Jet Black, Machining Irregularities?

[ct2k7]

This is something I'll be looking for in my iPhone when it comes; I can't unseen it.
[doublepost=1475071937][/doublepost]

I think that is normal. In order to show it in a picture, the OPmhad to arrange the phone just so in relation to the light source, and zoom in pretty close. In ordinary use it will never show or be noticeable. I've had my 7 Plus for eleven days now and didn't notice until I read this thread. Yep--mine has the same look, but as I said, only if I look very closely and set the lighting just right. Plus, I have the phone in a case and am not concerned at all.

You could show the phone to ten random people, and if you didn't say anything, not one would notice anything other than a beautiful device.

Why is it normal on the Jet Black device and not a Black device? How does the anodising process produce this?

 

[chabig]

Why is it normal on the Jet Black device and not a Black device? How does the anodising process produce this?

I have no idea, but I do know the finish is different. So somewhere in the production steps, processes vary.

 

[ct2k7]

I have no idea, but I do know the finish is different. So somewhere in the production steps, processes vary.

If this is reproducible across all iPhone 7, Jet Black, then it could be considered normal.

However, if it's not, then no, it is not normal.

 

[dotnet]

Not true, ceramics can be very durable (depending on how it is produced), more than metal. It is used for hip-replacement prosthetics. If they choose the right "version" of it, it will be virtually unbreakable under normal circumstances (like dropping it).

Yes. Ceramic is a very broad term for a large variety of man-made materials. Apple won't be using stoneware or fine bone china for the watch (or hypothetical iPhone)

Some ceramics (such as zirconia or silicon nitride ceramic) are incredibly tough, they are used for bearings with virtually no wear, like in expensive skateboards.

 

[hellopupy]

Lol @ those trying to say all ceramic are brittle.

Why do you think the best performance sports and exotic cars in the world all opt to use CARBON/CERAMIC brakes?

 

[chabig]

If this is reproducible across all iPhone 7, Jet Black, then it could be considered normal.

However, if it's not, then no, it is not normal.

Yes. I agree with you.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

This is something I'll be looking for in my iPhone when it comes; I can't unseen it.
[doublepost=1475071937][/doublepost]

Why is it normal on the Jet Black device and not a Black device? How does the anodising process produce this?

The lip is supposed to be a brushed finish. You're familiar with the brushed grain found on brushed stainless steel, right? It's the same thing and I see that on my JB standard 7. However, it appears that on some JB Plus units it's significantly rougher and catches light in a periodic manner. Brushed grain isn't supposed to do that.

The lip isn't supposed to be smooth. The brushed finish is normal, but the Plus shown here aren't consistent with a normal brushed finish.

 

[TurboPGT!]

Im most likely going to contact Apple and see what they can do. This might be the start of something to be aware about, especially after the article regarding quality check:

"Jet Black models suffer from a low casing production yield rate of 60-70%, meaning that 30-40% of units do not pass Apple's quality standards and must be retooled"

https://www.macrumors.com/2016/09/26/jet-black-low-production-yield/

This is not the definitive word on Jet Black.

This drives me berserk. Ming Chi Kuo is in no position to know anything about specific percentages of Jet Black production yields...none whatsoever. He is a complete con artist. Yeah, Macrumors and others will run with it, lacking any REAL information, and now this is gospel fact amongst followers.

Apple isn't going to bother correcting the narrative, nor do they care, so bull is allowed to be accepted as fact.

 

[MacTechnics]

This is not the definitive word on Jet Black.

This drives me berserk. Ming Chi Kuo is in no position to know anything about specific percentages of Jet Black production yields...none whatsoever. He is a complete con artist. Yeah, Macrumors and others will run with it, lacking any REAL information, and now this is gospel fact amongst followers.

Apple isn't going to bother correcting the narrative, nor do they care, so bull is allowed to be accepted as fact.

