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Two iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Colors Appear to Scratch More Easily

For me these are the usual bs and looking for content posts around every iPhone release. I get that the aluminium vs titanium is interesting but the glass backside that we’re seeing here with scratches is the same material as in previous years - means: if it scratches so easily you would have to avoid the previous iPhones as well.
 
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Looks like the textured glass is abrading stuff that comes into contact with it. We saw this happen with the black pixel 3 back when frosted glass was still new on phones. I wonder if they're using a different process for it.

edit to add: could be a side effect of the new ceramic shield. Making it harder (more scratch resistant) would also make it more abrasive, and abraded material would be caught in the texture.
 
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840quadra said:
They have gotten far better, and some have better luck than others.

I used to be the same way, Since the iphone 15 Pro, I have gone without and have had little issues. I work in datacenters with hard floors, travel constantly, work on my own cars, and have done minor drops at home.

Being responsible with where I place it, and avoiding putting anything in my pocket with the phone has done wonders. Habits I already had with cases, as silicon cases always were slippery for me.

I have minor patina on the bottom of my phone, and have cracked 2 screen protectors.
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Using the phone without a case -- especially my iPhone 16 Pro -- is too slippery. That's why I prefer silicon cases, which give me far more grip. I've had too many accidents that would have cracked my screen or damaged the case to do without.

From dropping my phone while getting out of the car until concrete/asphalt, to my kid accidentally dropping my phone onto the ground, to my other kid dropping my phone and then kicking it across the driveway when he overreacted to dropping it and attempted to grab it. In each instance, the phone came away unscathed. Without a case, it would have been road rash city.

It's cheap insurance. It also increases resale value when I sell the phone on eBay when I upgrade.
 
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This is why I always have a case on my iPhone 16 Plus. When I traded in my iPhone 12 back on October 2024 it looked almost brand new because there were no scratches on the case, let alone the display, given I always had my phone protected by a case.
 
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Looks like it's mostly the matte finished ceramic shield on the Pro and Air. On the plus side, there's a business opportunity: the people who normally use screen protectors will now want back protectors too. ;)
 
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This is only showing the Ceramic Shield glass vs keys or coins or whatever people are using to damage them in-store. The drop tests on YouTube are really showing the difference between a rugged Steel or Titanium build and the bendy, fragile nature of insta-crushed aluminum with roughly the strength and durability of a Pepsi can.
 
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I can confirm, just came back from Apple Store and I checked multiple blue iphone 17MAX and Pro phones and the majority were scratched. What surprised me was not just a light scratch but some of them had actual deep scratches, every single blue Iphone 17 pro max had some kind of scratch. Also the 17 pro max phone felt really heave compared to last year and it did not feel premium like last year, so am really not sure whether I am going to upgrade from my 12 pro this year, I feel disappointed, looks like quality control this year is not great.

I would say if you buy one, it most definitely needs to go in the case as soon as you unbox it, I will do that if i buy it.
 
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