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Is the iPhone 4 Screen Scratch-Resistant?

P

Pushkar

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 9, 2009
587
3
SW London, UK
I've seen countless threads over the past few days and drops and smashes, but I was wondering how the Screen fared up. I remember from the last few years that my iPhone 3G held up well in the screen, but back was always scratched and broken (partly down to the plastic).

I'm currently using a protector for the front and back and I was thinking of getting rid of the front, is it scratch resistant as the past few iPhones or is it not as strong as we think it is?

Obviously I wouldn't want to deliberately put keys or anything like that in, but generally is it like previous gen iPhones?
 
Steve Jobs stated the glass is "20x stiffer and 30x stronger than plastic."

He didn't mention what specific kind of plastic they were comparing it to, nor did they compare it with the iPhone 3GS which is what people expected them to do so...

It's hit-or-miss at this point. One hopes that since this is the latest and greatest technology Apple can muster up, it should be able to offer either the same level of resistance as the glass on the iPhone 3GS - the previous generation model - or better.

Take that info however you want...
 
Seems OK - if you go by the posts around here - it seems to smash easier but scratch less but that is anecdotal and nothing can be trusted just after the launch of a high profile product.

I always use a screen protector - there are companies out there making great and almost invisible screen protectors - I just give myself peace of mind.
 
Thanks for the very quick responses, I'll keep the Protector on there for now, but the screen is so nice - I don't really want to. But as an expensive device i'll keep it on for now.

Thanks again! :D
 
I never scratched my 3G screen, my 4 already has scratches on it. I personally think it's less scratch resistant than the 3G.

Pete
 
iVeBeenDrinkin' said:
And you know this because you already have your white iPhone 4?
Click to expand...

1) You don't need an iPhone 4 to figure it out.

2) You assume that I don't have nor have access to use an iPhone 4.

3) You really had to point the out? Hahaha!

;)


coelacanth said:
Ditto.

And often cases, it's the oleophobic coating that gets scratched, not the actual glass.
Click to expand...

Precisely why getting a good screen protector is worth your money.
 
Hi.....

The screen is well scratch resistant...................

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For what it's worth, I had my 3G s for a year without a screen protector and never got a scratch on the screen. I've had my 4 for a week and discovered my first scratch two days ago. 3G s went in my pocket with keys, change, slim clip, etc after the "babying" phase which lasted my typical 3 months or so. My 4 hasn't had any company in my pocket yet. Obviously i did something to scratch it but i have no idea what. Guess my point is that it seems like the 4 is more scratch prone. Granted, this is based only on my experience, but it's based on something nonetheless.
 
analytical44 said:
For what it's worth, I had my 3G s for a year without a screen protector and never got a scratch on the screen. I've had my 4 for a week and discovered my first scratch two days ago. 3G s went in my pocket with keys, change, slim clip, etc after the "babying" phase which lasted my typical 3 months or so. My 4 hasn't had any company in my pocket yet. Obviously i did something to scratch it but i have no idea what. Guess my point is that it seems like the 4 is more scratch prone. Granted, this is based only on my experience, but it's based on something nonetheless.
Click to expand...

3G and the original iPhone were most scratch resistant because they didn't have oleophobic coating that's quite "soft." typically these kinds of extra coatings will come back and bites you when it comes down to scratches although coatings often give other benefits.

Many expensive sports watches with sapphire crystal glass have additional coatings on top and the gets scratched while the the actual crystal is quite hard and scratch resistant. I have a watch with sapphire glass but no special coating. That watch gets the beating all the time but I see no marks on the crystal whatsoever.

So it's either The benefit from special coating (finger print resistance on iPhone) or no markings on the soft coating. Unfortunately Apple has chosen the former.
 
H

coelacanth said:
3G and the original iPhone were most scratch resistant because they didn't have oleophobic coating that's quite "soft." typically these kinds of extra coatings will come back and bites you when it comes down to scratches although coatings often give other benefits.

Many expensive sports watches with sapphire crystal glass have additional coatings on top and the gets scratched while the the actual crystal is quite hard and scratch resistant. I have a watch with sapphire glass but no special coating. That watch gets the beating all the time but I see no marks on the crystal whatsoever.

So it's either The benefit from special coating (finger print resistance on iPhone) or no markings on the soft coating. Unfortunately Apple has chosen the former.
Click to expand...
He said the 3GS and the 3GS has oleophobic coating but definetly more scratch resistant
 
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