iPhone 11 screen scratches

Agree here.

I’m basically being discounted on my experience because I didn’t search for this exact criteria? Thanks.

I researched the phone before purchase, amongst many reviews. None mentioned the screen being breathed on would scratch. There should be no reason that a phone, sitting in a pocket alone, should be scratched this easily.

> The recommendation for AppleCare+ would have solved a few things, including the fact that you could have had your screen > damage repaired for $29 + one accidental damage incident rather than the $279 it would cost without it.

If scratch damage was actually covered by AppleCare+ that would be different, but it's not - this is considered 'cosmetic' damage. Unethical customers could deliberately damage their screens more severely and claim it as an accident but that's basically fraudulent and something I would never be willing to do, so good ethical customers are stuck paying the full screen replacement cost for the scratch damage in addition to the AppleCare+ costs that we've invested in to protect our phones.

Assertions to the contrary are wrong. Excerpted from the current AppleCare+ legal terms as of 2019-12-19 1:19pm EST:

"Apple will not provide Hardware Services or ADH Services in the following circumstances:

(a) to protect against normal wear and tear, or to repair cosmetic damage not affecting the functionality of the Covered Equipment;"

More scratches on my Iphone 11 than all my other apple products combined which is fairly easy as there were no scratches on any of my other items. Treated no different. There is an obvious material failure in the new glass.

pilot25 wrote:

Maybe actually go research if this is your first device you have ever bought. I have 4 android phones and 3 different iPads and an iPhone 6 in the closet and none have micro scratches. Thousands of posts on here saying the same thing. The 11 screen is garbage.

i just presented you with links stating it is not uncommon for high-end devices today.

Links? How about real life evidence this “high end device” is terrible. All the other high end devices don’t have this problem. None of them. I don’t need some link to tell me the iPhone 11 screens are prone to scratches from normal handling. I’ve been to a half a dozen stores and all the devices are scratched. Not one didn’t have multiple micro scratches. Additionally this thread now has thousands of people saying the exact same thing.

Hysterically, seems to be wide acceptance that a screen protector should be purchased and put on a $1000+ phone. The higher priced protectors are glass and don’t scratch.

Am I the only one who sees the Pavlovian effect? Seriously? Spiegen can make glass that doesn’t scratch but Apple can’t? There is fanboydom and idiocy. The two traits are intersecting on this issue.

Anyone can make glass that doesn’t scratch, but as you make glass harder to scratch it becomes more brittle and prone to break.

You’ll notice that almost everyone with a glass screen protector has reported replacing it one or more times due to breakage.

You keep saying other devices “don’t scratch.”

internet posts show that simply isn’t true.

So apparently the posts here are “proof” of a defect but posts elsewhere are not proof that the issue is widespread across other devices?

There is definitely a defect in the glass. More scratches on my Iphone 11 in two months than all my previous apple items combined the past decade. Same handling, never used a screen protector always kept in my back pocket. Dealing with design, specifications and quality control on a daily basis i can easily tell there is an issue.

You are giving me the same responses as the people working at the Apple Store and Apple Support so it looks like you may work for them. Seriously, do you really believe that an iPhone or any phone needs to have an screen protector to prevent scratches from touching the fabric of my jeans - I only carry my phone in that pocket, no keys, nothing else. It's like saying that you buy a car and need to put a protector on the windshield for those raining days as the drops can scratch the glass.

And talking about cars, that analogy that you make is very unfair and inaccurate as if someone is driving at 100mph in the highway they can expect to get a ticket, hence it's their responsibility, not the car manufacturer. In my case I'm not doing anything risky, outside the law, or putting the phone in harsh conditions. A fairer and more accurate analogy, however, would be to say that I drove my car a few blocks at 15mph and when I came back home it had a few scratches because it was windy or some leaves of a tree touched the windshield. Would you go to the car dealer to tell them about your problem and pay more money for some "iCar+" plan to fix it? I don't think so. This is a car manufacture issue. Same as with the iPhone 11 Pro. It's a hardware issue as we can see through the many posts in this community since the phone was released. It's been in the news too so this is more than just one-time thing or a few customers having an isolated incident:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2019/10/08/apple-iphone-problem-display-scratch-upgrade-iphone-11-pro-max-update/#fdb22cd66d0e

https://www.tomsguide.com/news/iphone-11-owners-angry-over-easily-scratched-screens

I’m giving you the same answers as Apple not because I work for them (if I do they’ve been forgetting to send me a paycheck for decades now), but as Apple decides whether they’re going to replace your phone, and they have been clear about the fact that this is not a defect, why wouldn’t I tell you the same?

