I just pulled my Speck case off (free from Apple) and sure enough there was a small scratch on the back. I'm sure it won't affect the integrity of the glass, but it is a little annoying.
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Slide-On Cases Causing Cracked Glass on iPhone 4s?
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If true it makes me even more glad I got my iPhone 4. Best phone I've owned and I'm still impressed by how pretty and solid the thing is. Glass and steel all the way.
Hmmm I have a bumper on the way from Apple (free case program) and now I am 
if I should put it on my brand new iPhone4 or not bother? I put on a case on my brand new 3G and the blue from the case leaked into the white back and also etched in 3 straight lines..
If i never had a case on it, would have been perfect condition
if I should put it on my brand new iPhone4 or not bother? I put on a case on my brand new 3G and the blue from the case leaked into the white back and also etched in 3 straight lines..If i never had a case on it, would have been perfect condition
although plausible, this is highly unlikely. you think that micro scratches caused by dust will actually compromise the structural integrity of the glass? i can see if somehow you got a pebble in there and deliberately slid the case on and off.
In fact, scratches are the principal way by which you cut glass. Scratch out the line or curve of the cut, then snap the glass.I can easily see this happening.
Such grit scratches (which are almost universal) are why I put clear adhesive shields over all my devices immediately after they leave the box. Just no way to avoid them.
I hope iPhone 5 is styled like the 4
I love how the + and - are so finely detailed, any other phone just 5 second hillybilly job
Can you remember when you have to buy a case to protect a cellphone?
One thing I don't like about Apple design is the use of WHITE. If you don't know by now, Apple still hasn't shipped a single white iPhone 4. There's a very good reason for that. Anyway, my major complain is white keyboards!!! They get dirty very fast.
Oh, Apple products are very fragile. A slight knock with the latest edge-to-edge glass displays can lead to
One thing I don't like about Apple design is the use of WHITE. If you don't know by now, Apple still hasn't shipped a single white iPhone 4. There's a very good reason for that. Anyway, my major complain is white keyboards!!! They get dirty very fast.
Oh, Apple products are very fragile. A slight knock with the latest edge-to-edge glass displays can lead to
gdgt reports that Apple is currently investigating an issue with the way third-party "slide-on" cases for the iPhone 4 can interact with the iPhone 4's glass back, trapping dirt and other material between the two layers and causing scratching that can lead to cracking or shattering of the device's glass.According to the report, Apple has put together a lab and a team to conduct testing on the issue in order to determine how widespread it might be and how it could be mitigated.
The report also notes that Apple has until this week blocked sales of nearly all third-party cases from its retail stores, although it seems reasonable that Apple may simply have been limiting such sales while it was giving away free bumpers to customers as part of its efforts to address the antenna performance issue.
Article Link: Slide-On Cases Causing Cracked Glass on iPhone 4s?
Say what?
I unpacked my iphone 3 GS in my car, put it glass down on the center console for a split second, my dog stepped on it, it slid an inch on the (dirty) console and I got a big scratch in it.
Clearly Apple at fault not anticipating that I would do that.
It sure wasn't me putting it upside down or my dogs fault.
Jeez
Hmmm I have a bumper on the way from Apple (free case program) and now I am
If i never had a case on it, would have been perfect condition
The Bumper only covers the metal band on the phone and doesn't touch the back of the glass at all. I think I will be hanging up my Pixelskin HD and rocking my Bumper going forward though.
yes, if you read my whole post, i acknowledge that a deep scratch may lead to the eventual breakage of the glass. a speck of dust will definitively not cause this kind of damage. if you're lame enough to get a rock stuck between your case and glass and you happen to remove and replace the case multiple times a day, then that's a you problem, not a design flaw.
the propaganda around here is sometimes laughable.
Other protection
I know this will look like Astrotruf -- I promise it's not. I have NO association with this vendor, other than being a satisfied customer.
I use a case for impact protection, but cases are never hermetic seals, and grit gets between all cases and devices. On Apple products, the finish is a terrible thing to waste. I bought one of the InvisibleShield-type covers from Case Mate, and was pretty satisfied with it. Kept my iPod touch scratch-free for the last nine months. It had a bit of a rubbery feel to it, though, just like the Zagg ones.
When the coating finally failed (screen still protected, though), I looked around for cheaper alternatives. $20 was too much for me. I found a review for this site:
Stealth Guards
where the reviewer acknowledged that the company looked a bit fly-by-night. I decided to give it a low-risk try (PayPal, and I got three skins for $6). Got the skins quickly, plain white envelope. No application fluid enclosed -- use water (distilled if possible) with a few drops of baby shampoo. Spray bottle helps, though finger sprinkling works.
I applied just the screen protector, initially -- it went on VERY nice, and has been solid and perfect for the last month. It is also much slicker than the old skins -- feels like the glass. Does not show finger marks as much, though.
