iPhone 5 owners report scuffs and scratches out of the box


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After getting a feel for the new iPhone 5 enclosure from friends/work colleagues last week that have one, it doesn't seem to be as durable as the glass on the iPhone 4/4S.

Have you seen any of the drop tests?! Even the one done by 'Android Authority' was full of praise of the iPhone 5's durability

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The iPhone screen flicker is so much like my 2011 iMac screen flicker, which weirdly still happens mainly only on login screen I can't make out what is causing it, I had it extremely badly once where it would flicker so so bad!!!

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I bought mine opening day and haven't had those issues.. Although, I did put it in a Speck Candyshell case that afternoon, but I have ALWAYS had cases on every phone I own.

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You can have all the assurances in your process that you want, but at that level, there's gonna be some duds.

Well said. Frankly I'm amazed that anyone finds it shocking that anodised aluminium scratches when you take a harder or sharper metal object and try to scratch it.

If unites which are boxed turn up are scratched / damaged etc then thats an entirely different matter, however I there is always a % out of X amount of units which will always have issues, this is the same with any product released in their millions.

Each and every material out there has some compromise. That one test where they take the sharp sim ejector tool and try to scratch metal is pure crap, of course it will. Bet it scratches, plastic and the back of the old 4s as well. Take it to a car and I'd bet it'll scratch that too.

Does anyone have any proper tests of the iPhone 5 one week later, where it's been in pockets with keys and coins, sat on in the back pocket whilst getting into the car.

Like I said early if it ARRIVES damaged then that's an entirely different issue and consumer laws are there to protect consumers etc.

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You should always always ALWAYS put a case on something like a mobile phone. It's idiotic to go without one. It will get scuffs and scratches.

My Galaxy Nexus is proof of that. :p I don't have a case because nobody seems to stock them (and I'm talking about old fashioned retail... I want to try before I buy) and the phone around the edges and back cover is chipped and scratched to buggery.

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According to Phil Schiller, the senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple, the scratches are normal....LOL

My silver aluminum HTC Legend scratched too exposing its darker grey color. Can you explain to us why exactly it's abnormal according to you when it involves an Apple product?

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I've never had Apple make a fuss about exchanging a product that came damaged out of the box. Could return it in 14 days with the new one already on its way. At one point I actually had two brand new 27-inch iMacs standing on my desk and got a ?125 refund for my troubles. It's inconvenient, but these things happen. No need to be ****ed off, unless they would actually make a problem.

I know that but look at the post I quoted ;)

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My silver aluminum HTC Legend scratched too exposing its darker grey color. Can you explain to us why exactly it's abnormal according to you when it involves an Apple product?

You don't seem to understand my comment. I laughed because he said that having scratches out of the box was normal. He didn't say it wasn't normal after using it for a while, he said that it was normal for it to have scratches out of the box, brand new and that is why I laughed because how can a brand new phone that you just bought can have scratches already when you haven't even used it yet?

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You don't seem to understand my comment. I laughed because he said that having scratches out of the box was normal. He didn't say it wasn't normal after using it for a while, he said that it was normal for it to have scratches out of the box, brand new and that is why I laughed because how can a brand new phone that you just bought can have scratches already when you haven't even used it yet?

Nowhere in the email did Alex say his iPhone 5 came out of the box with those damaged areas. In fact the entire word "box" is nowhere to be found in the message. Did you even read the email yourself?

I bet the response would have been very different if he specifically said the iPhone came damaged out of the box.

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Nowhere in the message did he say his iPhone 5 came with those damaged areas out of the box. In fact the entire word "box" is nowhere to be found in the email.

The users did. Did you not see the videos on YouTube?

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My silver aluminum HTC Legend scratched too exposing its darker grey color. Can you explain to us why exactly it's abnormal according to you when it involves an Apple product?

People know Apple uses magic and wizardry to build their products, thus it's abnormal to see a scratch on an Apple product made of aluminum. Everyone should know that.

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Nowhere in the message did he say his iPhone 5 came out of the box with those damaged areas. In fact the entire word "box" is nowhere to be found in the email.

Here you go:

http://www.slashgear...ducts-25249107/

Nowhere in the email did Alex say his iPhone 5 came out of the box with those damaged areas. In fact the entire word "box" is nowhere to be found in the message. Did you even read the email yourself?

I bet the response would have been very different if he specifically said the iPhone came damaged out of the box.