Scratches do not come from denim pocket materials, they come from small particles of sand or other hard material that actually collect in pockets as a matter of course.

You could rub the screen all day with a soft denim cloth and not cause any scratches; the softest microfiber cloth with a few small grains of sand embedded likely would.

To not use a screen protector is akin to never washing or waxing your car; you don’t have to but your automaker won’t cover it when the paint fails either.

To use your example, the wind often does have sand and other particles in it, and if your paint is scratched for any environmental reason or your windshield chips, it won’t be covered. Feel free to call any auto dealer to verify.

As far as Tom’s, like many such websites they make their money on traffic, and nothing drives web traffic like a good “Apple has a defective product” story. Tom’s also knows well that all other premium smart phones have people complaining about similar scratch susceptibility, as explained by the Verge article people love to dismiss.

William Kucharski wrote:

As far as Tom’s, like many such websites they make their money on traffic, and nothing drives web traffic like a good “Apple has a defective product” story. Tom’s also knows well that all other premium smart phones have people complaining about similar scratch susceptibility, as explained by the Verge article people love to dismiss.

And Forbes has disliked Apple for years.

Apple itself hasn't spoken about this issue at all so it can still be a defect - at least for me it is. Their employees so far are just following the company's policy which is to not replace.

Apple sells high-end product, customers pay a premium for them, so I expect a quality product that doesn't scratch with small particles. The older models like 6s and 4 were way more resistant. It's like when people buy a Ferrari, do they put a bumper on it to protect it? Nope. Like an iPhone, many people buy it for its design so why should it be covered with a screen protector after all the money spent? This is the difference between washing your car and sticking something on it. And I don't think cars got scratch so easily by the wind at all by just driving at 15mph.

Maybe Tom is not the best source but there are many others out there voicing the same problem. And the point is that there is an issue with the screen that didn't happen before, and explanation and solution should be provided by Apple.

Actually, I'm seeing the car analogies and the different arguments like this:

People that use screen protectors:

"I installed 3M wrap on my new car's hood/bumper and there's virtually no scratches from sand and rocks being flung from cars driving in front of me."

People that don't:

-"I don't hear/see anything hitting my car, but those scratches and dents from driving normally obviously means there's a defect with the paint job."

-"My new car has been sitting in the garage for a week and out of the blue, there's scratches - must be bad paint."

-"This car is $50,000, it's crazy to spend an extra $200 for car wrap. Also, wrap is salads - not cars. At this price, I expect way better bumpers and paint that don't dent without salad wrap."

And the few outliers:

"My car has a lamp-post shaped dent in the bumper but also scratches and dents around it that look like what other people are writing about. No, I didn't drive into a lamp post - it's pretty clear there's a quality control problem."

I bought an iPhone 11 Pro Max at an Apple Store. After just two weeks of regular use, and I mean by that phone from my pocket to the table and from the table to my pocket (no keys, coins or anything else in the pocket) the screen of my new iPhone presented quite a few scratches. Last one of them quite severe. I believe this is unacceptable, such poor quality in such an expensive phone. I have never seen anything like this neither in any of my past personal iPhones nor in my Samsung work phones.

I passed by the store to explain the situation and the personnel there very kindly informed me that nothing can be done about it, except changing my screen at my cost, and this after only two weeks. They also explained me that the new screens, to be able to better support hits, have been made more susceptible to scratches. If this is the case, then Apple should acknowledge that there is a problem with these screens not supporting regular use, advertise the problem and warn users that these new iPhones cannot be use without screen protector because they are extremely prone to get scratches with any regular use.