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Matte Black iPhone 7 Users Complain About Chipped, Peeling Paint

All the people defending Apple, Please tell me if you bought a 700$ watch and if it scratched, would you defend the watch company?
 
My iPhone 5s Space Gray is sort of peeling, not completely, but it looks like the paint chipped.
I strongly suspect the case is causing this, because it never happened to me before. The case that seems to cause the paint to come out is a Griffin case with clear back.
 
My matte black 7 paired with the Apple battery case is in perfect condition. One thing I noticed that wasn't mentioned in this article was the type/brand of the case used.

I think dust plays a role in these chippings if the case didn't have a microfiber lining, like the cases made by Apple. I remember using third party silicone cases from Speck and the back of my iPhone 4S was worn due to dust being trapped between the phone and the case. Once I switched to Apple's microfiber lined cases, I haven't seen a dust-inflicted scratch since.
 
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HarryKeogh said:
Well, it's not paint. It's the anodized coating itself. And it should abrade away, not flake off. It's faulty anodizing.

I'm actually an anodizer. This is a textbook anodizing reject.
Click to expand...
And I'm realizing I have no idea how anodization works... I thought it embedded the pigment into the metal almost like a stain. So "flaking" off in that pattern that looks like overlapping circles seems weird (I see you commented somewhere else that interrupting the electric current would lead to flaws like this).

Is this something that should be detectable before the part leaves the factory, or is it undetectable until it fails?

Does the pigment make a difference here? I always wondered why the black disappeared from the lineup after the iPhone 5. Now I'm seeing that this was a common problem with the black 5 and now the black 7. Is that coincidence?

Sorry for all the questions, it's rare to find someone in these forums that actually knows what they're talking about...
 
Those "I take care of my (Apple) s**t." condescending blame-the-owner mentality... I wonder how many had this issue:

https://www.macrumors.com/2015/03/16/retina-macbook-pro-stained-coating/

I guess they were careless in their use of their X-Ray vision powers, like the above do carrying their car keys in the same pocket as their phone. Since that always happens.

Edit: If fanboys want a more Apples to Apples comparison to physicals & possible owner "carelessness" : https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-fixing-cracks-in-white-plastic-macbooks/
 
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true story:

The sleep button on my iPhone 7 plus stopped working (not a widespread issue as far as I can tell, just a weird thing that happened to my phone) so I sent it to AppleCare and they replaced it. When I took it out of my case to send it to them I saw it has a bunch of chips on the back! When I bought it originally I was without a case for a day but I didn't remember seeing it that bad. I shrugged it off and silently wished that they *would* actually replace it instead of simply fixing it (my iPhone 5 sleep button stopped working too but I just got back the same phone with a working button when I mailed it in)

Anyway, fast forward a few days and I get a whole new phone back! Matte black beauty wrapped in plastic, not a scuff in sight!

I had purchased a case (a NEW case, Tech21, cuz I was worried the cheap case was the reason for the scuffs) and so immediately put it on seconds after unwrapping it from the plastic

So just a few minutes ago I log onto macrumors for my daily Apple news and I see this article. I remember my prior phone and pull this phone out of the case to appreciate at how my phone looks good and I avoided this particular "repair extension program" But to my surprise (and slight irritation) there are scratches. AGAIN (to be fair, much lighter scratches than before)

I SWEAR I put it in the case immediately. How/what happened I don't know. But I think this is only gonna get worse for Apple

And please, PLEASE don't assume I'm trying to start some Apple war or sing their doom from the hilltops! I love this stuff! I had issues with my iPhone 7 and my 5 ... BUT my 5s, 6 and 6s were perfect and never needed service! (Those were all silver too so I think I'm switching back to that with the new phone this year lol) Anyway... point is, I get that this stuff happens and they're mass manufactured. Just chiming in with my concern and experience. I'm not gonna call AppleCare and belittle a kid on phone support because of a corporate snafu and I don't hate Apple. Whatever, the phone still works. But... this is a thing.
 
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iPhone's lack of quality with spray on finish is worse than $50 non-Apple phones but Apple profit$ and cost cutting come before quality, right?
 
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This scratching and pics of $700 devices disturbes me. Please next time don't. Here's the plan . If you buy an Apple device stick with silver and try not to break the screen. Guys: girls will not date you if you have a cracked screen. They figure if you won't care for a phone..well...

AS for "other colors" ask yourself are you paying the max? I mean near or above $1000? IF yes! then its probably ok as they gave you the supreme paint job with 'sealant" .

My phone? Its fine no screen protector or case just a Mozo black leather back. In fact I've never seen another phone chip like that or have broken screens.
 
