Next year, no oleophobic screens anymore?

[TheSpaz]

The Apple store put mine on. Flawlessly

And no one can say/predict/accurately forecast how long the coating will last. No one is saying that one month of usage is acceptable. Follow the thread and you'll see that there are only a few cited cases of people having an issue with their coating. With over 1 million phones in circulation, it's not a problem yet and might NEVER be. I keep using the word - but it doesn't seem to be sinking in with the chicken littles - PERSPECTIVE!

Out of the millions of iPhones how do you know that there aren't many returns for the coating rubbing off? If I remember correcty, cracks didn't happen over night on the iPhone 3G but cracks were a big issue. The screen on the 3GS could be like that.

Let's give it some time.

 

[samcraig]

We have a difference in perspective.

You want to assume the worst will happen and to give it time to reveal itself.

I prefer to enjoy my phone and believe that these are limited issues and that there will be nothing to reveal other than some people just had some bad luck.

 

[Gathomblipoob]

I too like the oleophobic screen. However, the following extract (highlighted in red) from Apple's "iPhone 3GS Important Information Guide" is somewhat disquieting!

"Keeping the Outside of iPhone Clean To clean iPhone, unplug all cables
and turn off iPhone (press and hold the Sleep/Wake button, and then slide
the onscreen slider). Then use a soft, slightly damp, lint-free cloth. Avoid
getting moisture in openings. Don’t use window cleaners, household cleaners,
aerosol sprays, solvents, alcohol, ammonia, or abrasives to clean iPhone. If
your iPhone has an oleophobic coating on the screen, simply wipe iPhone’s
screen with a soft, lint-free cloth to remove oil left by your hands and face.
Please note that the ability of this coating to repel oil will diminish over time
with normal usage, and that rubbing the screen with an abrasive material will
further diminish its effect and may scratch your screen."

True, but battery life will diminish over time as well, and I haven't seen that happen yet owning a v1 and a 3G for a year each. I'm not too worried about the oleophobic coating.

 

[colmaclean]

Is oleophobic phobia a recognised medical condition yet?

 

[zacheryjensen]

What do you think?

Was this just a test from Apple to see, how robust the oleophobic screens are in real life use?

The constant reports of them scratching way easier than 3G/2G and even peeling off in some cases would indicate that next year they will abandon this "test".

What is your opinion, should they keep it or abandon it?



(I have nothing against smudge resistant screens, but I do not want them with the cost of the robustness of the screens. My humble opinion).

My oleophobic screen is working excellently, but I'm going to get a screen protector anyway, one of those crystal clear ones you can get at the Apple store. The reason is that while the oils come off easily and less face gunk sticks onto the screen, it's still not as slippery as I would like and since I play a number of games on my device that are really difficult to play when your fingers stick (such as Sway) I gotta prioritize that.

That said, I'm not so impressed by the feature that I'd care if it was there or not, regardless of my gaming habits. But I can say that despite all my gaming, I'm not having any issues that anyone has reported. I'm willing to bet they are from high heat exposure or something along those lines, it seems like many of people's issues are from weather. I think that many vocal iPhone users are careless about following the acceptable usage parameters laid out in the manual as they are somewhat restrictive compared to your everyday craphone.

 

[Halamolo]

Well hopefully Apple comes up next year with something like the oleophobic screen, BUT as strong or stronger than the actual glass...

 

[dagomike]

I skimmed through this again, but are there any threads picks showing actual damage to the coating? Other than a screen scratch? Just wondering what it looks like.

 

[Scallywag]

I would be a fan if they removed it. Along with the removal of the compass (useless hardware IMO), it would give Apple some room to do better things with the iPhone.

I keep a screen protector on my iPhone, so what's the point of the oleophobic screen? Just a useless feature, there are and have been inexpensive alternatives.

Perhaps removing both the oleophobic screen and compass could free up production costs to allow a front facing camera.

I need that compass!! I live in the city, I own no car, and I walk everywhere I go. That's the feature I'm most looking forward to when I upgrade. They'd better keep it for next year..

 

[dagomike]

I need that compass!! I live in the city, I own no car, and I walk everywhere I go. That's the feature I'm most looking forward to when I upgrade. They'd better keep it for next year..

It's only useful to you because you don't drive. For everyone who drives it's all screwy.