You could have missed it, however the web had a collective meltdown over the brand new iPhone 17 Pro, Pro Max, and iPhone Air demo items wanting scratched in shops. We lastly have a solution. And no, telephones should not, the truth is, manufactured from butter.
Apple has formally weighed in on “scratchgate,” and the perpetrator is not a design flaw—it is soiled show stands. Apparently, previous, worn-out MagSafe mounts had been sticking to the again of the brand new gadgets, creating the phantasm of a scratch.
The firm says it’s fixing the problematic screens and that the marks might be cleaned merely with a material. The nice iPhone panic of 2025 has not ended with a bang, however with a microfiber material.
Not all scratches are created equal, and the form of the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max may make the anodized coating prone to chipping. People are additionally reacting to the movies of iFixIt and Zach Nelson’s YouTube channel JerryRigEverything. The movies present a doable situation with the anodized coating across the edges of the digicam platform on the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max. In his video, Nelson takes 1 / 4 and rubs it alongside the sting of the digicam platform, inflicting the coating to chip.
Apple defined to CNET that the anodization on the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max is as sturdy as different merchandise. However, over time, it might develop minor abrasions with regular put on and tear. The firm mentioned its anodizing layer is extraordinarily laborious and exceeds trade commonplace tips for microhardness.
Concerns about scratches and sturdiness come on the heels of one in every of Apple’s greatest iPhone redesigns in years. And whereas scuffs and scratches do not have an effect on the efficiency of Apple telephones, nobody desires a brand new $800+ iPhone to look something aside from its finest. The iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro items that CNET has been testing for the previous two weeks present no scratches, chips or scuffs.
If you are apprehensive about your new iPhone getting scratched, you possibly can at all times purchase a case and display protector.
What is the iPhone 17 Pro manufactured from?
The our bodies of the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max are made out of aerospace-grade 7000 collection aluminum, Ceramic Shield and Ceramic Shield 2. The Pro fashions have an aluminum unibody body, which means a lot of the again is now not manufactured from glass.
While some on social media level to the brand new aluminum chassis as the problem behind the demo unit’s injury, a number of movies present scratches on the Ceramic Shield again panel on the darkish blue iPhone 17 Pro (and the black iPhone Air). There are even movies like thisthe place an individual deliberately scratches the again of their new iPhone Air solely to have the residue wipe away, largely clear.
Ceramic Shield, manufactured from ceramic nanocrystals suspended in a glass matrix, covers a lot of the again of the 17 Pro beneath the digicam bar. Apple says it is 4 instances extra crack-resistant than the iPhone 16 Pro’s again glass.
Then there’s Ceramic Shield 2 on the 17 Pro’s display, which Apple says is thrice extra scratch-resistant than the Ceramic Shield used on earlier iPhone fashions (and the again of the brand new Pro and Air fashions).
During a briefing concerning the new iPhone fashions on the day they had been introduced, an Apple spokesperson famous that Ceramic Shield focuses on withstanding drops and resisting cracks, whereas Ceramic Shield 2 focuses on crack and scratch sturdiness.
Video by JerryRigEverything and anodized on the sting
in your iPhone 17 Pro videoJerryRigEverything’s Nelson runs his common collection of scratch, bend, and burn exams, however factors out a possible situation with the anodized coating on the iPhone 17 Pro’s aluminum.
“Apple forgot to do one actually vital factor. They ignored a world commonplace. And this can hang-out each one who buys this cellphone,” Nelson warns in his video.
He iso commonplace Nelson is referring to ornamental anodizing and recommends a particular radius threshold that’s 10 instances the thickness of the end, which apparently doesn’t comply with the sting across the chamber bar.
Apple defined to CNET that its anodizing on the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max exceeds trade requirements and that the perimeters of the digicam platform have comparable traits to the perimeters of anodized instances on different Apple merchandise.
In his video, Nelson explains that corners, like these across the iPhone 17 Pro’s digicam platform, are weak factors for an anodized coating. Think of the anodized layer on aluminum like nail polish: it provides shade to the cellphone but in addition helps shield it. If the coating is scratched too deeply, you possibly can see the precise metallic shade of the aluminum beneath. More persons are prone to discover injury in colours darker than cosmic orange.
In his video, Nelson exhibits how the corners across the 17 Pro’s digicam platform are significantly regarding as a result of they lack a chamfer, fillet, or bevel, which might usually assist shield the sting from chipping its anodized coating. It acknowledges that Apple used a sturdy coating and exhibits the way it protects the again from a coin slipping or a key scraping.
But whenever you take the identical coin and rub it alongside the sting of the digicam deck, chunks of the end come off.
I ought to notice that Nelson made all of the scratches on the physique of the cellphone with a knife, which leads me to suspect that somebody could have deliberately scratched the demo items within the retailer, along with Apple’s rationalization concerning the MagSafe risers.
It is also that folks had been holding a number of iPhone show samples in a single hand to take a photograph or video, and the sapphire glass masking the rear cameras was rubbing towards the again of the opposite iPhone. Sapphire crystal is second solely to diamond when it comes to hardness. As anybody who has ever had a retail job is aware of, in-store shows are sometimes topic to the worst buyer therapy.
“I’m a giant fan of this new iPhone design,” Nelson says towards the top of his video. “Less glass and extra aluminum is at all times a superb factor.”
iFixIt’s ‘resting’ iPhone 17 Pro teardown
At iFixIt it’s iPhone 17 Pro teardown videoShahram Mokhtari, the corporate’s lead teardown technician, confirmed Nelson’s discovering of an issue with the anodized coating on the perimeters of the digicam deck. Mokhtari mentioned the issue isn’t the aluminum unibody however the form of the cellphone’s digicam bump. The sharp edges of the plateau do not follow the anodized coating, however flat surfaces, just like the again of the cellphone, do.
Under a microscope, Mokhtari drags a hardness device (equal to a penny) throughout the flat again of the digicam platform. You can see the place he dragged it, however the anodized coating remains to be intact. Drag the identical device alongside the sting of the digicam platform and the coating peels away, exposing the steel beneath. The technical time period for that is chipping.
“When there may be an edge within the oxide layer, like on the sting of the chamber plateau, the delicate oxide withstands the stress of keys or cash rubbing towards it. And that is why it chips,” Mokhtari explains within the video.
It additionally acknowledges that iFixIt hasn’t seen the identical stage of vulnerability in the usual iPhone Air and iPhone 17 as a result of their backs are manufactured from Ceramic Shield and glass, respectively.
Are the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air sturdy?
In quick, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air are sturdy, sure. But regular put on and tear on the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max fashions may trigger minor abrasions. These points will not change how the cellphone works or is used, however placing a case on the Pro fashions appears to be the one method to forestall it from chipping.
The iPhone Air and base iPhone 17 do not seem to have the identical chipping situation because the Pro fashions as a result of their backs are manufactured from glass.
If you discover that your new iPhone is scratched or has among the anodized coating chipped off, take it to the place to procure it and see in the event you can exchange it. If these scratches had been made intentionally, you will most likely be left with that.
If you are apprehensive about your new iPhone getting broken, the perfect answer is a case. Luckily, you’ve gotten many choices.