iPhone 11 screen scratches

"video evidence of quantifiable physical testing"

Unfortunately, testing a _single_ phone is not actually quantifiable evidence. You're assuming all iPhone 11 screens manufactured bear the exact same physical attributes, which may not be the case (in fact, I would be very much surprised if it was).

May I ask you what your drive is coming here? You have yet to make any constructive input...

If you will read my last post once again you will see I've sent feedback and had conversation with Apple representative.

I'm posting here with hope Apple will notice that. Link to this thread already appeared at Forbes. So for me it absolutely make sense to post into forums like that.

And again about screen protector. Apple announced toughest screen in terms of durability. For me durability for sure includes scratch resistance. Apple didn't mentioned that is behind "most durable screen" - and I'm curious why should I believe to William or you that it is in reality tougher than before but less scratch resistance. Did I miss it from Apple announces? If so - point me.

I do believe screen protector could prevents scratches and maybe I would buy one if Apple made it mandatory (but hey - if it is mandatory - why should I pay for that). But I couldn't see even recommendation from Apple to put screen protector and I believed to AD about "strongest screen ever". So, in any case Apple has to be in charge of issues we're experiencing.

Apple care plus only covers two incidents and I have a glass screen cover on it. That doesn’t stop the edges getting chipped, even with a general cover as the glass goes right to the edge. They charged me once even though I reported straight away and cost me £300! It is damaged in under two weeks again!! It’s rubbish for something you carry and rely on. I travel a lot and so need to ensure a phone is reliable, if my phone screen fails then I might not be able to travel which would be disastrous.

worse, they say if any chips on it they will charge for the screen replacement at £300 Before they review anything else!

this phone is not fit for purpose if it can be scratched and chip so easily

I too have the same problem. The screen got a half inch scratch out of nowhere. I had an iphone 6s for 3 years which never had a scratch even after multipe drops. This iPhone 11 Pro I bough 20 days back and I can see some scratch in a worlds Toughest mobile phone glass. Will apple consider this and reply to us ?

HPortakal92 wrote:

I am sorry but I do understand get why I am forced to get 200€ Apple Care or a Screen protector with a new iPhone in order to avoid major scratches in the first 1-2 months while using a brand new iPhone with an supposedly improved screen.

I do understand small scratches coming from time to time over years due to regular daily use, but the way how easily some of the screens of the iPhone 11 Pro are getting scratched is just out of the ordinary. I literally scratched my iPhone from putting it on a table or in my pocket.

For the same reason you need to get a clear bra to protect the nose of a $140,000 Porsche to protect it from rock chips.

Environmental factors happen, and a screen protector is literally the least expensive thing you could purchase to protect your investment from accidental damage.

Apple show the phone being dropped and put in a bag with loads of other items in their TV ads. They don’t show someone buying a screen protector and installing it because the phone easily damaged. Check out Apple commercials on their official YouTube page and see for yourself.

In my opinion we should be able to use the phone as Apple have suggested in their commercials without worrying about damaging or breaking the phone.

If that’s what you think after watching those ads, well that’s your prerogative.

The iPhone screen is stronger than in past years, various reviews have proved that. A very thorough article has been posted as to why that may be the case, but people continually choose to ignore it, for better or worse.

The iPhone design is what it is. An iPhone left by itself in a sealed room will not scratch itself, proving it scratches through user action, either dragging against grit or other sharp material in a pocket or through some other circumstance. If that makes you unhappy, I get it, next time you will buy any number of Androids - that scratch just as easily.

The bottom line here is the screen is stronger and at the limits of what glass technology can do at the moment. Stronger glass is somewhat more scratch-prone, but even there controlled tests done by reviewers show it is not abnormally scratch-prone.

Ultimately, it’s your call. If your last phone was less prone to be damaged under your use conditions, sell your new phone as used on eBay and buy a used model of that other phone and pocket the substantial change. You certainly won’t be happy with your new iPhone and if your return window has passed there is little else you can do.

If you honestly believe your phone is defective, contact Apple Support; they are literally the only ones who can make that decision.

We’re all just users here, and saying that Apple “should” do this or that (that conflicts with what they actually are willing to do) accomplishes nothing aside from giving you an opportunity to express your dissatisfaction; perhaps that’s enough.

Ok. Today is day 8 with my iPhone 11 Pro Max, and still not a scratch to be found. It still looks brand new.

I put it in my pocket with my keys and my wallet, I rubbed my key back and forth against the screen, I did 2 miles of walk run intervals with it bouncing around in my pocket, and vigorously rubbed it on my shirt and pant leg to wipe finger prints off.

I was at BestBuy today to get a pair of Powerbeats Pro's headphones, and was looking at the iPhone 11 Pro display models. The screens where all marked up from people looking at them so I rubbed them both clean and inspected them. they had no scratches on them, so I put them against each other screen to screen and rubbed them together. Then I inspected them again and they still had no scratches.

