
Apple responds to iPhone 5 scuffs, says scratches and chips are ‘normal’ - ukdm
http://www.extremetech.com/electronics/136835-apple-responds-to-iphone-5-scuffgate-scratches-and-chips-are-normal
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pilif
So first, they have metal backs which get scratched and everybody complains
(first iPhone). Then they move to plastic (3G) and everybody is happy until
they actually use the phone at which point everybody complains about the cheap
"plasticy" feeling.

So they go ahead and announce the iPhone 4 with a glass back. Everybody is
happy after the announcement that the cheap plastic days are finally over, but
once the phone comes out, everybody complains about scratches, or worse,
breakage (even though, personally, I _love_ the touch-and-feel of the iPhone
4(S) and so far, neither the front nor the back broke).

So finally, they release the iPhone 5, again with a metal back. "Finally! No
more breaking risk" everybody says after the keynote. Then the phone comes out
and everybody starts complaining about scratches again.

So what's left? What material would you suggest they could use?

I realize it's not always the same people rejoicing that are then complaining,
but I do see kind of a pattern here.

~~~
blub
Actually Apple are pretty bad at picking phone materials period.

Glass is probably the poorest material possible for the obvious reason. The
fact that yours didn't yet break is irrelevant.

Aluminum is yet another bad choice. It is cold to the touch during winter,
it's slippery and if you're wearing a ring it will scratch the back. Nokia
made the same mistake with the N8 and the E7.

The answer is high quality plastic, like on the N9 or Lumia 800/900/920. This
feels excellent in the hand and is also very tough. Another option might be
rubberized plastic as seen on some Android models.

~~~
lloeki
> Glass is probably the poorest material possible for the obvious reason.

Yet the iPhone 4 that I own since about release day has fallen an impossible
number of times from unsuspected heights, and both front and back panels
survived the abuse. I'd buy another such "poor material" phone anytime.

The only shattered iPhone 4 panel I encountered was my boss's, and it fell
from the kinetic equivalent of second floor onto concrete. He's still using it
because only a corner is affected, and a replacement front panel costs too
much (I bet he'll get an iP5)

~~~
blub
Ok, but what does that prove really? The bottom line is that while virtually
all phones can crack their screen, i4(s) is the only phone that can just as
easily crack its back.

The most important property of glass is transparency, while the big
disadvantage is that it breaks catastrophically. You get no benefits and all
of the downsides when using it for the opaque back plate. It does look nice,
but there are other nice looking materials available.

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josteink
And here I thought Apple's main selling point (at least to justify the price)
was this hard-to-quantify "build quality" meme.

Granted, the iPhone 4's could be broken and shattered left or right if
dropped, but if you avoiding actually stressing the device in any realistic
way and avoided making calls without "holding it right", it should at least
present an appearance which shoved off this "build quality".

Now "build quality" is reduced to mean even less, almost little more than
"looks nice on photos"?

From the way I'm seeing things, Apple is lossing its cool completely.

~~~
mtgx
I'll admit I'm not an Apple fan, but even I expected the iPhone 4 to feel a
lot better in hand the first time I used one. I was very disappointed with how
it felt, compared to my aluminum HTC Legend. It definitely felt like glass in
hand, and in a bad way - like I was afraid that if I dropped it it would
shatter in multiple pieces. And I guess I wasn't that far from the truth,
considering how easily they cracked.

As for iPhone 5, Apple is being very misleading. Yes, it's "normal" for the
scuffs to happen - if you're making a _painted_ aluminum phone from 2005, like
those LG or Nokia ones from years ago that lost their paint after 3 months of
usage.

But I would've expected a lot better from Apple. It's obvious Apple is
inexperienced with colored aluminum, and they weren't even aware of this
issue, because HTC can already make dark aluminum handsets, and they don't
scuff:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPZ7y1EDKvk>

~~~
arn
The YouTube comments seem to disagree about the scratch/scuff-ability of the
surface of the HTC One S.

and: [http://www.androidauthority.com/four-times-the-strength-
of-r...](http://www.androidauthority.com/four-times-the-strength-of-regular-
aluminum-or-not-htc-74836/)

 _In spite of the bold claims made by HTC about the micro-arc oxidation (MAO)
process used on the One S making the phone almost immune to dents and
scratches, reality (as it, too often, tends to do) begs to disagree._

~~~
untog
They actually changed the coating of the phone for the US launch- mine is a
much lighter grey, and has a smoother texture. Also has no scratches, but
that's just anecdotal evidence.

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rickdale
I worked at an electronics store when the iPhone and iPod touches were
initially released. We would take our keys directly to the screens and say to
the customer, see its a solid product, even with keys in your pocket it will
be safe. Selling Apple products back then was a joy because they were one step
ahead of the curve with everything. Now it seems rather than continue to
innovate and blow away competitors they are concerned with how their
competitors caught up and if they can legally knock them down a wrung or two.
Apple stinks of greed nowadays.

~~~
tnorthcutt
_Apple stinks of greed nowadays._

I'm sure their shareholders appreciate that.

