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Original poster
Jan 2, 2014
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Has anyone ever had the oleophobic coating wear off an iphone 5 or 5S , my 5S is 3 months old and I don't use screen protectors cuz they ruin the feel of the phone . I'm just wondering how long till it starts to come off and what happens when it does ?
 
I wouldn't worry about it. I had a 3GS(the first iPhone with the coating) for almost 4 years and if the coating wore off, it wasn't visible.
 
Same here. It's not visible for me and the loss is too subtle over time to detect a change in feel until I get a new iPhone. I'm sure it's strongly user dependent. Some may wear it off completely in three short months whereas others may still have it after about a year.
 
My iPhone 3G had its coating wear off, and since then I use a screen protector. Since it is a coating, and not impregnated into the glass, it will wear off (it just may or may not wear off in the phones lifespan).

Personally I'd not take a chance.
 
My iPhone 3G had its coating wear off, and since then I use a screen protector. Since it is a coating, and not impregnated into the glass, it will wear off (it just may or may not wear off in the phones lifespan).

Personally I'd not take a chance.

The iPhone 3G? Not possible because oleophobic coating first appeared on the iPhone 3GS.
 
The wife loves to play games on her iPhones, and has in the past worn through the coating. She now rocks an Otter Box due to her work, so it's no longer an issue.

I on the other hand play nearly zero games, just use the phone as a phone/email/weather/location/GPS/device and have never used any kind of screen saver and have had zero issues with the screen.

So I guess it would depend on your personal use....
 
Has anyone ever had the oleophobic coating wear off an iphone 5 or 5S , my 5S is 3 months old and I don't use screen protectors cuz they ruin the feel of the phone . I'm just wondering how long till it starts to come off and what happens when it does ?

Unless you're scrubbing it like a demon every day, it should last for a few years. My iPad 3 I bought in March of 2011 has still got plenty if oleophobic coating left.
 
the only difference will be that you'll probably be seeing more fingerprint smudges
 
Well, my black iPhone 5 is a smudge/fingerprint magnet!

This is my 3rd iPhone 5 and every replacement (broken home button) I got was the same. Oleophobic screen coating lasted no more than 3 weeks.

Tried almost every possible screen protector but all are thick, ugly and screen just looks messy after installment.
 
The iPhone 3G? Not possible because oleophobic coating first appeared on the iPhone 3GS.
My bad, iPhone 3gs then.

The point is, the coating wore off and caused a fog in where it failed. Googling shows I was not alone.

Has Apple improved the coating since then, perhaps but I'm not willing to take that chance. I now use ghost armor on my iDevices.
 
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That's what I'm scared of , it wearing off cuz I'm not using a protector but apple has stated there phones don't need em so they must be built to last right
 
Well, my black iPhone 5 is a smudge/fingerprint magnet!

This is my 3rd iPhone 5 and every replacement (broken home button) I got was the same. Oleophobic screen coating lasted no more than 3 weeks.

Same here.
3rd iPhone 5 ; the coating sucked so bad.
 
The point is, the coating wore off and caused a fog in where it failed. Googling shows I was not alone.

I do remember seeing photos of some pretty bad fogging in the wear area, but I've personally not had that problem with every (naked) iPhones I've had since the 3GS.

That's what I'm scared of , it wearing off cuz I'm not using a protector but apple has stated there phones don't need em so they must be built to last right

Just because some Apple executives carry their iPhones naked doesn't mean the oleophobic coating won't wear away. It's considered normal wear and tear just like scratches.
 
That's what I'm scared of , it wearing off cuz I'm not using a protector but apple has stated there phones don't need em so they must be built to last right

Why worry about it? Apple says it will wear off with use in the owners manual. Just use the thing and quit worrying about stuff. I think Apple users are some of the worst people on the planet.
 
Why worry about it? Apple says it will wear off with use in the owners manual. Just use the thing and quit worrying about stuff. I think Apple users are some of the worst people on the planet.

Yes, we have some of the most anal-retentive people here.

(Please note that "anal-retentive" is not an attack and is the correct term for which many freely call themselves "OCD.")
 
Why worry about it? Apple says it will wear off with use in the owners manual. Just use the thing and quit worrying about stuff. I think Apple users are some of the worst people on the planet.

Worrying about my 650+ dollar devices screen makes me one of the worlds worst people , wow I don't think I diserve to be In the same categorie as Osama bin Ladin ! I honestly don't know how to respond to that I'll just say this , I'm a family man with a wife and a newborn and I only worry because of the cost of the device and I know it would be covered under warranty but I don't want to go through that again . I can't think of the type of person that makes a statement like that without knowing the person but you can't be a decent person saying stuff like that , and yes I'm OCD jay I have come to terms with that but I'm still not one of the worste people on the planet !!
 
I'm a family man with a wife and a newborn and I only worry because of the cost of the device and I know it would be covered under warranty but I don't want to go through that again .

Not sure what you mean by this. Oleophobic coating wearing away is considered normal wear and tear and won't be covered under warranty. You shouldn't be able to see any wear spots under normal circumstance and it'll just be like the original iPhone and 3G's glass without oleophobic coating (meaning you'll just see more fingerprint smudges, which can be easily wiped off). That's all.

I'm sure you have more to worry about with a newborn at home so try and enjoy :)
 
Not sure what you mean by this. Oleophobic coating wearing away is considered normal wear and tear and won't be covered under warranty. You shouldn't be able to see any wear spots under normal circumstance and it'll just be like the original iPhone and 3G's glass without oleophobic coating (meaning you'll just see more fingerprint smudges, which can be easily wiped off). That's all.

I'm sure you have more to worry about with a newborn at home so try and enjoy :)

What I'm talking about is actually being able to see where it runs off I have seen like a white haze appear on some of the ones posted online and I'm just asking how long till that's starts to happen ? And no not really jay my daughter is healthy as a horse no worries there lol
 
What I'm talking about is actually being able to see where it runs off I have seen like a white haze appear on some of the ones posted online and I'm just asking how long till that's starts to happen ? And no not really jay my daughter is healthy as a horse no worries there lol

I'm pretty sure that's an aberration as you should normally not see any wear spots. At least I didn't see any in my previous iPhones (3GS, 4, 4S and 5) where the coating has pretty much worn away or at least gotten more smudgy.
 
Get a tempered glass screen protector. Feels just as good as the stock glass and keeps it safe. If the protector breaks or scratches, most companies give replacements for super cheap. The good ones also have very good oleopgobic coatings as well. Win / win.
 
Get a tempered glass screen protector. Feels just as good as the stock glass and keeps it safe. If the protector breaks or scratches, most companies give replacements for super cheap. The good ones also have very good oleopgobic coatings as well. Win / win.

Yes cause glass on glass is always the way to go:rolleyes:
 
Yes cause glass on glass is always the way to go:rolleyes:

I have one. They are the tits. The screen loses NO clarity and the thing does not scratch like plastic protectors. The screen basically looks like there is NOTHING on it. If the phone takes a direct hit to the screen by an object, the glass protector will distribute the force a hell of a lot better than a flimsy piece of plastic which will directly transfer the force to a much more isolated area of your phone's screen.:rolleyes:
 
It always baffled me as to why people spend so much time and money "protecting" a phone. These devices are a lot more durable than you think. I have dropped my 5S twice and it was recently ejected from the seat during a car accident. Not a scratch.

Too beautiful to cover and too thin to bulk it up. Unwrap it, use it and enjoy it! If you're like me, you will have a new one in a year anyway. :)
 
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