Some iPhone 5 orders arriving with cosmetic damage
updated 02:30 pm EDT, Sat September 22, 2012
New iPhone appears to be more readily scratched by metal contact
Some Apple iPhone 5 purchasers are taking to Twitter and other social media to complain that their newly-purchased phones are cosmetically damaged straight out of the box. According to the complaints, a small amount of launch-day phones are being delivered straight from the factory with scuffs and other defects in the anodized coatings on the metal band surrounding the phone.
Similar reports of damage were seen around the launch of the 2012 iPad, suggesting a manufacturing flaw or lax quality control at some point in the assembly process. MacNN took a random sampling of 200 of the complaints on Twitter and found 71 percent were from owners of the black phone, 13 percent from the white model, and 16 percent not identifying which phone they purchased.
Repair shop iFixit has posted a video testing the durability of the black iPhone 5 against the iPhone 4S. From the test, it does appear that the new phone's metal is more easily damaged by objects commonly found in pockets, such as keys and coins. As with the iPhone 4 and 4S (though not for the same reasons), a "bumper" or other band-protecting type of case is recommended to avoid cosmetic damage, even if and when Apple addresses the anodized coatings issue.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: 03-23-99
And if I did that to my car, the same thing would happen. If I tried to scratch the window on my car, I wouldn't notice any scratches either. So I guess my whole car should be made out of glass too.
This was a stupid experiment and proves nothing. If you were to take keys and scratch the hell out of the back of a Samsung Galaxy SIII you'd scratch it all up too.
I never keep my iPhones in any pockets that have keys or coins in them. Even from the very first iPhone. The iPhone 5 will be taken care of just as carefully.