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MagnusVonMagnum said:
A $700+ phone should not have paint peeling off less than a year after it's introduction. My $40 Microsoft Lumia 640 is black and has not a mark on it. With a $98 SD card, it has over 200GB of storage and with a Tracfone plan I pay ~$17 a month and I just passed my one year mark a couple of weeks ago and I've never once run out of talk time, data or text messages and I read the news on it 5 days a week (I don't watch streaming videos, however). It has more than enough power for HD movies and records in 1080p video and 8MP photos. It was practically a steal. I simply cannot comprehend why someone would want to pay over 7x more for a POS that can't even keep its paint on and won't be supported or will perform extremely poorly two major OS update versions from now. Mine had Windows 8 Mobile on it when I got it and now has Windows 10 and it got even more stable and faster with Windows 10 (nothing lags or feels slow at all and it connects to my Subaru's Bluetooth stereo just fine, etc.) The lack of certain custom (bank, etc.) apps is its only real limitation and that's do to people WANTING to spend huge amounts of money on a phone that is outdated in a year or two. I think people must be brainwashed to buy iPhones or something. I like Macs, but the iPhone is a complete waste of money, IMO and frankly, I'll need the savings if I ever want to buy a Macbook Pro again given how much they keep raising the prices on the damn things. Come on, $2400 for a BASE 15" model with only 250GB of storage? It's over $3000 for one with 1TB and it still has a crap GPU! Holy hell that's ridiculous. Maybe it's time to ditch the Mac too.... I'm not poor, but I don't enjoy being RIPPED OFF either just for a brand name. They're talking over $1000 for an iPhone 8. No phone should cost more than a notebook. It's a fudging PHONE for god's sake. The screen size/interface alone creates limitations even if the CPU does not.
Click to expand...

If Microsoft makes a cool new Surface phone, there is a fair chance I would switch. I know that I could never palate Android, but WinPhone I think I could do. And continuum would be fun to have.

OTOH, I kind of want to keep my current 6S for longer than 2 years. The environment and those abused Chinese workers working harder and harder making damn cell phones... it just ain't right. Plus no more contracts from VZW makes any new phone is an extra cost to me.
 
Huh, I have a black iPhone 7 and I use it without a case but I haven't noticed this on mine.
It may only affect certain batches?
 
csurfr said:
I truly envy you. I love the jet black, but I am so OCD about fingerprints I'd probably pop a blood vessel trying to keep it clean. Fingerprints are the one reason why I don't want to see a touchscreen MacBook Pro.

Of course, I'd be happy if Apple could just pick one Space Grey and be done with it.
Click to expand...

How do you get along with the front of your phone? I'm always wiping mine down of course but my iPhones and iPads always have them on the screens.
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HarryKeogh said:
Well, it's not paint. It's the anodized coating itself. And it should abrade away, not flake off. It's faulty anodizing.

I'm actually an anodizer. This is a textbook anodizing reject.
Click to expand...

Thankfully somebody here is rational. Looks like the coating is flaking off to me as well. This stuff is frustrating with Apple sometimes how it's not covered even if a munfacturing flaw. It would be obvious if those marks were caused by the user.

And this doesn't seem parallel to the issues with the iPhone 5. That was more a design flaw in my opinion. Any angles like those with any coatings are going to wear down fast. That's just common sense. Also why I got the white version that time around since I knew it would show the similar aluminum silver underneath. It's also why I believe Apple went to the rounded edges of the 6.
 
KAZphoto said:
How do you get along with the front of your phone? I'm always wiping mine down of course but my iPhones and iPads always have them on the screens.
Click to expand...

With a lot of cleaning, yes. Obviously fingerprints are unavoidable in some situations but they still drive me nuts. Funny that my Apple Watch doesn't show fingerprints, but the iPhone and iPad are magnets for them.

I carry one of those microfiber (or whatever they are) cleaning cloths in each of my laptop bags.
 
csurfr said:
With a lot of cleaning, yes. Obviously fingerprints are unavoidable in some situations but they still drive me nuts. Funny that my Apple Watch doesn't show fingerprints, but the iPhone and iPad are magnets for them.

I carry one of those microfiber (or whatever they are) cleaning cloths in each of my laptop bags.
Click to expand...

Funny as my Apple Watch shows a lot of them as well and I constantly wipe it off with my sleeve. I like my jet black as the shiny surface adds grips for me. Though with the extra finger prints and fine scratches the bit of OCD with me has to look the other way. I also end up caring about the appearance for my devices more than I probably should as I mostly hand them down to family members after I'm done with them. Must be a level of pride or something. lol
 
i dont think this is specific to Apple, ive seen the same thing happening on a friend's matte black HTC 10. the black finishes just dont hold up over time ive found.
 
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Logged in to see all the whining about something that gets put in your pocket with keys and beaten up. Meanwhile, my friends with Android flagship phones don't bitch about scratches, etc because... It's a phone that's been painted...

Oh the humanity!!! Oh LORDT, mai phone got scratched by my keys!!

#physics
#firstworldproblems
#useaclearcase
 
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kwikdeth said:
i dont think this is specific to Apple, ive seen the same thing happening on a friend's matte black HTC 10. the black finishes just dont hold up over time ive found.
Click to expand...

Stop making sense and stating common sense! WHAT a piece of aluminum that's got paint gets scratched by keys and objects???
 
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