conditions.

OP exposed their phone to something, the question is what? There are many potential culprits:

http://www.totalmateria.com/page.aspx?ID=CheckArticle&site=ktn&NM=187
 
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Perhaps it would help us all to understand your side if you detailed how you thought this could be a manufactures defect? I'm a bit confused as to how that specific piece of aluminum Apple decided to make your phone out of would be defective in such a way as to cause that to happen, but since you clearly think Apple should warranty this, you must have some idea of how that would come to be.
 
I am thinking the case might have caused some kind of galvanic corrosion?

Some people have very powerful perspiration and can cause this type of corrosion, but I am betting it was some type of chemical exposure from his hands, etc.
 
ALUMINIUM AND CHEMICALS
Aluminium has a good durability against many chemicals. Low or high pH-values (less than 4 and more than 9) lead to a dissolution of the coating of the oxide and to a rapid corrosion of the Aluminium. Inorganic acids and strong alkaline solutions can then easily attack Aluminium. In moderate alkaline solutions of water the corrosion can be restricted by insertion of silicates as an inhibitor of corrosion. Normally such kinds of inhibitors are included in dishwasher detergents. Most inorganic salts have no marked effect of corrosion of Aluminium. Exceptions are heavy metal salts, which can start a strong galvanic corrosion on the surface of Aluminium because of the reduction of the heavy metals ( for example copper and mercury).

From: http://www.clihouston.com/knowledge-base/aluminium-and-corrosion.html

Think hard where you might have come in contact with a solution out of the ordinary, NOT Apples problem.
 
This isn't an Apple issue.

The corrosion came from the outside and not the inside, so it isn't an internal issue.

The damage does not resemble a defect in the material, but rather a chemical reaction.

There are several things that could have got on your phone, in normal usage. When I am working in my lab, I keep my phone in a specific area, where it isn't in contact with anything harmful. When I work on my car, I keep the phone a safe distance away.

I work in a science lab with a lot of corrosive chemicals, and I have never seen this type of damage. This doesn't just happen. I don't know if it was caused by the case, something the phone was exposed to, or a mixture of both.

You are most likely out of luck here. Unless you can prove it was the cases fault, which would be difficult.

Good luck.
 
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Anodizing aluminum requires an acid bath during the process. If the anodized surface has any micro cracks, it can cause corrosion when contacting air or water. My advice is find a local shop that does custom anodizing and have them confirm if the corrosion is due to a bad anodizing job. You can also google and find some images that show corrosion from a bad anodizing job.
 
I agree with others that it looks like something corrosive got into the case... as if something liquid seeped into the edges of the case and got trapped between case and phone.

I used to provide IT support to an aquatics center. The computers and point-of-sale terminals were in an office that extremely humid, hot, and smelled of chlorine and other pool chemicals. I had to replace more hardware in that location than any other location I serviced. Aluminum USB ports would corrode, internal circuit boards would fail, data ports would corrode. It was very even corrosion though, because the chemicals were in the humid vapor that permeated the place. This looks more like something liquid seeped in.

I would contact the case manufacturer and describe the issue. I wouldn't expect much, because they probably don't advertise their case as being waterproof, but perhaps they will give you a free opaque case that can at least cover up the problem (assuming the phone still works). I would clean and dry the phone thoroughly before putting it into the next case though.

Sean
 
If your phone is in contact with any other dissimilar metal and it is exposed to any alkyl substance you can get corrosion. You create a weak battery. It’s referred to as galvanic corrosion.
 
I take it since he stopped responding he came to the realization that this isn’t apples fault and is his. Probably bought a very cheap market case that had the chemicals activated when the phone got warm and ruined it.

Or he works or lives by the ocean and the salinity did it.

People think because Apple is worth almost $1T now that they can just hand out free replacements for anything.
 
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Could of been from a household cleaning product, disinfectant etc. spilled onto the phone or anything. OP forgot to clean between the phone and the case.
 
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