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Why can't Apple build a more durable back on its iPhone/Touch?

T

thermal

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 3, 2009
294
370
Vancouver, Canada
My old Motorola and LG phones had a metal soft-touch back that could take all kinds of abuse and still look good.

Why is it such a struggle for Apple to create an iPhone/Touch with a more durable back, instead of the seemingly fragile and scratch-prone backs we've seen for the last several years?
 
Because Apple products are notoriously known for putting aesthetic design over actual durability.
 
To continue their quest to make the most fragile device, I heard the next iPhone's housing will be made out of oxidizing 4th-century parchment and a thin sheet of wax.
 
Who cares for scratches? It's a movable, disposable product: like a car it will get scratches when used. You can buy a new back for it for $10 on eBay, or -if you are really OCD- put a case or protection foil on it. Geez...
 
Because they make the most generic looking products (which are beautiful) in hopes that you'll spend money on a case to make it more "your own".
 
I was stood next to a girl on a packed train today listening to some dumb bint talking about how some lad she knew fancied her and they were nearly an item, but that she couldnt check if she was really that important to him to count as being an item, then there was something about atomic weapons and high powered rifles (maybe that was just in my head as her inane drivel made me feel all sorts of none friendly things). Anyway, she whimpered away for about 20 minutes, during which time I saw the girl next to me whip out her iphone 3 (G/GS/whatever) and start texting. I mention this solely as the screen was well and truly shattered. the top 3rd was mullered and the area down to around the half way point was cracked and splintered. BUT, she was still using it. More importantly it didnt seem to be unfazed by the damage. I cant say the same for the many screen failures of my older phones. far too many nokias ended up binned for screen failures in the past.

incidentally, if your name is gavin and you were with a girl from stockport called tina at some wedding do this week, you are so in there mate. Though if I were you I wouldnt bother as she never shuts up
 
Trat said:
Who cares for scratches? It's a movable, disposable product: like a car it will get scratches when used.
Click to expand...

Most cars show scratches after several years. Imagine if Honda introduced a Civic whose body appeared severely scratched after several months. You think the owner's response would be 'who cares for scratches'?
 
Apple makes luxury items that they hope buyers will decide to take care of, not treat as like they would the common Motorola/LG/whatever junk they used to own. You know, like owning a BMW instead of a Scion. They're all perfectly servicable things, but you're going to want to baby the BMW more than the Scion. Apple hopes - and I believe expects - buyers to be proud of the products they buy.

I have more I could say but I'm going to be nice and just say that most people don't take care of the expensive things they buy, and leave it at that.
 
malnar said:
Apple makes luxury items that they hope buyers will decide to take care of, not treat as like they would the common Motorola/LG/whatever junk they used to own. You know, like owning a BMW instead of a Scion. They're all perfectly servicable things, but you're going to want to baby the BMW more than the Scion. Apple hopes - and I believe expects - buyers to be proud of the products they buy.

I have more I could say but I'm going to be nice and just say that most people don't take care of the expensive things they buy, and leave it at that.
Click to expand...

I own a 1993 Lexus LS400 with 186,000 miles. The paint still looks almost new. I have not babied the vehicle, and Canadian winters can be harsh, as evidenced by all the Fords and GM's with peeling paint.

If you own a luxury product, you can reasonably expect a higher level of build quality and durability.
 
thermal said:
Most cars show scratches after several years. Imagine if Honda introduced a Civic whose body appeared severely scratched after several months. You think the owner's response would be 'who cares for scratches'?
Click to expand...

No. Scratches will only appear if YOU put them there, same on a car. Your phone isnt scratching itself. If its being scratched by a case then maybe you should do what I do and check the lining of the case thoroughly before any heavy use. Simples my friend.
 
iphonefouruser said:
I was stood next to a girl on a packed train today listening to some dumb bint talking about how some lad she knew fancied her and they were nearly an item, but that she couldnt check if she was really that important to him to count as being an item, then there was something about atomic weapons and high powered rifles (maybe that was just in my head as her inane drivel made me feel all sorts of none friendly things). Anyway, she whimpered away for about 20 minutes, during which time I saw the girl next to me whip out her iphone 3 (G/GS/whatever) and start texting. I mention this solely as the screen was well and truly shattered. the top 3rd was mullered and the area down to around the half way point was cracked and splintered. BUT, she was still using it. More importantly it didnt seem to be unfazed by the damage. I cant say the same for the many screen failures of my older phones. far too many nokias ended up binned for screen failures in the past.

incidentally, if your name is gavin and you were with a girl from stockport called tina at some wedding do this week, you are so in there mate. Though if I were you I wouldnt bother as she never shuts up
Click to expand...

