Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
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.

that's horrible. let us know when your backplate shatters.
 
I'm wondering why Apple spends so much time and energy on designing an eye-pleasing phone when most people will hide it under an ugly case anyway.

And obviously I'm wondering even more why customers care about how the iPhone looks for exactly the same reason.
 
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.

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.

Xian -- Glass cutting happens by lightly scoring the surface of the glass from edge to edge, then flexing it down. You seem to have no practical experience here. The mechanism is QUITE plausible.

Being a skeptic is very useful -- but in the absence of facts or experience, you need to be equally skeptical of both sides, and go in active search of data.

So here's data:

Scoring and pressure are the means by which glass is cut.

Small scratches won't do it, by the way -- but edge-to-edge or interconnected scratch networks will indeed weaken the glass.
 
I had a incase slider that scratched the hell out of the back of my phone. The blame is really on the case makers, not apple (in my opinion)

For every phone I bought over the years, cases scratch the phone faster then normal use.
 
that's why rubber/snap on cases are the way to go.

Rubber cases are worse, I'd expect -- grit gets in easier.

Skins prevent this whole thing. Pick your provider. Or use stickers. Or whatever floats your boat. A skin is, however, the only thing that will prevent scratches.
 
A little maintenance...

I have the Incase slider for my iPhone 4 and generally take the case off about once a week and clean it out and wipe the phone down. So far, so good. Just a little maintenance is all that is needed. Same goes for any type of case (snap one, ply-on or slide on)
 
My iPhone 4 is naked as all my other iPhones were. Not a scratch on the back. If you look at the cheap plastic phones of the past, 1 week in the pocket and they are full of scratches.

And, naked as it is, I have no reception issues and I live in San Francisco, a troubled market. (sometimes the network is clogged because 80% of patrons in the restaurant have an iPhone here). Go figure.

It amazes me how much attention this phone gets from people that do not have the iPhone but like to talk about it. Own one and then make judgments!
 
So.... if I'm reading the story right...

Apple delayed selling third party cases until this week because of this rumored flaw.

If that's why Apple hasn't been selling iPhone 4 cases, why was the bumper case not available online until today? After all, it doesn't have a back and cannot create this rumored problem.

Perhaps Apple wasn't selling cases because they were giving them away and now that they are no longer doing that, they are selling them again...

On top of that, this story is coming from "inside information", not from actual user accounts. I smell BS and think gdgt wanted more site hits. I can see why too... I for one never go there.
 
Apple Needs to Scrap the iPhone 4 Design

This is the first Apple product I've ever owned that I'm not happy with. I have a chip in the corner of my screen from my case. I'm glad they are looking into it but that doesn't fix my screen.

After the redesign Apple should allow you to trade in an iPhone 4 for iPhone 5 for like 100 bucks. I'm locked into a AT&T plan and won't qualify for new iPhone 5 till 2012. Normally I wouldn't complain I knew the deal when I signed the contract but in good faith I assumed iPhone 4 would be as good if not better then my last three iPhones. It isn't!

Kevin Leidecker
www.mister880.com
 
Xian -- Glass cutting happens by lightly scoring the surface of the glass from edge to edge, then flexing it down. You seem to have no practical experience here. The mechanism is QUITE plausible. ...
I'm familiar with the potential of this in scratches which bridge enough of the glass, offer a path of low enough resistance for the crack to follow, and are deep enough relative to the strength of the glass and the other factors, but loading all this up into a big and prominent problem is pretty nonsensical.

Now, saying that, maybe you are very experienced in this area. I am not a professional in this matter. But from what I do know—I've brushed up with this stuff over the past few years working for my present company—I think this should be taken with a grain of salt. More likely it has happened in cases and Apple is following up with internal testing as they always do.

P.S. I also know how glass is cut.
 
This is the first Apple product I've ever owned that I'm not happy with. I have a chip in the corner of my screen from my case. I'm glad they are looking into it but that doesn't fix my screen.

After the redesign Apple should allow you to trade in an iPhone 4 for iPhone 5 for like 100 bucks. I'm locked into a AT&T plan and won't qualify for new iPhone 5 till 2012. Normally I wouldn't complain I knew the deal when I signed the contract but in good faith I assumed iPhone 4 would be as good if not better then my last three iPhones. It isn't!

Kevin Leidecker
www.mister880.com

Well, this is the first iPhone I've been happy with in terms of case design against scratches. I have a nice Speck Pixelskin HD case, no scratches anywhere, unlike the disastrous iPhone 3G/3GS back/chrome which picked up scratches if you even LOOKED at it. Yes, the back will scratch if you're not careful. Heck, the screen will scratch if you're not careful! BUT, the back will not scratch if you ARE careful, unlike the previous gen iPhones.

Who hear has an iPhone 3G/3GS with no scratches on the chrome? Right.... Move along.

While the band on the iPhone 4 can scratch, it's less likely (though still possible).
 
william, the discussion is not about the scratches themselves, but the claim that they will eventually destroy the back glass plate altogether. although, i'm sure that if you bend your 3gs back plate along one of your scratches enough times, i'm sure it will break.
 
william, the discussion is not about the scratches themselves, but the claim that they will eventually destroy the back glass plate altogether. although, i'm sure that if you bend your 3gs back plate along one of your scratches enough times, i'm sure it will break.

I sincerely doubt that's possible, though. Don't you think we'd have heard about people complaining about this sort of thing if it were? We're very vocal on these here boards!
 
This is very interesting. I thought Apple is using Anti-Scratch glass on their devices... No? :confused:
 
I sincerely doubt that's possible, though. Don't you think we'd have heard about people complaining about this sort of thing if it were? We're very vocal on these here boards!

check your sarcasm radar - it's broken. :)
This is very interesting. I thought Apple is using Anti-Scratch glass on their devices... No? :confused:

front glass - yes, back glass - probably not.
 
front glass - yes, back glass - probably not.

Unfortunately, that s**ks. :(

One would think that since the glass back covers the camera lens, Apple will also use an Anti-Scratch glass as well. :( I can't imagine getting a scratch on the portion of the iPhone 4 glass back that covers the camera lens! :eek:
 
That's part of the risk making the phone part glass-- and getting a third party case, but Apple should've released official cases for all of the iPhone line a long time ago. I personally think it looks nice [the glass] and if I had an iPhone 4 *sniff* I wouldn't put any case on it but an Apple bumper to avoid this exact situation. I doubt it's been a real problem-- buy an AppleCare warranty if you're worried. It won't be the next antennagate, promise. :p
 
"Some" cases

How many? How big a problem is this? With what cases?

By the way, I was a bit anxious about my new iPhone wearing nothing but a bumper, but the glass seems to stay very clear, and protected from cracking by the ridge around the edge, which holds the glass off any surface.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.