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Apple really screwed up on this one! With this in mind, I'm going to get the Samsung Galaxy S3. I've heard that even if the iPhone is better in all those "scientific tests" the screen is still almost 5 inches. That makes it automatically better. And the cheap plastic back doesn't scratch like aluminum. ;)

You're joking, right? Where do I start?....never mind.

The iPod classics and previous generations of iPod touches are even more prone to scratching.....

FAIL, Apple. Next you'll be telling me if I hit the glass with a hammer, it'll break too. You're doomed. I forgot to spell it out:
S...A...R...C...A...S...M

Yes, normal. If a surface, such as aluminum, has any type of coating applied to it, it is then susceptible to coming off and being scratched. It's no different than the paint on a car.

just buy a case....and you will not have any scuffing. Simple.

Well put guys. I think a little common sense is in order here. If you're gonne slip a little rectangular, painted metal box in and out of your pocket/purse whatever, where it may come into contact with other, sharp metal ojects, keys, pocket change, what have ye, many times a day, it won't take long before IT'S GOING TO GET SCRATCHED! What repair shops refer to as 'Normal Wear & Tear'. Easily avoided, or at least minimized by not putting any other stuff in your iPhone pocket.
 
To be honest mobile phones you don't hold for too long anyway, after two years you throw away and grab a new phone.

Does anyone keep their shoes scratch free as they use their iphone? I understand iPhone is more expensive, but iPhone has aluminium and glass cover to primarily protect the silicon semiconductor that comes with it, not for its looks. it still works as far as screen doesn't smash into pieces, that's all I care about. ;)

And having said that, I still use it careful enough to keep it look good enough to get resale value. Having a completely new looking iPhone doesn't get me much more money than one that looks used carefully if there is any difference at all.
 
I see a lot of people using the car vs phone analogy. I'm going to use my own lol.

If you bought a new car and the seats started to fade after a week or the seats started to get worn only after a week your telling me this is normal?


James
 
I understand iPhone is more expensive, but iPhone has aluminium and glass cover to primarily protect the silicon semiconductor that comes with it, not for its looks.
Then why is it anodized black? To make it look better, at the cost of its finish durability.
 
Sadly, as a TOTAL Android phone lover, I have to say . . . . what's the big fuss? Devices scratch and/or have defects out of the box.

Nobody said anything about the HTC EVO's scratch-tastic camera lens.
 
I sense a new mood of disquiet regarding the iPhone 5. The same thing happened when the iPhone 4 launched and the whole antenna gate thing broke. Apple got away with that but the competition is a lot more intense now and there a number of excellent alternatives to the iPhone 5. If this affects sales the **** is really going to hit the fan as this design is going to be around for the next 2 years.
 
My anodised aluminium iPod mini is just fine after years of abuse.

Why didn't they use the same process to bake the colour in?
 
mine was dinged out-of-the-box on the rail, the silver underneath is visible. not huge, but still weaksauce. whats more annoying is my sleep button is super rattley.
 
Lol


Normal? Really? I'm surised Phil said that.


Isn't it "normal' for any phone though to get scratches?

What so special about the iPhone 5 case? If anything, its MORE prone to scratces.
 
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If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Apple didn't follow this simple principle and decided use soda cans and cheap paint. So how much ever Apple fans try to tone it down, cat is out of the bag.

Who ever broke 4s paid $200 to get a replacement. I doubt if Apple replaced any for free.
 
I've said it many times. Apple has always been about form over function. The fact that they knew that this thing will scratch SO EASILY, but still chose to go with it proves it. Anyone who doesn't see this should seriously put down the Kool-Aid.
 
I don't care what it's made out of.

Apple could at least deliver it looking new, like any other premier product.

At first I was against the term "ScuffGate" but I've changed my mind.

This is as bad as Jobs stating "you're holding it wrong"

It's a fail, when it comes out of the box scratched up.

They keep that up, people will be saying "it's only an iPhone" .
 
I see a lot of people using the car vs phone analogy. I'm going to use my own lol. If you bought a new car and the seats started to fade after a week or the seats started to get worn only after a week your telling me this is normal? James

They're talking about the outside of the car. But yes, if you had sharp, protruding items such as keys hanging from your belt, your seat material-cloth or leather- would probably get damaged or even cut, sooner or later. (I speak from experience on this one) You could hardly blame the car manufacturer for this.
 
I sense a new mood of disquiet regarding the iPhone 5. The same thing happened when the iPhone 4 launched and the whole antenna gate thing broke. Apple got away with that but the competition is a lot more intense now and there a number of excellent alternatives to the iPhone 5. If this affects sales the **** is really going to hit the fan as this design is going to be around for the next 2 years.

