Apple Watch Sport screen scratched?

Agreed. After reading this forum, I called Apple Support Tuesday night and explained my situation. They agreed to an exchange. I sent back my watch using the provided return shipping label. Once the watch was accepted by FedEx for shipment, my replacement watch was released and processed for shipping. I knew watches were in short supply and had no idea when I may get a replacement. Once the system updated Wednesday night, the store said my replacement watch would ship in June. I was heartbroken. I checked the order status again Thursday at noon and the status had changed to "preparing to ship" with an estimated delivery time of May 8 - May 15. This was great news. But then, I checked the order status again at 8 pm (EST) last night and the watch had shipped, UPS next day air! It left California last night at 6 pm and should deliver to my home this afternoon by 6 pm (tracking shows it is now out for delivery).

It stinks that the first watch was scratched so easily, but I am really pleased with the level of support I received from Apple to fix the situation. The support people were great. I sent off my watch Wednesday afternoon and will receive a replacement Friday afternoon.

I wanted to share this one case and I hope everyone can have their respective issues handling in such a great way.

Thanks Apple!

My kid wore it for 3 days and in normal use, there are many scratches on the watch. It's bad design.

I have a 10 yr old Casio Pathfinder with almost no scratches.

Apple should have learnt smart design from Casio & likes. A watch first of all needs to be durable. What's the point if the watch looks sexy due to brainwashed ad videos by Sir Ivy, and scratches so easily.

38mm & 42 mm sport.

Marcmc78. Just call and purchase it. You don't have to go into a store. When I called it was no problem the guy didn't ask me any questions except for my credit card information. Didn't run a test or anything. Even a diagnostic test wouldn't tell them there's a scratch on it.

I purchased it since it's so cheap. $50!? Good deal.

kali4nia85, any idea which UK number I'd call to buy it? When I look at the UK Apple Store site, it says to purchase you must either buy it with an Apple Watch or go into store, where the watch will be inspected first.

OH. Uhmmm. I would just call technical support and they should transfer you. I don't know how Applecare works in the UK but someone should be able to tell you wherher or not you have to go in to A store. I always complain that I don't live near an Apple Store whenever they suggest I take something in so they usually bend over backwards to help out.

I Think those are the UK numbers.

Thanks so much, Nads6365. I called Apple Support and expressed my displeasure at how easily the screen had been scratched, despite how careful I have been with it. I told them about others in the Support Forum with the same problem, and wondered if perhaps there was a bad batch out there, since Consumer Reports and other users have tried scratching the Sport with everything from keys to knives, to no avail.

The support person, Jeremy, was extremely nice and helpful. He arranged for a prepaid shipping box to be sent to me, so that I could send the watch back for a replacement (at no charge to me.) He stated that it would take 5-7 business days before I received a replacement.

Jeremy verified that it would be a replacement, not a repair, because the engineers would want to run tests on it to see if they could isolate the problem. I shipped the watch off today, so fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly. In the meantime, I have ordered a screen protector. I hate to ruin the aesthetic, and I don't think that you should need to do that for a watch, but better safe than sorry.

P.S. I do NOT have Apple Care on my watch. If you have similar scratches, call Apple Support. They seem to be willing to work with buyers regarding problems, since the product is so new.

The problem with these tests and videos showing people not being able to scratch iPhones, etc, with keys and screwdrivers, etc, is that, although it sounds amazing, those materials (i.e. metal) are not harder than today's glass used in electronics, hence it won't scratch it no matter how impressive it seems. On the flip side, tiny little grains of grit/sand/etc, whilst seemingly innocuous, are much more likely to scratch the glass.

Mark you are exactly correct. These scratches that allegedly came from "nowhere" were absolutely user driven. Small grains of sand, rock, metal etc are all around us in the air and I guarantee some of these folks went throughout the day wiping the watch face on their shirt or sleeve to keep a polished look dragging microscopic fragments across the screen.