I removed the old skin from the back last week and applied the Stealth Guards one. VERY nice fit and application process, and it covers the back very well. Took some patience and dexterity, but was quite forgiving during repositioning.
So I get no scratches from the case, or on my screen. Low price, good quality.
I know this will look like Astrotruf -- I promise it's not. I have NO association with this vendor, other than being a satisfied customer.
I use a case for impact protection, but cases are never hermetic seals, and grit gets between all cases and devices. On Apple products, the finish is a terrible thing to waste. I bought one of the InvisibleShield-type covers from Case Mate, and was pretty satisfied with it. Kept my iPod touch scratch-free for the last nine months. It had a bit of a rubbery feel to it, though, just like the Zagg ones.
When the coating finally failed (screen still protected, though), I looked around for cheaper alternatives. $20 was too much for me. I found a review for this site:
Stealth Guards
where the reviewer acknowledged that the company looked a bit fly-by-night. I decided to give it a low-risk try (PayPal, and I got three skins for $6). Got the skins quickly, plain white envelope. No application fluid enclosed -- use water (distilled if possible) with a few drops of baby shampoo. Spray bottle helps, though finger sprinkling works.
I applied just the screen protector, initially -- it went on VERY nice, and has been solid and perfect for the last month. It is also much slicker than the old skins -- feels like the glass. Does not show finger marks as much, though.
I removed the old skin from the back last week and applied the Stealth Guards one. VERY nice fit and application process, and it covers the back very well. Took some patience and dexterity, but was quite forgiving during repositioning.
So I get no scratches from the case, or on my screen. Low price, good quality.
As far as I'm concerned, this is an issue with the case manufacturers, not Apple. Why should Apple care? If people are too dumb to check for debris before putting their case on, that's their problem. My iPhone 4 is naked, except for a BSE on the back. Still looks like it did on day 1 - perfect. Most cases do more harm than good.
This is getting ridiculous, really.
This is getting ridiculous, really.
No, really -- have you done any tile installations? Stained glass? I have done enough to speak from experience. Scratches and scoring create the failure points which one exploits to get a nice, clean line.
Not propaganda -- I don't have an iPhone (too expensive, and no axe to grind. I don't care one way or the other). Just responding to an incorrect statement with practical experience.
You don't need a pebble -- just a score and a push (perhaps the push comes much later), and voilà.
I learned that deep scratches come even in protected environments. 1st gen iPod touch has deep screen scratches, just from sand that got stuck between its screen and a credit card I kept in the same pocket. Made me sick at heart -- I was being so careful. So the next iPod I got was skinned as soon as it came out of the box. See above post.
That's the issue -- fine grit eventually makes its way into the case, and lodges between the case and the glass. No way to avoid it, except this:
Your BSE is the key. You want to have some shock protection (one drop, bad angle, etc), but not if the case damages the device. A cheap skin goes a long way. Which is why I recommend it. Very nice, little effect on tactile aspect of the iDevice (IMHO).
Some are rubberier than others, though. I tried ZAGG, CaseMate and Stealth. Stealth is cheap and glassy.
Negative, because this is going to be assumed BS until proven otherwise. Fine scratches causing cracks? Either the glass is faulty/cheap/crap (no) or it is being helped along somehow in whatever cases this may have actually happened. It's like those old Looney Tunes skits in which a cat cuts a hole in a window to break in with its claws.*
*Edit: as mentioned in response to this below, scratching of sufficient depth, angle, and distance can actually lead to cracking given the proper pressure, but for this to happen to high-quality glass the circumstances are going to have to stack up pretty negatively. I do believe this can have happened and Apple does investigate things like this (as a matter of policy), but I would be astonished if it is a widespread problem by any means.
Also, reading the response to this story, do people believe everything a site publishes about Apple? Not so many skeptics it seems... even though some skepticism is important for reading into all third-party reports. Especially in regard to traffic-generating Apple articles.
*Edit: as mentioned in response to this below, scratching of sufficient depth, angle, and distance can actually lead to cracking given the proper pressure, but for this to happen to high-quality glass the circumstances are going to have to stack up pretty negatively. I do believe this can have happened and Apple does investigate things like this (as a matter of policy), but I would be astonished if it is a widespread problem by any means.
Also, reading the response to this story, do people believe everything a site publishes about Apple? Not so many skeptics it seems... even though some skepticism is important for reading into all third-party reports. Especially in regard to traffic-generating Apple articles.
I had noticed a few very, very faint scratches on the front of my iPhone that were visible only in bright sunlight. After reading this article, however, I took off my Speck case which was given to me free by Apple. Sure enough, there are several scratches of various depth on the back of my phone which are visible in very normal, non-direct light.
My case was brand new when I put it on and I cleaned the back of my phone before putting it on. Stuff just gets in there. It's not a user installation issue.
My case was brand new when I put it on and I cleaned the back of my phone before putting it on. Stuff just gets in there. It's not a user installation issue.