I disagree. A scuffed phone is a perfectly usable phone—far more so than a phone that drops calls and shatters when dropped. The iPhone 5 hardware is performing impressively in every test they throw at it. Sure, it would be great if Apple could somehow improve the hardness of the outer coating… but this is nothing like the iPhone 4's antenna issue, which affected actual performance of the phone for many people.

The maps issue is bigger… but thankfully that's software and has the potential to be fixed retrospectively.

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I've said it many times. Apple has always been about form over function. The fact that they knew that this thing will scratch SO EASILY, but still chose to go with it proves it. Anyone who doesn't see this should seriously put down the Kool-Aid.

Form over function?? We're discussing superficial scuffing of the surface here, something which doesn't affect the function at all! By moving to the aluminium unibody design, Apple has given us an iPhone that is incredibly resistant to serious damage when dropped (see this article), so I would argue the opposite. Apple has sacrificed the aesthetics somewhat with this release to give us a much more durable phone—'durable' in a way that protects its functioning, not its superficial appearance so much.
 
Apple really screwed up on this one!

With this in mind, I'm going to get the Samsung Galaxy S3. I've heard that even if the iPhone is better in all those "scientific tests" the screen is still almost 5 inches. That makes it automatically better. And the cheap plastic back doesn't scratch like aluminum.


;)

...because it's plastic.

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I see a lot of people using the car vs phone analogy. I'm going to use my own lol.

If you bought a new car and the seats started to fade after a week or the seats started to get worn only after a week your telling me this is normal?


James

if a rock chipped the windshield or paint in the first week, would you call that normal?
 
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We paid for a high quality built product not some piss poor excuse Mr. Schiller.
This is just like the antenna problem all over again "your holding it wrong."

Then why buy Apple. They aren't holding a gun to your head after all.

Go get some other phone that doen't have these issues

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Why do people think that because this is obvious that means it is acceptable for a $700+ device?

.

Few folks are paying that much.

And they have a legal right to return it to the seller for their money. Instead they gripe.

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People are confusing two separate issues. Scuffed phones out of the box is a manufacturing issue that needs to be addressed (.

nope. More likely it is a delivery issue. Perhaps a packaging issue (shifting too much so they get banged around). But the iPhones will have been inspected after assembly so manufacturing issues would be dealt with.
 
I don't care what it's made out of.

Apple could at least deliver it looking new, like any other premier product.

At first I was against the term "ScuffGate" but I've changed my mind.

This is as bad as Jobs stating "you're holding it wrong"

It's a fail, when it comes out of the box scratched up.

They keep that up, people will be saying "it's only an iPhone" .

But it IS a iPhone ...;)
 
The actual issue is that it looks like it 'could' be easily scratched when you have keys and things with you in your pocket (not that you should do that anyway). whereas the iphone 4/4s case - it was harder to scuff the glass on the front and back...

people put their phones on tables etc so it looks like iphone 5 will wear faster...

people who are saying - buy a case...yes thats true but then you lose the attractiveness of the phone plus this should be something apple can easily design out. its like a backwards step from the 4/4s in terms of scuffing but a forward step in terms of being thinner and lighter.

as with the ipad - ive looked after it pretty well but the aluminium backing is too easily scratched...
 
Yes, normal. If a surface, such as aluminum, has any type of coating applied to it, it is then susceptible to coming off and being scratched. It's no different than the paint on a car.

It's actually very different to paint on a car. Car paint is many layers deep and includes a hard clear coat to protect against scratches. Light surface scratches can be buffed out fairly easily. It takes years for a car's paint job to show visible wear from people casually rubbing against it.

A chunk of aluminum with a micro thin coating of anodized paint is far more susceptible to highly visible marks even when the user avoids carelessness such as sliding the phone across a table or placing in pockets with keys or loose change. A grain of dust or sand can leave an ugly mark after the user casually slides their finger across its surface.

This was probably not the best choice for the iPhone 5's case. I think the vast majority of people are going to find themselves with a very worn looking phone within a year, reducing its resale value as well as user satisfaction. I'll take the thicker and heavier Gorilla glass any day over scratch-prone anodized aluminum.
 
problem is the case scratches way to easily. It is not normal and just Apple trying to make crap up to cya. They know the fanboys and girls will defend them on it.

Well I agree it wasn't a good move to make a product that scratches this easily, I'm saying it is correct that painted aluminum products can easily be scratch through the paint.
 
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