~~~
rickdale
You know thats right. Whats such a shame is that the rest of the world
embraces Steve Jobs and what he stood for and what he made Apple stand for. I
feel a little crazy to say this, but doesn't it seem like Apple is falling
farther and farther from their initial tree?

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jsz0
_Schiller ignores that in his response, which could well mean that Apple
doesn’t plan to replace or recall damaged iPhone 5s_

They have already been replacing them. In some cases they are letting people
switch from black to white models if they are very concerned about scratching.
I've yet to see any evidence that normal wear & tear causes scratches or chips
to appear. It's probably metal on metal damage you have to worry the most
about. So no keys/change in your pocket with your phone which is kind of
common sense. I've had my iPhone 5 since Friday and I don't treat it with any
special care. It gets throw into my bag, floats on my car seat when I drive,
no case, etc. Haven't had any problems with scratching or chipping. I think if
it was going to be a problem I would have seen it by now.

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cryptoz
> Furthermore, it would seem that Apple is fully aware that the iPhone 5 is
> easy to scuff — and yet it knowingly proceeded to manufacture (and sell)
> record breaking numbers of the new device.

How dare they!

~~~
jrockway
Seriously. Everyone knows that a phone with a scratched back can no longer
make calls, download movies, or receive a GPS signal for navigation.

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j45
Being familiar with aluminum and it's uses in windows, doors, and railings
......

There is such a thing as maintenance free aluminum. It can be anodized,
stained, painted, and more and look exactly the same.

Our Macbook Airs don't scuff easily (but they still do, due to the nature of
aluminum) for the reason that using a suitable type of aluminum was paid
attention to.

I'm pretty amazed that the iPhone, being the most mobile, out of laptops,
desktops, etc, didn't go a step further to use even more space age aluminum.

------
Tichy
But it's great that they use 28MP cameras in the making of the phone.

------
marknutter
This reminds me of a segment in the movie Objectified where they interview
Bill Moggridge, the guy who designed the GRiD Compass (the first laptop). He
talks about his choice to use magnesium for the enclosure and how he liked the
fact that the laptop would gain character as it accumulated little nicks and
scratches, exposing the magnesium. I have to agree with him. In a way, it
actually makes a product feel more durable because you can see it's withstood
some wear and tear. In fact, it's the same reason why people like vintage
furniture.

You can see the clip here: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHEA-jbo1aI>

~~~
roc
That sentiment was popularly applied directly to iPhones not too long ago.

<http://www.davidhughes.org/aged-to-perfection/>

~~~
microtherion
It's also a major theme in the Steve Jobs biography that Steve was obsessed
with this kind of aging in objects (evident, e.g., in his preference for faded
blue jeans), and wanted the products he built to acquire character by
scuffing, etc. (Not, of course, by actually degrading performance such as
broken screens or cracks in the casing).

You may disagree with this philosophy, but the lazy refrain of "this wouldn't
have happened if Steve still was around" is particularly clueless for this
issue.

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ck2
You just need to put it in water and re-anodize it.

I can just imagine a recall after months of complaining.

Be sure to watch the video at the end, fascinating
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZhVOy-ytJY#>!

~~~
josteink
> You just need to put it in water and re-anodize it.

Right now I have an image in my head of Steve Jobs saying that, very much like
"you're holding it wrong".

You can't be serious.

~~~
j45
"You're anodizing it yourself wrong"

------
Zenst
antaneagate - get a case, glassgate - get a case, scuffgate on a phone - get a
case.

People will complain that the iPhone 6 is not grease proof, calling it now.

~~~
josteink
No people have ever had these problems on any other phone than an iPhone.

I think that's telling a lot.

~~~
marknutter
Give me a break. People haven't cared enough about other phones to even notice
these types of issues. Mountains out of mole hills.

~~~
antihero
Perhaps that's just it. First world problems - phones are a tool, and the fact
that people are fetishising the iPhone 4 to this degree is the actual problem
here.

~~~
mkhalil
I think you both hit the nail on the head with this one.

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vtaeed
The marketing material pushes the black version, but I suspect the white to
black ratio will be higher than Apple had initially expected because of this
issue.

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iamdann
Is this a serious article?

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newsoundwave
I hope that calling this "Scuffgate" is just a poor joke...

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vitorarins
but what about this? <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M5q5TRuAsY>

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indiecore
I'd rather have a slightly scuffed phone than one made entirely of glass.

Seriously though who doesn't buy a case for their thousand dollar smartphone?

~~~
nsxwolf
A case completely deletes the aesthetics of the device. Why protect the
appearance of something you'll never see?

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awayand
steve jobs has left the company - and with the head of the company gone, there
goes the company

