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The iPhone 5 isn’t the biggest or fastest, but it’s held up to physical standards of perfect that make the immaculate womb of Mary look like amateur hour. The phone is supposed to be a consummate beauty. But after two months of constant use, it’s already showing wear and tear. Scratch-phobes, beware.
Below are two phones with very different lifestyles. One is a bit scratched up since launch day, one isn’t. There’s my phone, which was purchased on launch day, and has never known the touch of a case. I carry it in my pocket, or sometimes toss it in a bag with other stuff, every single day. The other (control) phone belongs to a coworker whose phone has been locked in a case from the day it was picked up at the end of September.
So let’s take a very close look. Just how vulnerable is the iPhone 5?
…an iPhone 5 looks like it did the day you took it out of the box, of course.
Note the pristine bezel, the unblemished chamfers.
The entire perimeter of the phone is without a single, even slight scratch.
Yeah, there are scratches. Scratches deep enough to dig through the iPhone 5′s matte black treatment and reveal the silver aluminium beneath. Compare the two phones above.
Almost all of the corners show at least slight wearing or a little chipping.
Some worse than others.
And there’s that drop bump.
And another dink.
Again, the slight wearing of the material can be seen all the way around.
Every iPhone has accumulated wear and tear over the years. Nothing looks like new after it’s out in the world day after day—not smartphones, not iPods, not humans. And if you live in constant fear of scratching your devices, you’re probably going to have an extremely anxious and unhappy existence. Shit happens, and things fall on the ground. You can’t let worrying about a thing stop you from enjoying the thing.
And yet, we do pay extra for the iPhone because of its looks. It’s a shallow premium that we’ve bought into, and one we expect to cash out on. There’s nothing wrong with wanting your phone to look good after a year when that’s what you’ve paid for. And there’s a distinct difference between damage and aging—while leather shoes take on character as they decay a bit, a chipped smartphone might not exactly acquire a patina.
Maybe this will haunt you. Maybe this is what we get for an iPhone whose back isn’t made out of shatter-prone glass, but scratch-prone aluminium. Maybe you should get a far more durable Galaxy SIII or Lumia 920 if you’re worried about cosmetic longevity. Or maybe you don’t give a shit about your smartphone’s paint job.
Either way, this is how much the iPhone 5 has been worn down by normal use after two months. Extrapolating forward a year or so from now doesn’t take that much imagination. It’s going to chip more. I’m sorry, but it’s true.
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Reminds me of an article one of the Giz authors wrote on why phone cases suck…..
That was from Jesus I believe, which I guess rules him out as being the case using coworker mentioned.
Actually that one was Condliffe’s doing.
TBH I agree with Jesus (god that sounds wrong), why buy a nice shinny new toy and then cover it up.
I have a Samsung S3 and a HTC Windows 7 phone, both of them get the same treatment. They are in my pockets, no covers, no screen protectors, I try no to carry keys, coins etc, but sometime I need too. I try to look after them, but I don’t baby them and both phones looks great, no noticeable marks, no scratches and nothing broken or smashed.
I see where you’re coming from, i’m pretty sure phones in the future will be totally scractch proof and maybe even shatter proof to a certain extent rendering cases useless
but for now i’ll happily use my Sline case for my Galaxy S2
I will probably sell the phone when I get my hands on an LG Nexus and because i’ve used the case since the day I got it, it’s immaculate meaning a better resale value
Yes immaculate does mean a better resale value, but I don’t buy my phones to sell on. I buy them to use, and if I buy a nice slim, light phone I don’t want to add weight and bulk.
Remember when the iPhone was made from plastic? No one complained then because it was an iPhone, if Apple did the same people will find a way to say why it is premium and others like the Galaxy series aren’t. It is all in your head, the fact is that metal costs no more than the plastic on the Galaxy S3. Only branding that tells you one is premium and the other isn’t.
People who care will wrap up any phone in a case or just look after their phone like putting it on a soft surface or a pocket without shit in it. People who do not will let it get scratched to fook.
