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Hardness of materials are measured by science in this list, that is called the Möhs scale. It says what scratches what:

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The material that scratches everything is the diamond, that is on the top, and can't be scratched by anything.

The material that can't scratch anything is the talc, and it can be scratched by everything, that's why it is on the bottom.

So, every material that is above another one can scratch it, more or less, like any other above.

Aluminum is only in the third place!! with 2,5 points out of 10 in the Mohs scale, while the glass or steel have 6,5 points out of 10, that is A LOT harder.

I don't know if the anodized aluminum is harder than normal aluminum, but this really means that iphone 5 is made of a material that can be scratched by almost ANYTHING. Even copper, that is present on most coins (pennies) and keys, with 3 points in the mohs scale can scratch aluminum, and steel as it is shown in this famous picture:

Steel vs aluminum:

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This makes me think that Apple doesn't care of us at all. They make very fragile products to last less than a year.


Iphone 4 and 4s where made of glass, that is so hard.. but also super ultra mega fragile!! One fall one broken iphone, just look for iphone 4 crash tests on youtube... Iphone 4 was the condomized phone, you couldn't use it without protection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7-OBoDFeDY

Iphone 5 is made of a more resistant material against falls, but it is super soft!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSFKVq36Hgc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2BxL0nRDlY

Do you think that apple engineers don't know this??

Mmmhh I don't think so. The faster your iphone looks ugly or broken, the faster you are going to buy a new one.

That is called marketing, aggressive marketing.

Whoa! I wonder if Apple knows about this. Crazy how they haven't started making phones out of diamond yet.
 
I give you science and... proofs ... and you give me .... what?

Well that's it! You won SCRATCHGATE.

I guess this means you'll be returning your iPhone 5 immediately and using some other platform, right? Don't want to feed Apple's greed, after all, which is exactly what you would be doing if you kept your iPhone 5, or bought anything else from Apple, ever again.

Do be sure to visit us sometime, as I'm guessing you'll want to gloat and guffaw about your new phone, which surely will be made of such fine, durable and scratch proof materials as plastic, and will be manufactured by a conscientious company which will be absolutely uninterested in profit of any kind. Though I'm sure you'll be too busy frequenting the forums of whatever your next phone choice is to do much gloating.
 
OP, You have wrong information. The outer coating is extremely hard.
 

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So that's why all the other companies make plastic phones. Oh wait, plastic is easier to scratch than aluminum. Those sneaky devils!
 
Is the aluminum in the iPhone 5 the same as the aluminum on the original iPhone 1? Because my iPhone 1 even today looks great. I think the problem with the iPhone 5 is that it has hard edges which I think we can all agree can be easily dented. The original iPhone had no edges, it was rounded, which made it far more resistant to denting.

Fortunately I prefer my iPhones in a case, so mostly only the glass front of my phone is exposed.I do not really fear dents or scratches.
 
Apple uses thick anodizing on all their aluminum parts. The surface hardness ranges from 9.5 Mohs for their black coatings (hard anodized) to 8 for their silver coatings (regular silver anodizing).

Op has no idea what he's talking about.
 
So it's either the paint scratching off or it's a powder annodized aluminum, not solid anodized aluminum.

Btw, aluminum oxide has many forms, two of which are corundum and saphhire. Both are extremely hard. Corundum is ugly but strong as well. Saphhire looks good but can shatter fairly easily. The iphone 5 is neither of these, anodized aluminum is totally different, is probably a different chemical composition and is likely just a coating that's easily worn off.

Btw, the guy that said use titanium, Titanium is very expensive to machine because it wears through blades and polishing pads real fast. It's also heavier than aluminum and not really more strong. Actually if the iphone was made of industrial aluminum, it would be rock solid strong and not prone to much scratching. What it would be very prone to is discoloring, which is the outer oxide coating (guess what, corundum?). Titanium is also not very recyclable.


Apple uses thick anodizing on all their aluminum parts. The surface hardness ranges from 9.5 Mohs for their black coatings (hard anodized) to 8 for their silver coatings (regular silver anodizing).

Op has no idea what he's talking about.
 
is that the coating on the i5? i dont think so it doesnt seem that tough, although it is decent

Hardness doesn't necessarily mean toughness. Toughness is the resistance to breaking, chipping, or cracking. Aluminum anodizing is very resistant to wear and scratch but prone to chipping.
 
