Apple's iPhone 17 Pro Can Be Easily Scratched (theverge.com) 31
An anonymous reader shares a report: The iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max appear to provide little resistance to scratches and scuffs around the sharp edges of the camera bump. Tech blogger Zack Nelson demonstrates this weakness in a durability test on his JerryRigEverything YouTube channel, explaining that the anodized aluminium layer on the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max "does not stick to corners very well" -- creating a weak point in the coating. This is a known issue with the electrochemical anodizing process, so it was a design decision Apple knowingly made.
"For some reason, Apple didn't add a chamfer, fillet, or radius around the camera plateau, and I think it was intentional, so it looks cooler," Nelson says in the video. "But that decision to look cool out of the box is going to plague everyone who owns this phone down the road." The video shows that everyday objects, like a coin or house key carried in the same pocket as the iPhone 17 Pro, can chip away at the anodized coating around the sharp corners of the camera bump. However, that same mildly aggressive scratching on the flat surface of the camera plateau only produced dust that could be easily wiped away.
"For some reason, Apple didn't add a chamfer, fillet, or radius around the camera plateau, and I think it was intentional, so it looks cooler," Nelson says in the video. "But that decision to look cool out of the box is going to plague everyone who owns this phone down the road." The video shows that everyday objects, like a coin or house key carried in the same pocket as the iPhone 17 Pro, can chip away at the anodized coating around the sharp corners of the camera bump. However, that same mildly aggressive scratching on the flat surface of the camera plateau only produced dust that could be easily wiped away.
Oh Noooo. (Score:2)
Anyway...
Does anyone use their phone without a case? (Score:2)
Action #1 when I get a new phone is to stick it into a sturdy case. I'm not going to risk damaging a $500 device.
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I don't use cases. My current phone is an iPhone 8 that I bought used. The previous owner definitely kept it inside a case though. Looks almost as good as the day I bought it.
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When I buy a phone I either buy it right there in the store or order one immediately. I’m clumsy and I’m not taking a chance. Taking time out of my day to deal with a phone replacement is a PITA.
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A Major Issue for 1 in 10,000 iPhone Owners (Score:3)
I work at a major university with a whole bunch of very different people. I've never personally seen an iPhone in the wild without a case. Ya, it's stupid design, but it's far from a deal breaker for pretty much the entire market.
The BIG risk of this is in resale. If you're a person who tries to trade in/up during every generation, there will be yet another reason for the whomever to mark down the value of your trade-in iPhone 17-- scratches.
uh no shit (Score:1)
"The video shows that everyday objects, like a coin or house key carried in the same pocket as the iPhone 17 Pro, can chip away at the anodized coating"
What kind of clown thinks keys won't scratch their phone? I am well known to disdain apple, but this is nonsense.
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Re: uh no shit (Score:2)
Try living in the real world. Anodizing gets scratched off all the time because aluminum is soft and it deforms.
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What's the logic here? (Score:2)
The Firstest of First World Problems (Score:2)
This is an article that makes sense in a mechanical engineering journal. Otherwise, no.
"Oh noes! The finish around the camera bevel on my phone might get scratched!"
Jerry just jumped the shark (Score:2)
Oh Jerry..and shame on /. for posting this drivel.
Title correction: (Score:2)
"Apple's iPhone 17 Pro Camera Bump Sharp Edges Can Be Easily Scratched"
There FTFY.
A Worthwhile Compromise (Score:2)
I don't buy Apple products anymore, but since everyone copies Apple's design decisions (even the braindead ones), it gives me hope that I can soon have a phone that doesn't slide out of my packet and
Deliberate (Score:2)
If it doesn't look old after a some months, why would you upgrade the next year? We should commend Apple on its forward thinking.
OMG (Score:2)
Coins and keys in the same pocket as a cellphone make scratches?
Give that man a Nobel prize.
If any of you bothered... (Score:5, Insightful)
...to actually watch the video in question, and not just rely on the sensational headline or the click-baity thumbnail of the video, you would know that, overall, it's actually a testament to the incredible toughness and resilency of the iPhone 17 Pro. In fact, the fragility of the coating along the sharp edges of the camera bump seems to be its only weakness. Go ahead, it's only 10 minutes long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
But who am I kidding.
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The issue is that the part most likely to get scratched is prone to scratching. The camera bump is what the phone rests on when you put it down on a flat surface like a table.
On a related note I see they are still making it so that the phone won't sit flat on a desk. Google solved that long ago by making the camera bump a band over the width of the phone, for example.
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Since the signature feature of the Air is thinness (Score:2)
Score (Score:2)
Material Physics: 1 Apple: 0
You are (Score:2)
You are touching it wrong !
It's not a sticking issue; It's thickness (Score:3)
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I saw the headline and thought to myself... (Score:2)
Well, lo and behold! A delightful example of a headline being misleading BS!
Sharp Edges are Not Cool (Score:2)