I’ve had a GS2 for like 18 months now, no case, no screen protector and it hasn’t got a single scratched. I’ve ever dropped it and I thought it was scratched but the mark rubbed off. To me the device feels premium, it has a good weight to it so it doesn’t feel like it was made in China, it doesn’t creak anywhere and it is really thin. I think the phone looks great as well, all I want is a great screen and it has that and I love how with the OLED screen you cannot tell where the bezel is on a black background.
People need to get over brand loyalty and just buy what is best, it’s how I operate and it never fails. I mean I used to use AMD CPUs, I’m not going to stay buying them when they clearly suck right now.
The GS2 feels premium to you?
I’d say newish HTC’s are very premium feeling devices but most Samsung anything dont feel premium at all (to me) including the crap TV’s! (I have 6 Sammy TV’s in my house, but they where cheap so I’m not too fussed about them)
I agree the GS2 is a really resilient phone. Heck I’ve slammed mine in the car door (fell out of my pocket as I was closing it – the door bounced off the phone so it definitely got the full force of it) and only ended up with a small scuff on the side that’s less noticeable than the ones in the pics above.
never had a case/screen protector either, I do have 2 very small scratches on the screen but they can’t be seen when the phone is on and to be fair I’ve had the thing for 14 months now.
I must have dropped it on concrete a good 4 or 5 times as well but all that came of that was the back and the battery came off and there are a couple of minor scuffs that you can’t see unless you’re looking very closely.
I’m right with you on this one. I’ve had my GS2 for about 16 months and I too do not use a case on it. It has had its share of drops and its even fallen down a flight of marble stairs, mimicking very much a slinky on its way down, yet it still works perfectly, and the only physical mark on it is a tiny little scratch on one corner in the back (near the speaker) which is hardly noticeable. I can only hope that when I upgrade to either the next galaxy S or Note mid next year, they are as sturdy as this one!
here here.
re: AMD, fuck my life when I’ve got an AM3+ socket. ;-; luckily my Phenom II X6 1100T still performs amicably.
Apple doesn’t have 100 billion dollars in pure cash reserves because this phone is worth more than the others. The iPhone costs no more to make than the Galaxy S3 or any other Smart Phone out there. There is nothing premium about cheap glass, metal or plastic, it’s just marketed to you that way.
If the phone was made out of Gold and Diamond then yeah… it isn’t.
http://www.uncells.com/collection/1007-02-diamond-black-edition-3/
$129,000. Bargain. Android 2.2 as well
I’d love to see another article on this after you have had the phone for a year, then again after two years to compare the state of it at the end of a normal contract.
For comparison, I have had my Note II since 6th October, with no case, and it still hasn’t got a mark on it. But then I do make sure to keep it in a separate pocket from my keys or coins.
Likewise, my iPhone 5 lives alone in a pocket with only my earphones and a handkerchief in, unsurprisingly it looks much nearer the ‘case’ model, apart from a few small scuffs from the couple of times I’ve dropped it. At the end of the day its a £500+ possession, if you don’t take some care about how you treat it (case or otherwise…) then you’re a fool who should probably stick to a 3310….
they still make handkerchiefs
I usually have mine tucked into my cummerbund or if I am relaxing, I will wrap it in my cravat
It’s not just any old handkerchief it’s an iKerchief. £25 from the Apple store for a pack of 1 black and 1 white.
Prices like that are not to be sneezed at
Sama sama. Got mine about a month after they came out and it’s immaculate save for one tiny ding. I don’t put anything in the same pocket as it but I have dropped it a couple of times onto my wooden floor.
It is definitely more fragile than the iPhone 4/4S, but I’m not losing sleep over how fragile it is because I take care of it.
FWIW, I have my One X since it was released in April, never cared to keep it safe (carry it with keys, etc.).
It has a single scratch mark from where I dropped it on concrete train station platform.
My last iPhone (4) lasted less than a year when the screen shattered from a drop of a couple feet.
I have had the 5 since launch and I don’t think it will last much into the new year. I have already managed to crack the rear glass (see photo below).