Apple thought of this jet black finish last minute (hence no rumors about it until later) probably when they scrapped the idea of the blue color, for whatever reason. It's a beautiful phone that "looks" like a new design, when it really isn't. It's not "seamless" either, and doesn't look like a uniform body, despite what Jony Ive says. They probably chose to go this route to drive more sales/hype and to stomp on the whole Samsung battery thing. I can't be mad at that. But...it was poorly designed and manufactured. So much so that Apple can't even mass produce it. Next year, they'll get the finish right and it will be spectacular, especially if it's ceramic.

 

[valinda]

I would be the last person on this forum to encourage a feeling of entitlement, but because there are plenty of new iPhones in circulation without hissing noises or rough looking finishes or dull yellow screens, I think it's reasonable to return such a costly device and try to get one that lacks such distracting flaws.

I'm not talking about some weird flaw like I saw a huge thread about a couple of years ago where people had to record in slow motion video in near dark (why on earth would anyone even think to try that in the first place) to find a stuck pixel. That is just insane levels of pickiness.

But some flaws are more distracting than others. And this one apparently slipped past quality control.

iPhone 7 series seems to have a greater number of quality control issues popping up than I'm used to seeing at new release time. I am waiting until stock is abundant before I commit to a purchase. I want to be able to easily get a replacement if I get a defective one.

Have you returned your Note 7?

 

[TurboPGT!]

Apple thought of this jet black finish last minute (hence no rumors about it until later) probably when they scrapped the idea of the blue color, for whatever reason. It's a beautiful phone that "looks" like a new design, when it really isn't. It's not "seamless" either, and doesn't look like a uniform body, despite what Jony Ive says. They probably chose to go this route to drive more sales/hype and to stomp on the whole Samsung battery thing. I can't be mad at that. But...it was poorly designed and manufactured. So much so that Apple can't even mass produce it. Next year, they'll get the finish right and it will be spectacular, especially if it's ceramic.

Tell me, have you ever had an original thought that is not just a empty, baseless, nonsense, rehash of blog garbage?

I tried hard, but found not one single fact in your post.

 

[MacTechnics]

Tell me, have you ever had an original thought that is not just a empty, baseless, nonsense, rehash of blog garbage?

I tried hard, but found not one single fact in your post.

You're right...it's my opinion. But it's probably true. LOL.

 

[aluren]

My JB 7+ has the same "issue". Saw it the first time I opened the box and didn't think much of it until I saw this thread. Will be following to see if anyone has success with Apple on getting a replacement. Might check out the stores to see if the JB display models have the same issue.

 

[phobos512]

If this is reproducible across all iPhone 7, Jet Black, then it could be considered normal.

However, if it's not, then no, it is not normal.

You're obviously not a process engineer, so understand this: manufacturing comes with tolerances. There will be allowable variation, and unallowable variation. Machining marks happen - that's what this is. Anodizing won't hide that always, and depending on how they physically do the polishing (which I assure you is not as artsy as in the video Apple produced) the edges will see varying levels of polishing as compared to the primary surfaces.

Everyone preordering a phone is going to scrutinize them to death, whereas people buying in 3 months won't care - they'll just enjoy the new thing they didn't have to stand in line for.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

You're obviously not a process engineer, so understand this: manufacturing comes with tolerances. There will be allowable variation, and unallowable variation. Machining marks happen - that's what this is. Anodizing won't hide that always, and depending on how they physically do the polishing (which I assure you is not as artsy as in the video Apple produced) the edges will see varying levels of polishing as compared to the primary surfaces.

Everyone preordering a phone is going to scrutinize them to death, whereas people buying in 3 months won't care - they'll just enjoy the new thing they didn't have to stand in line for.

So far, this rather periodic machining marks seems to be restricted to the JB Plus model, as nobody with the JB standard 7 (including myself) has reported this. Seems kind of unfair for the JB Plus model to have worse build quality than the non-Plus counterparts.