Thanks for the laugh :D
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

Put a cover on your device. Problem solved.....
 
I think this is really a non-issue. Everything gets scratches. I've had 3 iPhones, within a year, the backs are covered in scratches. It's no big deal, the phones still work. If you mind the scratches, then you can take better care of your phone. I just shove it in my pocket with coins and other things, but scratches never bothered me. I used to have a Nokia 8800, now that thing was a thing of beauty, but within a month, also had a couple dozen scratches. My watch (much more expensive than an iPhone) has hundreds if not thousands of tiny scratches. Anything that gets used multiple times on a daily basis is going to get scratched.
 
malnar said:
Apple makes luxury items that they hope buyers will decide to take care of, not treat as like they would the common Motorola/LG/whatever junk they used to own. You know, like owning a BMW instead of a Scion. They're all perfectly servicable things, but you're going to want to baby the BMW more than the Scion. Apple hopes - and I believe expects - buyers to be proud of the products they buy.

I have more I could say but I'm going to be nice and just say that most people don't take care of the expensive things they buy, and leave it at that.
Click to expand...

It's a freakin phone not a BMW
 
Some people needs to own up to their user damage. :rolleyes:

Sir Ruben said:
No. Scratches will only appear if YOU put them there, same on a car. Your phone isnt scratching itself. If its being scratched by a case then maybe you should do what I do and check the lining of the case thoroughly before any heavy use. Simples my friend.
Click to expand...

Exactly.

anonymous guy said:
Because Apple products are notoriously known for putting aesthetic design over actual durability.
Click to expand...

FAIL.

The Original iPhone Stress Tests - PC World
http://www.pcworld.com/article/157529/the_original_iphone_stress_tests.html

It's Tough to Kill an Apple iPhone 3G - PC World
http://www.pcworld.com/article/148310/its_tough_to_kill_an_apple_iphone_3g.html

Do you know Nexus One are "not for pockets"? That's the official word from HTC:
http://gizmodo.com/5486397/htc-dont-carry-your-nexus-one-in-your-pocket
 
I'm going to go straight out and say your completely wrong. The iPhone has always been durable, the first one was a tank. In fact, last night I took a screw driver to the screen trying as hard as possible to smash it, no luck. I threw it over 20 ft in the air and it landed directly onto its corner and only a small crack appeared in the digitizer, not even the screen was effected. It took running it over to get it to crack. Also the fact that the majority of cracked screens can still be used is proof the phone is strong. Don't know many products that can manage to work with a cracked screen, especially a touch screen. :apple:

Proud owner of a non scratched or cracked iPhone 3g, 3gs and 4. Had a perfect iPhone 2G before I wanted to stress test it. So 4 years of using a phone with no visible damage. People just need to own up for the abuse they put on their devices. Its expensive, take care of it. :rolleyes:
 
Just buy a cover or change the back if you don't like it and be done w/ it. Just because a metal back is what you want, others might like something different aesthetically.
If it scratches it's your own fault, like your example of a car, if you take your car to rought terrain it will scratch :rolleyes:
 
Carlanga said:
Just buy a cover or change the back if you don't like it and be done w/ it. Just because a metal back is what you want, others might like something different aesthetically.
If it scratches it's your own fault, like your example of a car, if you take your car to rought terrain it will scratch :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

a) I'm not saying I want a metal back. I'm giving evidence-based examples that it's possible to build a durable back.

b) I accept 'If it scratches it's your own fault' for abuse. But if a person puts a phone in their empty pants pocket, and an hour later the phone appears scratched, that's hardly abuse.
 
thermal said:
Most cars show scratches after several years. Imagine if Honda introduced a Civic whose body appeared severely scratched after several months. You think the owner's response would be 'who cares for scratches'?
Click to expand...

But to me, who has a random orbit polisher and knows how to use it as well as how to actually clean a car without damaging the paint, 99% of all cars on the road look severely scratched to me. In fact, most cars right off the showroom floor have plenty of micro scratches. In fact, the iPhone 4 stays better looking with more abuse far longer than any paint would ever hold up.

Now, the 3G/S was more suceptible to scratching, so I just used the Meguiars PlastX or (ScratchX if it got really bad) on mine every so often and it kept it lookeing somewhat decent at least.
 
When the heck did this thread turn into a conversation about cars.

I agree, the phone could be more durable than what it is, however, it isn't that bad. I also think its a marketing strategy for Apple to reel in more sales.

Btw, the person who said that Apple is a luxury brand .... it's not.
Don't give me garbage that Apple is a luxury brand. THere are other phones that are as expensive as the iPhone and there are other computers that can cost as much as an Apple computer.
 
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