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Phil Schiller Says iPhone 5 Scratching 'Normal' for Any Aluminum Product

Every time a thread starts regarding scratches, there's always a bunch of people saying stupid things like 'don't put it in the same pocket as your keys or coins.' Really? Most of us treat our iPhones extremely carefully for at least the first month. My iPhone is never in a pocket with something else and is never thrown around and I'll bet that most of the people who are complaining about scratches are treating theirs just as carefully.

That being said, I chose the white because I didn't want to deal with overt scuff/scratch marks.

Haven't taken the factory plastic off the back yet as I'm debating on either running it naked (and taking my chances) or a film like zagg or ghost armor.
 
Bob started off in Mac Hardware Engineering, added Devices later in his career. It's hard to say how much ownership of the issue he should take, given Schiller's response.
 
BigP said:
I agree its fine if it scratches as it will with time. But when you have dents taking it out of the box that is ridiculous. My black iphone 16g was the same way one ding on the top & another by the vertical stripe on the side.....sad....
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THIS is unacceptable. im sure u can exchange it. after all, you paid good money for it!!
i actually had a mark on my ipad2 when i bought it last year. a tiny black speck on the side...but didnt bother to exchange it.
 
braintumor said:
Next time you idiots buy a brand new car that is painted black, you should also do a scratch test and see what happens!!!

Maybe you should then go to your car dealership and complain about the scratches and see what happens :D

And please do post a video on youtube of you scratching your car, that would entertain a lot of people...

Just for the record and if you have been hiding under a rock for the last 500 years ... YES, its absolutely normal that painted metal scratches, anything else would have been a miracle by Apple!
Some people are having quite a distorted vision of the world it seems and should have been awake at their physics classes.

Comment from an iphone drop test video: "Oh... Now its broken" ... Yeah go figure genius, stuff breaks when it falls :cool:

In case of scratches right of the box, you should be able to go to the next apple store and get it exchanged. I had a similar issue 5 years ago with a brand new ipod and the back was scratched. I went back to the dealer and they immediately exchanged it without any questions asked.

It seems that some people get more stupid by the day... *shaking my head*

Case closed!
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Or should Apple have chosen a different material? To avoid all this predictable brouhaha? Case reopened! :D
 
idkew said:
People bitch and moan that the glass back can crack, so Apple switches to aluminum. Now people bitch and moan that aluminum scratches.
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Here's an idea: Use a material that neither shatters nor scratches in normal use.
 
iGrip said:
If scratching is normal for any aluminum product, then why the hell did Apple choose aluminum?

Apple was known for using the best possible materials. Now their defense of an inferior material is that failure is "normal"?

Welcome to Apple 2.0. Have they jumped the shark?
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I'm not defending scratches or nicks out of the box (that's unacceptable) but
why don't people treat their expensive phones better? If you're going to be sticking your phone in the same pocket as your keys and coins than get a case. I don't any scratches or nicks on my iPhone 4S because I've made sure to treat it like the expensive product it is.
 
tbrinkma said:
Yes. Aluminum can scratch. There's no way around it. (Glass scratches less, but breaks more easily, so pick your poison.)
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Given your comment, neither aluminum or glass seems appropriate for a smartphone case material.
 
Why are scuffs such a big deal? It's a phone, not a decorative piece.

Or can I return my BMW (ok, my Nissan) because if I accidentally rub my key on it the body shows a scratch?
 
iGrip said:
If scratching is normal for any aluminum product, then why the hell did Apple choose aluminum?

Apple was known for using the best possible materials. Now their defense of an inferior material is that failure is "normal"?

Welcome to Apple 2.0. Have they jumped the shark?
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where was this outrage when apple used aluminum backs on their ipods

those scratched unbelievably easy

dont like it? feel free to spend 200 bucks and make your own iphone from scratch or don't buy it?

or *gasp*
put a back protector on it or a case
 
cRuNcHiE said:
They probably did it on purpose to reduce the re-sale of used phones.

If the phone looks scuffed/scratched then people are more likely going to go for a brand new phone and line apples pockets, rather than buy used where apple doesn't get anything.
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That's an interesting theory.
 
chrisbru said:
Why are scuffs such a big deal? It's a phone, not a decorative piece.

Or can I return my BMW (ok, my Nissan) because if I accidentally rub my key on it the body shows a scratch?
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The problem is that the phone scuffs under normal usage, like putting it in your pocket (ofcourse not one with other stuff in it) and putting it down on tables etc. If your car would get scratched all the way down to the metal every time you took it for a drive or parked it in a garage, wouldn't you be mad?
 
johncrab said:
If I take a jagged piece of granite and rub it back and forth on a new Porsche, it will scratch too. If you abuse your stuff, it will show.

Take care of your things! - Mom, since the beginning of time.
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Why all these stupid, pointless comparisons? Yes if you deliberately do something like that it'll happen, but why on Earth would Apple build something like a Phone out of something that scratches that easily and obviously?

Scratches on your iPhone are going to be inevitable, even if you baby it. Building something that is going to be manhandled as much as a phone out of that is idiocy.
 
iGrip said:
Given your comment, neither aluminum or glass seems appropriate for a smartphone case material.
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Or plastic, apparently. Remember the reason why the original iPhone wasn't plastic? Not because it's "cheap", rather because Steve Jobs freaked out due to it scuffing up after being placed next to his keys in his pockets.

Not that this means the iPhone 5 sucks now or anything. I just think it's funny how people are being so flippant and dismissive over something that ended up being the major reason why the iPhone was coated in glass and metal to begin with.
 
I don't understand why they don't powder coat these things, then they would be much tougher than anodized and much less susceptible to scratches. :confused:
 
GizmoDVD said:
No, not normal.
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Scratching of painted aluminum is pretty normal. Schiller seemed a bit dismissive. I would certainly be unhappy if my new phone was scratched from normal use of less than a week.

I don't know if we have enough information to know how widespread this problem really is. There are millions of black iPhones running around. It is possible some number of them have a defect allowing them to scratch easier.

That was my assumption before he said we should expect them to scratch.
 
Schiller's comment aka "don't even think that we're going to recall and redo millions of overly soft aluminum alloy bodies and poorly anodized finishes on iPhones."
 
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