More on this topic:

http://www.theverge....damage-aluminum

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Again: The email Alex sent, the same one you're showing us right here in the form of a screen shot, doesn't mention the iPhone 5 coming damaged out of the box at all. In that light Philip of Apple sent a perfectly normal response back. He wrote a reply based on the info Alex gave him, which wasn't much to go on. I'm confident if Alex explicitly said the iPhone 5 came damaged out of the box Philip would have written a totally different email back to him. No idea why this is so hard to comprehend.

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Again, the email Alex sent, the same one you're showing us right here in the form of a screen shot, doesn't mention the iPhone 5 coming damaged out of the box. In that light Philip of Apple sent a perfectly normal response back. He wrote a reply based on the info Alex gave him, which wasn't much. Not sure why that's so hard to comprehend.

I don't care about what Alex said or didn't say Neo. I'm not stupid, I read the email. What I am trying to say is that even though nothing is mentioned about the iPhone 5 having scratches out of the box on the email, there are complaints about it all over the web:

http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/24/3381462/iphone-5-scuff-damage-aluminum

That's what I am trying to get at.

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Um if you paid good money for a phone (or any other product) and it came damaged (yes scruffs, scratches are considered damage) out of the box wouldn't you be ****ed too?

I agree; but with the iPhone, you don't pay good money, you pay stupid amounts of money primarily because it has the Apple logo on it.

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I agree; but with the iPhone, you don't pay good money, you pay stupid amounts of money primarily because it has the Apple logo on it.

My iPhone 5 will cost me less than 90% of the other smartphones here in Montreal. But yeah, I do have awesome rebates because I'm an engineer :)

However, in all fairness, the iPhone 5 isn't more expensive than its rivals. The contract isn't more expensive either.

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I don't care about what Alex said or didn't say Neo. I'm not stupid, I read the email. What I am trying to say is that even though nothing is mentioned about the iPhone 5 having scratches out of the box on the email, there are complaints about it all over the web:

http://www.theverge....damage-aluminum

That's what I am trying to get at.

You stating "I don't care what Alex said or didn't say" is a completely irrational response. This is a personal message between two people. You're pretending as if every single iPhone 5 comes damaged out of the box which most likely isn't the case. Apple shipped over five million units, of course there will be issues among some of them. Fact is Philip of Apple responded based on the information Alex gave him, which didn't involve his iPhone 5 having scratches out of the box. You can go back and forth all you'd like but it is what it is.

If you receive a damaged unit right out of the box it sucks but you can return it. It's that simple. Beyond that do you people really require Philip to come out and say it might be prudent to buy a casing if you're really concerned about scratches? Something Slashgear apparently expected. There is this thing called thinking for yourself. Or does everything need to be spoon fed?

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Yeah the iPhone 5 is competitively priced. The RRP for the 16GB version is actually less than my Samsung phone.

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Have you seen any of the drop tests?! Even the one done by 'Android Authority' was full of praise of the iPhone 5's durability

Oh I have and agree it's more durable as a whole but it seems to be increasingly more susceptible to daily wear/tear than the glass/steel band combination on the iPhone 4/4S.

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You should always always ALWAYS put a case on something like a mobile phone. It's idiotic to go without one. It will get scuffs and scratches.

I've never put one on any of mine, and I've owned just about every iPhone, and I frequently take them hiking / mountain biking.

I broke one because it fell out of my hand and onto a curb... I don't think a case was going to save it that time. Not to mention it cost me all of $20 to fix the screen.

That said, hell if I care if it gets scratches on it. It's a phone, not the Mona Lisa.

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I've never put one on any of mine, and I've owned just about every iPhone, and I frequently take them hiking / mountain biking.

I broke one because it fell out of my hand and onto a curb... I don't think a case was going to save it that time. Not to mention it cost me all of $20 to fix the screen.

That said, hell if I care if it gets scratches on it. It's a phone, not the Mona Lisa.

I feel the same way, but I do put a screen protector on my phones. I don't care if the back gets scratched, but I do like the screen to be clear of nicks and what not.

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I've never put one on any of mine, and I've owned just about every iPhone, and I frequently take them hiking / mountain biking.

I broke one because it fell out of my hand and onto a curb... I don't think a case was going to save it that time. Not to mention it cost me all of $20 to fix the screen.

That said, hell if I care if it gets scratches on it. It's a phone, not the Mona Lisa.

Thank you. It's just a phone. People carry on like it's worth billions.

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NOT ME, however I did manage to get the back of the Silver Case on my Silver/White IPhone 5 a little dirty by putting it in my Blue Jeans Pocket today were the Lent from the Washer/Dryer got stuck on the Back of my IPhone 5 and Discolored it a little although the screen stayed nice and clean, looks like a Protecive Cover is a must with this IPhone! Just FYI.

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