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iPhone 11 Pro iPhone 11 Pro screen scratches

travelsheep

travelsheep

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 30, 2013
918
1,056
I looked at several iPhone 11 Pro today in two shops (Premium resellers), and many of the iPhones I looked at had at least some small scratches. At first I thought the cover plastic is still on but they were the legit original iPhone 11 Pros. Scratches were very superficial, not deep, but definitely noticeable. Some look similar to just grease, but they are definitely permanent scratches. Staff was busy, so I just left, but a google search revealed that this might be an issue. Your experiences?
 
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Display models are abused. Plain and simple. People will purposely try to "test" their resilience. So there's that, but again even in daily use, scratches can happen. If scratches bother you, the best course of action would be a screen protector.
 
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JerryRigEverything noticed scratches at levels 6 and 7 I highly doubt anyone in an apple store can do those scratches without an actual professional scratching tool.


Using a screen protector on the toughest glass on the market is just LOL nowdays.
 
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Anecdotally in my own experience, I have noticed that the screens of Apple devices are becoming easier to scratch with each generation. I believe this is down to two things:
  • The oleophobic coating becoming more anti-reflective, and so scratches in the coating appearing more visible.
  • The glass being made softer, so as to be more shatter resistant, but as a side effect also less scratch resistant.
 
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off3nc3 said:
JerryRigEverything noticed scratches at levels 6 and 7 I highly doubt anyone in an apple store can do those scratches without an actual professional scratching tool.
Click to expand...

Obviously the screens were scratched by customers looking at the phones. Maybe the screens touched the plastic holder on the table. As the phones have a very short security cable they never dropped on the floor. Maybe it's a manufacturing problem and not all devices are the same. I would say they scratch at level 1 or 2.
 
Been using my tester w/o case & screen protector for about a week now and I’m already seeing the scratches even though I don’t have anything else in my pocket. But I’m giving the benefit of doubt and just assume it’s the oleo coating not the glass itself and can be cured with one of those liquid solutions out there.
 
So far not a scratch on mine. I ordered a screen protector and luckily it arrived on launch day and right after I got my phone, I took off the plastic film, did a quick visual inspection of the screen with a very bright light and at every angle. All clear. Then applied the Spigen glast.r liquid nano for extra screen protection, let it sit for 48 hours then applied the Spigen glast.r Slim over the screen. So mine definitely has no scratches on the screen.
 
Yes on mine. Most likely caused by my pocket and only visible under bright light at some weird angles. It’s the coating. There was already another thread on this as well.
 
I figured it out! Glas is an amorphous solid, and the new iPhone 11 Pro screen especially behaves like a non-Newtonian substance. It is the Rheology branch of Physics that deals with the deformation and flow of matter, especially the non-conventional (non-Newtonian).

For example jelly gel (starch based) is hard and almost impenetrable when beaten hard and fast, but soft when light pressure is applied slowly.

Now, in product testing and QC, Apple suppliers focused mainly on one end of the spectrum, that is hard impact and pressure. However, maybe they did not test the soft end?
 
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My X also had a lot of minor hairscratches, it annoyed me so much. That's why I went for a screenprotector (Belkin InvisiGlass Ultra) on my 11 Pro for the first time of my life. Don't want those annoying scratches anymore because they are especially noticable in Dark Mode under bright light.
 
Have a big scratch in the wide angle lens of my 11 Pro. Very annoying since it is already a replacement. It is going back. Number one had a ton of dust in all 3 lenses. Great QC Apple!
 
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Rivanov said:
My X also had a lot of minor hairscratches, it annoyed me so much. That's why I went for a screenprotector (Belkin InvisiGlass Ultra) on my 11 Pro for the first time of my life. Don't want those annoying scratches anymore because they are especially noticable in Dark Mode under bright light.
Click to expand...
But wouldnt the screenprotector scratch just as easy or maybe even easier? You'd end up with the hairscratches on your screenprotector instead of the phone display and that would still annoy you right?
 
The screen of my iPhone 11 Pro Max seems WAY more scratch resistant than my X was - that phone was also babied but had numerous hairline scratches within a day or two whereas the 11 Pro is still pristine, almost two weeks later, despite traveling halfway around the world - twice - both caseless and screen protector-less.
 
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mavis said:
And when it gets scratched, you replace it. Again, much easier to replace a scratched screen protector than the iPhone's actual display.
Click to expand...

Aye I get it. To each his own. But I would get tired of replacing the screenprotector every 2-3 weeks.
 
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Used to go without a screen protector for the longest time - used to hate those crappy film sheets; but ever since discovering a good glass screen protector (like from amFilm), I wouldn't even think to go without one anymore - especially with all these reports of how susceptible to scratches iPhone screens are these days.

I had a glass screen protector one my new Pro just as soon as I got home with it from the store!
 
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