Worried About Your Iphone 17 Scratching? Ifixit's Teardown Reveals What's Happening - And Why

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Customers opportunity they announcement scratches connected caller iPhone 17 Pro units.
• An iFixit teardown reveals nan truth down 'scratchgate.'
• iPhone 17 buyers should usage a lawsuit to protect their phones.

Another caller iPhone rollout, different controversy. This time, nan iPhone 17 is successful nan crosshairs arsenic buyers and imaginable customers are complaining that nan phones scratch excessively easily, moreover ones still connected show successful Apple stores.

The reports started surfacing this past play aft nan new iPhone lineup officially appeared successful stores past Friday. So far, group person noticed scuffs connected nan heavy bluish variants of nan iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max and scratches connected nan iPhone 17 Air Space Black edition, Bloomberg reported connected Friday.

Also: I've tested each iPhone 17 model, and I'm recommending thing different this time

The flaws person been discovered connected caller phones successful Apple stores crossed New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and London. Apple's MagSafe charger is besides apparently leaving a visible information people connected nan backs of iPhone 17 Pro models, Bloomberg added.

Unhappy customers person been chiming successful connected societal media. In China, wherever nan iPhone 17 first popped up for waste past Friday, group took to nan Weibo societal web to station photos of nan scratched phones. The related hashtag was 1 of nan apical trending topics connected nan network, grabbing much than 40 cardinal views, according to Bloomberg. Users besides posted connected Facebook and X pinch images of scuffs and scratches.

Videos showing scratched phones person appeared connected YouTube, arsenic well. In one video, celebrated YouTuber JerryRigEverything intentionally scratched nan backmost of an iPhone 17 Pro to show really immoderate areas are much susceptible than others.

Also: I'm skipping nan iPhone 17 Pro this twelvemonth - 3 reasons nan guidelines exemplary makes much sense

But disorder has reigned complete wherever and why nan scuffs and scratches are appearing. A writer and editor astatine CultofMedia said he recovered scratch marks connected respective demo units astatine an Apple store. These weren't surface-level scratches that could beryllium easy removed, moreover aft trying to swipe them disconnected pinch a microfiber cloth.

After visiting my section Apple store, I besides noticed scratch marks connected nan backs of respective demo iPhone 17 Pro models. Investigating further, I recovered information marks connected respective phones wherever nan MagSafe charger usually would attach. In some cases, I was incapable to region nan marks moreover aft vigorous cleaning pinch a cloth.

However, successful JerryRigEverything's analysis, nan YouTuber was easy capable to swipe disconnected nan scratches that he created connected nan back.

Findings from nan teardown

To excavation deeper, nan folks astatine iFixit person published nan results of a teardown of nan iPhone 17 Pro. Using their accustomed tricks and tools, nan squad sought to get to nan bottommost of nan scratchgate controversy.

As iFixit pointed out, Apple switched nan worldly utilized for nan framework and backmost of this year's iPhones. For nan iPhone 15 Pro and 16 Pro lineup, nan institution turned to titanium, a worldly that's much durable than different types of metals but tin tally hot. Likely to woody pinch nan overheating, Apple outfitted nan iPhone 17 Pro models pinch an aluminum frame, which doesn't tally arsenic basking but is softer than titanium.

Further, nan heat-forged aluminum is anodized. As iFixit explained, anodizing is an electrolytic process that adds a protective furniture of oxide onto a metallic surface. The aboveground is really corroded successful a measurement to protect nan metallic underneath. This process is besides a useful measurement to adhd colour to nan metal, specified arsenic pinch nan iPhone 17's caller Cosmic Orange tone.

Also: I compared nan iPhone 17, iPhone Air, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max: Here's who should upgrade

Does this mean nan scuffing and scratching are owed to nan move from titanium to aluminum? Not truthful fast, said iFixit. Based connected input from David Niebuhr, a metallurgical engineering expert, titanium oxide is simply a small harder than aluminum oxide, but nan quality wouldn't relationship for nan scratches recovered connected nan phones.

Instead, nan problem lies successful nan style of nan phone. Specifically, nan flaking and scratching are astir noticeable connected nan crisp edges of nan camera bump. This year, Apple expanded nan camera plateau to agelong crossed almost nan full apical width of nan phone. But pinch specified a crisp edge, nan anodizing doesn't instrumentality arsenic evenly to nan camera bump arsenic it does crossed nan remainder of nan phone. The weakness of nan camera plateau's crisp edges besides leads to flaking, shearing off, and moreover getting sliced.

In its ain testing, iFixit recovered that nan camera plateau connected nan iPhone Air, which uses Ceramic Shield 2, was overmuch much scratch resistant than nan aluminum utilized connected nan Pro models. As for nan remainder of nan backmost connected nan iPhone 17 Pro, nan anodization gets a amended grip, truthful shallow scratches don't trim done to bare metal.

How to protect your iPhone 17

Could Apple person nipped this problem successful nan bud? Yes, according to Niebuhr. "Apple could person prevented this by making a much gradual curve and avoiding a comparatively crisp corner," he said.

Apple has faced different iPhone controversies successful nan past, including Antennagate pinch nan iPhone 4s and Bendgate pinch nan iPhone 6. Will this latest problem besides beryllium a headache for nan company?

However Apple decides to grip this issue, nan champion proposal is to ever unafraid your telephone pinch a lawsuit and a surface protector. That will safeguard it against scratches, scuffs, cracks, and different flaws. I usage a clear lawsuit for my iPhone, which shows disconnected nan colour but protects nan backmost and edges. I do person to region nan lawsuit sometimes, if only to cleanable it. But moreover then, I'm observant really and wherever I spot nan telephone while nan lawsuit is off.

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