 

[mobutt]

I just picked mine up today, have the same thing. JB 7+

 

[ShadowYYZ]

Here's a picture of this very same "issue" on my phone. Not sure if it's a defect or if it's supposed to be this way. My dad received the same phone as me but is not available for me to compare to at the moment. I called Apple nonetheless and sent pictures to a senior advisor who is going to look into the issue. Not really a huge concern for me but if it turns out to be a defect, I at least want it documented so I can get it replaced later on down the line.

Wow I'm try that when I get home I'm checking t here at work and nothing. I guess I'm lucky too and well my phone makes noises while recording -.-

 

[uwdude]

Indeed. I don't contact Apple for this. The risk is too high to get a faulty replacement.

Isn't that awful when you have to weigh whether the replacement you will get will be even worse? The phone should be in perfect condition for the prices they're charging.

 

[snsking]

Isn't that awful when you have to weigh whether the replacement you will get will be even worse? The phone should be in perfect condition for the prices they're charging.

I agree. Still no update from Apple. If my return date nears and no resolution has been reached, I'll ultimately have to settle for a return or an exchange to another color. One Apple rep suggest I keep returning them every 14 days until Jet Black is available, but Im not going to go through that just for a phone. Besides, Im sure Apple has a limit of how many phones you can possible return in one lifetime before they just ban you overall

 

[lpuniverse]

Isn't that awful when you have to weigh whether the replacement you will get will be even worse? The phone should be in perfect condition for the prices they're charging.

It's funny how you guys react... I think everyone got this. It's just how it is. This is for me not an issue because everyone with the JB 7+ got this. So my previous reaction was wrong... It's not a faulty unit.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

I agree. Still no update from Apple. If my return date nears and no resolution has been reached, I'll ultimately have to settle for a return or an exchange to another color. One Apple rep suggest I keep returning them every 14 days until Jet Black is available, but Im not going to go through that just for a phone. Besides, Im sure Apple has a limit of how many phones you can possible return in one lifetime before they just ban you overall

Back then when virtually all Black and Slate iPhone 5 were arriving from factory full of nicks and scratches, I contacted Apple and informed them of my intention to swap out at a later date (rather than waste my time returning it). They annotated that in their system.

Perhaps you can do the same? It seems to be a manufacturing defect if the Plus is suffering from this issue but not the JB standard 7.
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It's funny how you guys react... I think everyone got this. It's just how it is. This is for me not an issue because everyone with the JB 7+ got this. So my previous reaction was wrong... It's not a faulty unit.

Yet the JB standard 7 doesn't suffer from this issue. Why wouldn't the JB 7+ be considered faulty relative to the JB 7?

Virtually everyone with the launch day Black and Slate iPhone 5 had nicks and scratches out of the box, but that didn't make them normal.

 

[lpuniverse]

If someone returns the iPhone to Apple for this (non-issue) then you have OCD for sure. You can see it only in some unusual light conditions. If you got an iPhone fully scratched out of the box, I can accept it that you return it. But when everyone here with a JB 7+ said that they've got it... There's not an issue then. The pictures in this topic are very worse in comparing to reality.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

If someone returns the iPhone to Apple for this (non-issue) then you have OCD for sure. You can see it only in some unusual light conditions. If you got an iPhone fully scratched out of the box, I can accept it that you return it. But when everyone here with a JB 7+ said that they've got it... There's not an issue then. The pictures in this topic are very worse in comparing to reality.

Let's say Apple eventually fixes this issue to make it in line with the JB standard 7. Are launch day JB 7+ with the rather periodic machining marks still not faulty?

 

[lpuniverse]

Let's say Apple eventually fixes this issue to make it in line with the JB standard 7. Are launch day JB 7+ with the rather periodic machining marks still not faulty?

But do you return a phone for that? Well, I'm not. Perfection doesn't excist, deal with it.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

But do you return a phone for that? Well, I'm not. Perfection doesn't excist, deal with it.

I wouldn't return it at this point, but I'd definitely swap it out if Apple fixes this issue to make it in line with the standard 7. Otherwise, the resale value would get hurt when it's time to sell.

Really no different from swapping out for the crescent moon camera issue in the 6 prior to selling.