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Will the iPhone 5 aluminium back corrode with sweat?

NATO

NATO

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 14, 2005
1,704
43
Northern Ireland
Honest question here, unrelated to 'scuffGate' or whatever it's been dubbed thus far.

I was just curious about the aluminium back of the iPhone 5 and its resistance to corrosion due to sweat. The reason I am curious is because over the years there have been countless threads of people having black pitting on the palm rests of their Apple laptops caused by the sweat of their hands during use.

If this is the case, won't this become a huge problem given a phone is something held in your hand for long periods of time?

I would hate to drop £700 on a new iPhone and discover 6 months down the line that the back is corroding, and of course Apple will not do anything about it because their warranty doesn't cover 'aesthetic' defects.
 
Aluminum is quite resistant to corrosion from something like sweat. You know the original iPhone had an aluminum back?
 
Oh yes of course it did, and I don't remember any corrosion complaints with that.

Although my Magic Mouse has pitted quite badly on the underside after a year or so of use. I wonder if there's some difference in the way the aluminium is treated?
 
It's supposedly the same material as what is used on their notebooks. I have never noticed corrosion on my MacBook Airs.

On the scuffing issue, perhaps that's why we haven't seen a black MacBook since they switched to the unibody aluminum design. If it does become a widely reported complaint, my guess is that they will find a solution for the "5S" like they did with the antenna.
 
Even if it has the same aluminium treatment as the 'pitting' palm rests of older MacBooks, you're not likely to have your iPhone backing subject to the same conditions since you just don't have it in 'sweaty contact' for long periods.
 
Don't forget the bottom of a magic mouse is also rubbing across a desk and/or mousematt all day, that probably aids the pitting more then sweat.
 
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