Both fortunately and unfortunately and I purchased the "Watch" (not Sport) which has a crystal screen that's nearly impossible to scratch, but 316L Stainless Steel is a much softer metal than 7000 Aluminum, so micro-scratches appear on the case with ease. This is also true for much MUCH more expensive watches made from even higher grade Stainless (like Rolex watches made from 904L SS that DO scratch!). Fortunately with SS it can easily be buffed out.

I am a freak about my tech and keeping my devices pristine so I understand every single person's pain here. I have a few tiny scratches near the band on the case (not glass) and have thought about returning it as well, but you know what? This is a Watch people. It's gonna get banged around, smacked against walls or counter-tops, come in contact with zippers or buttons...the list goes on and on. It's GONNA get damaged. Jewelry gets damaged, period. I read a Watch blog where one contributor wrote "all these Apple Watch people [worried about scratches] have obviously never worn a watch a day in their lives..."

This isn't a $20,000 Rolex investment here folks (unless you're a moron and bought the Edition), it's wearable tech and it's gonna be irrelevant in 12 months.

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i dont believe anyone here is implying their scratches have come from nowhere. They were caused by the user rubbing against something. The discussion here is in regards to how easily the scratching occured on the the screen. i think your opinion may change if/when you get a scrarch on the screen, the part of the device you spend the most time looking at. It's more distracting than a scratch on the body of the device.

Well you'd be surprised at what you brush your arm against daily without even realizing it. Most watches actually have a sunken glass face within a bezel to protect against such issues. As for the supposed strength of the glass, the sites using cheese graters and the like are testing the sapphire crystal not the strengthened Ion-X glass. I'm no rocket scientist but I pretty much knew scratches were going to appear on these devices... how could they not? It's an oversized faceplate watch screaming "the bulk of my surface area is exposed to physical damage at all times." Not putting a protective cover over them is like running around with no protective cover on your iPad, iPod, or iPhone. Most people have added some sort of protective cover to all these devices... those that don't accept the scratches.

I think this will end up being just like the initial iPod release in which the metal backplate scratched so easily. They never changed the metal backplate to resist scratches... people just either accepted such wear and tear or put the device in a protective cover. I don't believe there is an engineering change that can be done to stop scratches short of placing a protective film over the top of the face or putting it into a bezel which essential sinks the glass below the bezel surface area.

Even the most cautious of people will likely scratch their watch face during normal usage... because no one is that mindful of what they are doing every second of every day. That guy you brushed against getting on the bus... the coat you slung over your arm on the way into the office... the list is endless and seemingly quite harmless... at the time.

I've always wondered why companies like Apple, Samsung, etc, don't apply some form of screen protector at the factory - in the lab conditions they have, with the equipment they have, they could get it on with no bubbles, etc.

markmc78 wrote:

I've always wondered why companies like Apple, Samsung, etc, don't apply some form of screen protector at the factory - in the lab conditions they have, with the equipment they have, they could get it on with no bubbles, etc.

Because screen protectors change the feel of the screen and its vibrancy. It would add to the cost of the device and be extremely annoying to those of us who don't use them.

jaredfs wrote:

First of all, It's impossible for it to have come from the factory with the scratch on the screen. It doesn't happen.

Remember the iPhone 5's being scratched at the factory?

I've only ever used screen protectors on one of my iPhones. It was horrible.

So - iPhones, cameras, whatever, I don't use them and I believe that, for a touch-sensitive device like the watch, they're a problem.

As things are, I don't have to have one but, if you prefer to have one, you can.

I haven't got any scratches on may Watch, and I haven't taken any special measures to protect it. My phone. now 6 months old, the same

Even the AppleCare Support people say that the watch face shouldn't be scratching as easily as people are reporting. They all state that the glass on the sport watch is supposed to be similar to an iPhone screen. They are surprised to hear the number of cases reported online of sport watch screens scratching with normal use and no abrasions. I had mine for 12 hours, no bumps, no knocks, no impact whatsoever, and I wound up with a "superficial" scratch across the entire face of the watch just from my finger.