If you have scrolled through social media this week, you’ve probably seen the mini-panic on iPhone 17 pro, Pro Max and iPhone demonstration units in the search for eco-pole in Apple stores.
Well, Apple finally resolved the great “scratch” mystery, and the answer is a bit embarrassing. It turns out that the phones are not really striking. Instead, some of the old Magsafe Stands of the store literally undressed and left marks at the back of the new brilliant iPhones.
Apple says that the residue can be easily wiped and that it solves the problem with its screens. So no, new phones are not mysteriously fragile. It turns out that the screen needs a good cleaning.
Not all scratches are equal, and the iPhone 17 pro and the form of 17 pro max could make the anodized coating likely to scatter. People also react to the videos of the Zach Nelson Youtube channel and the Youtube channel of Zach Nelson. The videos show a possible problem with the anodized coating around the edges of the camera tray on the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max. In his video, Nelson takes a quarter and rubs it along the edge of the camera plateau, causing the coating chip.
Apple explained to CNET that the anodization of the 17 pro and 17 pro max is just as durable as that of other products. However, over time, it can show small abrasions with normal wear and tear. The company said that its anodization layer is extremely difficult and exceeds standard industry directives for microduretity.
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The concerns about scratches and sustainability have occurred in the heels of one of the largest Apple iPhone overhaul for years. And although brands and scratches do not have the operation of Apple phones, no one wants to have a new iPhone of more than $ 800, but the best possible. The iPhone Air and the iPhone 17 Pro Units Cnet have tested the last two weeks show no scratches, fleas or scratches.
If you are concerned about the fact that your new iPhone is scratched, you can always buy a box and screen protector.
What is the iPhone 17 Pro?
Depending on the light, cutting the ceramic shield can sometimes be lighter than the rest of the 17 pro max body.
The bodies 17 pro and 17 pro max are manufactured with aerospace quality aluminum 7000 quality, ceramic shield and ceramic shield 2. The pro models have a monocoque aluminum frame, which means that a large part of the back is no longer made of glass.
While some on social networks indicate the new aluminum chassis as a problem behind demo damage, several videos show the scratches on the back panel of the ceramic shield on the iPhone 17 Blue Dark Blue (and on black iPhone air). There are even videos like this, where a person deliberately scratches the back of their new iPhone air only for the residues wiping, mainly clean.
The ceramic shield, in ceramic nano-cristals suspended in a glass matrix, covers most of the 17 pro backs below the bar of the camera. Apple says that it is four times more resistant to cracks than the rear glass of the iPhone 16 Pro.
Then, there is Ceramic Shield 2 on the screen of the 17 pro, which, according to Apple, is three times more striped resistant than the ceramic shield used on the previous iPhone models (and the back of the new pro and air models).
During a briefing for new iPhone models on the day of their announcement, an Apple spokesperson noted that the ceramic shield focuses on handling drops and crack resistance, while ceramic shield 2 concerns the crack and sustainability of stripes.
Jerryrige riding video and anodising on the edge
In his video of the iPhone 17 Pro, Nelson de JerryrgeverYing makes his usual range of scratch, folding and burning tests, but calls for a possible problem with the anodized coating on the aluminum of the iPhone 17 Pro.
“Apple forgot to do something really important. They have ignored an international standard. And that will haunt each person who buys this phone,” warns Nelson in his video.
The ISO Nelson standard refers to decorative anodization and recommends a specific radius threshold which represents the thickness of the finish 10 times, which the edge around the camera bar does not follow.
Apple explained to CNET that its anodization of the 17 pro and 17 Pro Max exceeds industry standards and that the edges of the camera tray have characteristics similar to the edges of anodized cases on other Apple products.
In his video, Nelson explains that the corners, like those around the camera tray of the iPhone 17 Pro, are weak points for an anodized coating. Think of the anodized layer on nail polish like aluminum: it gives the phone its color but also helps protect it. If the coating is too deeply striped, you can see the real metallic color of aluminum below. More people are likely to notice the damage to the colors darker than the cosmic orange.
In his video, Nelson shows how the corners around the 17 pro camera are particularly worrying because they lack a chamfer, a net or a bevel, which would usually help protect the advantage against the fact that his anodized coating would listen. He recognizes that Apple used a robust coating and shows how he protects his back against a room that slides against it or a key key.
But when it takes the same neighborhood and rubs it along the edge of the camera plateau, pieces of the finish stand out.
The iPhone 17 pro in dark blue and the iPhone 17 Pro Max in Cosmic Orange.
I must note that Nelson made all the stripes on the body of the phone with a knife, which leads me to suspect that someone may intentionally scratch the demonstration units in store, in addition to Apple’s explanation on the Magsafe cissers.
People could also hold several iPhone display samples to one hand for a photo or video, and the sapphire crystal coating on the rear cameras rubbed against the back of the other iPhone. Sapphire Crystal is second behind Diamond in terms of hardness. As anyone has had retail work, store display units are often subject to some of the worst customer treatments.
“I am a big fan of this new iPhone design,” said Nelson towards the end of his video. “Less glass and more aluminum is always a good thing.”
The dismantling of iPhone 17 Pro iPhone 17 Pro from Ifixit
In the disassembly video of the iPhone 17 Pro of Ifixit, Shahram Mokhtari, the company’s dismantling technician, confirmed the conclusion of a problem by Nelson with the anodized coating on the edges of the camera plateau. Mokhtari said the problem was not the aluminum monohull but the form of the bump on the phone’s camera. The bright edges of the plateau do not adhere to the anodized coating, but the flat surfaces, like the back of the phone, do it.
Under the microscope, Mokhtari drags a hardness tool (equivalent to a penny) on the flat back of the camera tray. You can see where it has dragged, but the anodized coating is always intact. It drags the same tool through the edge of the camera tray and the extinct coating, revealing the metal below. The technical term for this is scalation.
“When there is an edge with the oxide layer, as on the edge of the camera tray, the fragile oxide carries the constraint of your keys or parts that rub against it.
He also recognizes that Sifixit has not seen the same level of vulnerability on iPhone air and standard iPhone 17 because their back is in ceramic and glass armor, respectively.
Are the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone durable?
In short, the iPhone 17 Pro and the iPhone Air are durable, yes. But normal wear and tear on iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models could cause small abrasions. These problems will not change the functioning of the phone or use, but putting a case on Pro models seems to be the only way to avoid any scales.
The iPhone air and the basic iPhone 17 do not seem to have the same problem with the scales as pro models have because their back is made of glass.
If you notice that your new iPhone is scratched or has a part of the anodized coating cut, bring it back where you bought it and see if you can exchange it. If these scratches were made deliberately, you are probably stuck with it.
If you are worried so that your new iPhone is damaged, the best solution is a case. Fortunately, you have a lot of options.