Okay, I'll bite. What material would you use to make the iphone? Here's the catch: the phone has to be about the same weight as the 5 and not cost more to manufacture.
The problem I have with your criticism is that it is not well thought out. The other materials that are harder are heavier, more expensive or difficult to manufacture. You have to compromise somewhere, so what are you going to sacrifice?
Does this mean I'm happy with the reports of phones that come scratched? Of course not. I am happy that I won't have to buy an overbuilt case, like I did for my 4.
This makes me think that Apple doesn't care of us at all. They make very fragile products to last less than a year.

Iphone 4 and 4s where made of glass, that is so hard.. but also super ultra mega fragile!! One fall one broken iphone, just look for iphone 4 crash tests on youtube... Iphone 4 was the condomized phone, you couldn't use it without protection.
 
I just wish there was a black/silver option. Then we wouldn't notice scratches and could keep our black screen border.
 
So the question is, what material to use that people won't complain about?

Titanium would be nice. It would retain the cool-look of aluminum while being stronger and lighter. Of course it's more expensive which is probably why Apple switched away from Titanium in the first place on the powerbooks.
 
How has the op got 5 up votes?!?

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Hardness doesn't necessarily mean toughness. Toughness is the resistance to breaking, chipping, or cracking. Aluminum anodizing is very resistant to wear and scratch but prone to chipping.

Nice to see some sense in this thread!
 
I used my iPhone 4 without a case... no problems
I used my iPhone 4s without a case... still no problems
I am currently using my iPhone 5 without a case... hmmm, no problems

I see a pattern here

I buy new phones because I want the new phone and its capabilities
Not because my current one looks ugly now :rolleyes:

I buy my phones to use
Not to resell
And not to put in a museum

And your opinions somehow represent everyone who owns an iPhone? Who cares!
 
True dat. However, MacDawg's point stands .. he doesn't care if it gets scratched. Nor do I. These are tools; things that go out into reality every day and get banged around. If they get scratched or scuffed, that's life. I'd prefer it doesn't happen and have case, screen protector, and Applecare if the worst comes to pass. But I don't live my life by worrying about <oh shudder> the back of my phone got scuffed....so long as it still works.

But yes, from a materials characteristics standpoint the OP is correct. Now, if he can just work out a manufacturing process that can acquire and work the harder materials and not raise the price to beyond the market target, he'll be on to something.

Oh I understand he/you don't care. But you are the very tiny minority.
 
Yeah well, I'm waiting for Apple to release a diamond iPhone.
Truth is, I think that Apple knows this issue. Once again however, other anodized aluminum have been unveiled, and I don't recall any complaints back then.
 
True dat. However, MacDawg's point stands .. he doesn't care if it gets scratched. Nor do I. These are tools; things that go out into reality every day and get banged around. If they get scratched or scuffed, that's life. I'd prefer it doesn't happen and have case, screen protector, and Applecare if the worst comes to pass. But I don't live my life by worrying about <oh shudder> the back of my phone got scuffed....so long as it still works.

But yes, from a materials characteristics standpoint the OP is correct. Now, if he can just work out a manufacturing process that can acquire and work the harder materials and not raise the price to beyond the market target, he'll be on to something.

And no one cares about the tiny minority like you. Certainly not the masses of case makers and screen protector industry. How many people on campus do I see use an iPhone or iPad without a case or cover or screen protector? Virtually none.
 
I used my iPhone 4 without a case... no problems
I used my iPhone 4s without a case... still no problems
I am currently using my iPhone 5 without a case... hmmm, no problems

I see a pattern here

I buy new phones because I want the new phone and its capabilities
Not because my current one looks ugly now :rolleyes:

I buy my phones to use
Not to resell
And not to put in a museum

pretty much... I had a case on my 3GS, and the back was ruined. no case on the 5, and it looks just fine.
 
Well, if you saw it on the Internet it must be true!:p

You go ahewad and carry your iPhone 5 in you pocket with your keys and see how it goes!;)

Well i never do that, but the guy was testing the coating of the phone and he was scratching the coating pretty hard and nothing. Although jabbing it with keys is a different story it will make holes...and the chamfered edges are not protected by the coating so the edges are susceptible to damage
 
The hardness is only one of many properties Apple considers.

You should also be looking at;

Cost
Supply
How can it be machined?
How does it react to heat?
Weight
Strength (different to hardness)
How does it age?
How does it react in different enviroments?

Any many many more that far cleverer people than me at Apple consider.
 
Another conspiracy theory


I love how people call facts theory, its just more double speak from the "faithful"

Its a religion dont you know, lol.

Yes the hardness of materials is a theory made to hurt the apple cult.
 
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