I am not saying that this entire thread is BS, but I cannot reproduce this problem according to what people are saying about their phones getting scratched from their pockets and keys. And according to some posts that I have read, it's like their phones where scratched by just air hitting it.

This makes absolutely no sense to me other than there may be some defective phones out there along with a combination of some people maybe not being entirely truthful about their scratches.

Also, some people simply may not know that even a grain of salt or sugar on a table could easily scratch any phone screen, or some grains of hard material in their pocket could do the same.

I am not saying that nobody has a legitimate issue, but I am saying that I can not reproduce any scratch issues "so far" with my normal use. Also, normal use may have different meanings to different people.

I have that very same issue. When I got my iPhone 11 Pro Max, i noticed out of the box the phone has slight imperfections. The phone has a few chips in the Bezel on the back of the phone, also the matte on the back has 2 dark spots that won’t seem to come off. I’m very very disappointed in the quality of this iPhone. I was cleaning my camera the other day and also noticed a scratch on the outer case of the lenses. Very upsetting beings that this is a $1400 phone. Also I’ve had a case on this since taking the phone out of the box. Let’s hope next year they do away with the matte back finish.

Putting a phone in a pocket is normal, but you also can't refute that action (or another) caused the scratch.

You also can't definitively say whether there was anything in the pocket or along the rim of the pocket that caused the scratch. Most of the scratches I've seen here look like something abrasive was located along the rim of the pocket, as they are usually long and curved, which is what you would get if say there was a bit of sand with a hardness of 6 or higher embedded in the pocket rim.

However, unless the object is a something very hard or abrasive, it is possible to say that a screen protector would have prevented any damage to the screen in that case (it would have had to scratch through the protector to damage the screen as well.)

That’s a very good point. I think that’s not a matter of being careless or not, the fact that people are reporting scratches while others don’t have any problem could be a sign there is something wrong with the easily scratched phones. My partner inherited my iPhone XS Max after I got my 11 Pro max, that phone is now 1+ years old and has zero scratches despite the carelessness off my partner (like dropping it, using the same pocket for the iPhone coins and keys).

If you bought it after Nov 15, you have until Jan 8 to return it due to Apple's Holiday Extended Return Policy:

https://www.apple.com/shop/help/returns_refund

I upgraded to the Xs from the 6s after reading this thread. BestBuy sells the Xs unlocked for $900 but it doesn't come with a fast charger.

Lense scratch will not do that even if it's severe + it will not even change the picture quality in most cases (i.e. if it's not really super severe and thick).

But I can also comment on something else, the screen of my iphone 11 pro max is a dust magnet. Never in my life I owned a phone (and I owned quite a lot high end ones, including iphones) that ends up with so much dust on it all the time. I really find something odd about the screen and it's coating... besides that one the phone is really really good. The thing is - that one is not a small one, the screen is quite important part of the phone (and one of the more expensive ones too).

Since my first post on this thread, about 15 posts up, I've learned exactly zero. Yeah for internet fighting and banality.

For those of you concerned about scratches like me; I was lucky to be able to get to an Apple store today and get another screen protector. What was great was they replaced it for free since my previous protector was less than a month old. Good customer service from Apple.

The unfortunate thing, I checked each and every iphone in the store and they all had micro scratches. I would say there are 20ish phones on display and they all were scratched. Others have stated the same thing in other stores. The phones are not be abused. No one is scraping keys across the phones. The phones are prone to scratches. Not big gouges but small scratches all over the screens. Mostly in the upper right hand corner. Which is interesting in itself. Not a big deal with the screen illuminated. In fact, I couldn't even see the scratches unless I turned off the screen. So then does it really matter that it has micro-scratches? I guess it depends on the user. I'm guessing the Apple/Corning folks asked themselves the same question. Should we make glass softer so its resistant to breakage but scratches easier or make it harder so its resistant to scratches but more easily broken. As a popular youtuber once said, "Glass is glass and glass breaks." I would prefer harder glass but oh well the protector on the glass is flawless and can't tell the difference in feel using the device. Sad part is the protectors the store sells are stupid expensive. Such is life.

Same issue for me. I had an iPhone 6 for years and years with no protector and it still looks great. My 11 is only 3 months old and already it has lots of micro-scratches. Nothing major, but probably dozens of little ones around the screen. I have a rimmed case on it so the screen doesn't touch a table surface or anything like that. Same me, same behaviors, same pockets. I'm doing nothing different on a day-to-day basis, but my screen definitely is definitely accumulating these tiny scratches. Some even look more like small smudges, as others have noted.

I've been comparing my phone to other friend's and colleague's non-11 phones and they have occasional big scratches like you'd expect, but not these micro-abrasions. I'm going to take it into the store and see what they say.