I don’t keep my Phones in cases, and I haven’t the lightest of touches, but all of my previous phones have managed to last the life of their contracts.
Interesting I remember dropping a Nokia 2110 from the ridge of a roof, it slid down the tiles and launched from the gutter like a missile to the tarmac two stories below. Upon retrieving the 3 parts and clipping them back together this little wonder carried on working just fine!
iPhone 5 Photo: http://i49.tinypic.com/24axs3b.jpg
That’s an interesting picture, I never thought that part of the back would get damaged like that.
now that is a well used iPhone
Granted I may be a little heavy handed, the Phone is usually in a pocket with keys and change.
But in a couple months it is looking worse than my original iPhone which has been rattling round in a box of old gadgets for I dont know how long.
http://i48.tinypic.com/14agbgx.jpg
I find it mad to have glass on the back that has shattered from a very small drop and the edges would seem to designed to protect whatever they touch from any harm. I don’t see why I should have to wrap it in cotton wool, it is a phone.
I think they have dropped the ball with this design.
its nice to see one being used like yours without the worry of scratches etc.. the 3G(S) seems to have lasted best, maybe its worth going back to plaastic
I like the 4 —shattered screen aside— the scratches and dings are not as noticeable as the 5.
As soon as I bought my iPad 2, and invariably my iPad 4, I got cheap anti-scratch screen covers and an overall case for the whole iPad. I didn’t by the smart covers as they are far too much for something that does half the job of protection. I will do the same with iPhone 5 when I get it soon. Never leave anything to chance.
Personally I’ve always kept my phones in silicon (rubber) cases which protect them, make them non-slippery and helps keep them shiny for resale. That’s why it always makes me laugh when people obsess about the design and shaving off a few mm’s or grams.
the mm and grams still makes a difference even with a case. A 5g phone in a 1g case will weigh 6g. By producing a phone of the same dimensions but at 4g adding the same 1g case makes it 5g overall so you still get the weight saving. Same with the size… smaller phone means smaller case.
phones weigh in the hundreds of grams anyway. If you can tell the difference between a phone weighing 131g and 133g, then you need to use your super power for good, not evil!
Well, I clearly simplified the numbers for the sake of my comment
The 25g difference between the iphone 4 and iphone 5 is definitely noticeable.
Ive got the S3 and before that the htc desire, for both ive used the official pouches as i dont like covering the phone up permanently with a case. i find they work great, never had a screen protector on my desire and sold that to CEX grade A, like wise my S3 is spotless.
I agree the pouches are great, until this one pouch which was a little hard to remove the phone from; so desperate to get the phone out to answer it I dropped it. Not loads of damage just scuffs and scrapes but it depressed me every time I felt it on my phone.
This is why i love the Lumia’s
My 800 looked almost brand new a year after i had it after a good clean, never used a case. The only thing that scratched was the silver part where the camera was and apparently they have fixed that with the lumia 920. Time will tell but still in perfect condition.
I’ve had my iPhone 5 since launch day and it’s never seen a case. There’s not a scratch or nick on it anywhere. It goes in my pocket when I’m out and about (it’s always the only thing in my pocket).
If you look after your phone there’s no reason why you need a case to stop it getting damaged.
I expect now that within ten minutes of posting this I’ll drop it and scratch the feck out of it.
Totally agree. Mine is in excellent condition too. And it has no screen protector foam or case.
Mine too, still in excellent condition.
What the hell is he doing to his phone?! I’ve not had a case from day one and my phone looks like the ‘case’ images. We can safely say Sam is one clumsy mother flipper!
Had my S2 since October 2011. No Scratches, no case, dropped multiple times, most severe enough to make me think “OH CHRIST NO!”.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7898753/DSCN2484.JPG
What an absolute load of cobblers. Had iPhone 5 from day 1 with no cover. Not a single scratch on it.
There are either batches with a bad paint job – in which you need to take yours back or you’re seriously doing something wrong with your phone and throwing it at concrete on a regular basis.
