Camera lens cracked mysteriously on a brand new iPhone XS Max

I have a brand new iPhone XS Max. The phone has been looked after with a case and a screen protector. It has never been dropped. I went to the Apple Genius Bar today and they say it is accidental damage and quoted a silly number to replace the phone. They refused to help. But all these posts on the apple forum prove that it is not an isolated problem. If I dropped it, I would own it and not pursue this. The mysterious crack is around the microphone piece. It is hard to accept the accidental damage explanation when I am 100% certain it is not dropped. I then went to an independent technician who examined the phone and noted that it is a strange place to crack when there is no visible damage or impact points on any other part of the phone. The crack also looks like it is from internal and not external impact. Another piece of research I’ve uncovered is that this is the only model using the Sapphire Glass and future models will use different material for the camera lens. Why is this? I would like to hear of other iphone XS Max users and their experience with Apple on this specific issue. The Genius Bar refused to listen and refused to check the forums for other identical cases. They say they are not allowed to read the forums and that anyone can write in, insinuating that these claims are false. The bottom line is Apple have sold a defective product and they cannot admit it. If they are not quick to rectify their mistake then they’ve lost a loyal apple customer since the first generation iPhone. They should do right by their customers and own this defect. Thank you for reading.