What the heck, Sam? Are you scraping wallpaper with it or something?
Exactly! maybe, because he reviews phones on a regular basis, just doesn’t value them as much and doesn’t take care of them like any normal person?
“I put my phone in the tumble dryer with some gravel, just like most users, and it came out scratched”
Looks about 2 years old now. Maybe that is what Apple were going for, speed up peoples upgrade cycle.
i have a tough case mate cover on my phone Why?
simple its an expensive item i don’t want damaged due to my clumsiness, and i am clumsy with it, also i am not shallow enough to describe my phone (or any item of tech) as sexy, beautiful, orgasmic or whatever sexual reference people seem to like to apply to said tech.
I like to actually use tech, not show that shit off as some sort of faux status symbol.
my case add a couple of millimetres each side of my phone and to the back which is hardly life changing.
agreed, have a bonus ‘like’
2 months? My HD2 didn’t look that bad after 2 years, and I dropped that on concrete from waist height on several occasions. My current phone has an entirely plastic outer and after 4 months it still looks like I just got it out the box, never used a case with it and never been overly cautious. Guess an Alu phone body really is a case of style over substance, most other companies would have picked up on that in prototype testing (and probably have over the years, weeding it out.)
Looks to me like someone should be a bit more careful with their phone
Mine’s already scratched and dented, black paint has come off around the edges.. It does get a fair bit of abuse at work sadly but my 4S didn’t look this bad after a year… Finally got my Wallee M case, 6 months later.. That’s the joys of Kickstarter sadly. Hopefully now it’ll be a little safer. I’m not normally a fan of cases but the Wallee is awesome (now that it works)
Even WITH a case there are scratches….after 2 months? Not good enough to my mind, my One X I’ve owned since launch day nearly 8 months ago has no marks on it, never used a case
Interesting. My last phone was a Desire HD which I did think was quite pleasing to the eye at the time and on the basis that I’ve always been super careful, I tried using it without a case for a while. If you recall, the Desire HD was (like the iPhone 5) a unibody aluminium construction with an anodised finish but I found over time that the finish was rubbing off the corners in my pocket, prompting me to go back to sporting a gel case. Granted it’s a considerably heavier handset, so I could speculate that it was rubbing harder (oo-er) but nobody going caseless seen anything similar with their iPhone?
It’s probably scratched to hell cos he keeps putting his phones down onto concrete.
I cant believe how much you have managed to scratch it after 2 months!
I have had mine since launch with no covers. About a week into owning it I dropped it in the road. It got a couple of little marks around the chamfered edges but nothing too major – obviously at the time I was pissed off but once you dropped it once you tend not to worry about it, these things happen.
I can honestly say though that if i hadn’t dropped it that once, it would be as good as new – like out the box new. The phone lives up to general wear and tear very well I have found.
Looking at the top image, it looks like you’ve got dust in-between the glass back and the camera. Mine had that and I just swapped it out at Apple for that.
If you take a look at black iP5′s on display in an Apple store, you’ll see the chamfers are all chipped like this. I returned 2 black iP5′s because they were chipped straight out the box….in the end I got the white one and it’s still in mint condition.
NB) The black coating on the iPad mini seems more resilient.
An unblemished phone in pristine condition which you then set on what looks like concrete… genius!!
Never put a case on my iPhone 5 – no scuffs. I think people put their phone with their money just to make some news. Pathetic.
In regards to materials used on the iPhone 5, I’m starting to wonder if it will age gracefully like the pictures of the really worn iPhone 2G shown here.
http://designmind.frogdesign.com/blog/aged-to-perfection.html
Why would you want a phone that you pay a massive premium because of its look, but you have to carry it around in a case making the looks you paid for pointless, otherwise it gets scratched and looks horrible within a couple of months.
The whole carrying your phone in a case is only necessary with iPhones, then suddenly your phone is covered in gummy plastic and isn’t as thin as it once was. What was the point in paying for a super thin good looking phone again? Just buy a phone which can take wear and tear without looking awful.