Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 13 Pro iPhone 13 Pro: gap at top in between speaker and chassis?
- Thread starter TheSynchronizer
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
But I have seen it to several iPhone 13 pro models
Is a manufacturer problem ?!or it’s has to be like that
Last edited:
I had issues with screen uniformity and stainless steel frame damage. I had in total 3 iPhone 13 PM. My current on is number 3. All had gaps. One was on top like yours , one bad gap at bottom. And one had gap on left hand side.
This thread has 19 pages. Have you read the posts ? Since it’s filled with much information .
I noticed a few people in this thread say they thought there was “glue” to the left of the earpiece in the top “gap”. This is actually a wedge-shaped piece of black conductive foam. It bridges the phone body to a sliver of exposed metal on the back of the earpiece grille to electrically couple them. For goodness’ sake don’t try to scrape it out!
(NB the black line above the duct here is just paint, the foam is the small slightly lighter piece to the left.)
(NB as this is the back of the grille, the contact point is on the right.)
You shouldn’t be using paper or pins or the like to try to root dust out of the top edge regardless, you will damage that foam or the adhesive seal. If you must I’d recommend a soft size zero or smaller paint brush instead. Hold the phone upside down so you don’t brush dust in to the duct behind the earpiece, which leads to the speaker. The duct is outside of the water/dust-proof enclosure and although the speaker itself it is sealed against water, the duct has some narrow ports which clog easily. You don’t want to accelerate that accumulation by sweeping dust in there.
(NB the black line above the duct here is just paint, the foam is the small slightly lighter piece to the left.)
(NB as this is the back of the grille, the contact point is on the right.)
You shouldn’t be using paper or pins or the like to try to root dust out of the top edge regardless, you will damage that foam or the adhesive seal. If you must I’d recommend a soft size zero or smaller paint brush instead. Hold the phone upside down so you don’t brush dust in to the duct behind the earpiece, which leads to the speaker. The duct is outside of the water/dust-proof enclosure and although the speaker itself it is sealed against water, the duct has some narrow ports which clog easily. You don’t want to accelerate that accumulation by sweeping dust in there.
Last edited:
Very good post. I always use a lens brush gently in those pesky gaps. 😂
My two cents on the gap itself: I have a long history of dealing with these sorts of defects on iPhones. Nearly every iPhone 4 I cycled through had some sort of gap between the back panel and the frame. Then there was the terrible home button reliability. Then with the 2016 SE, almost (but not quite!) every phone had backlight colour uniformity issues where the top edge was warmer than the rest. But the replacements also tended to have poorly applied home button covers. And the one I ended with today has a very slightly defective polariser in the screen so I get a subtle rainbow effect on pure white.
Variation in the sizes and quality of components and the quality of assembly means your iPhone almost certainly isn’t going to be the platonic ideal Apple advertised. Something about it’s going to be “wonky”. Apple has tried to work about this in the past (the iPhone 5 back glass pieces were precision matched to the chassis parts by artisan robots!) but ultimately the pragmatics are: you’re not going to win the device variation lottery. Something is going to be a bit loosey goosey. And chasing that perfect iPhone, even getting back to one with the profile of the first one you had, will just cause exasperation and exhaustion.
So personally - although I have an anxiety disorder and on my bad days the gap on my phone makes me feel very bad - rather than try to fix this I’m going to wait for my sense of the situation to move on. (There is no spoon lol.) When I get the battery replaced in 2-3 years I’ll just ask the tech to try to line the screen up to the top edge and that will or won’t happen.
Also I live in a country with great consumer protection laws so if I get any problems because of this down the line, I will not be the one paying to have them fixed.
Variation in the sizes and quality of components and the quality of assembly means your iPhone almost certainly isn’t going to be the platonic ideal Apple advertised. Something about it’s going to be “wonky”. Apple has tried to work about this in the past (the iPhone 5 back glass pieces were precision matched to the chassis parts by artisan robots!) but ultimately the pragmatics are: you’re not going to win the device variation lottery. Something is going to be a bit loosey goosey. And chasing that perfect iPhone, even getting back to one with the profile of the first one you had, will just cause exasperation and exhaustion.
So personally - although I have an anxiety disorder and on my bad days the gap on my phone makes me feel very bad - rather than try to fix this I’m going to wait for my sense of the situation to move on. (There is no spoon lol.) When I get the battery replaced in 2-3 years I’ll just ask the tech to try to line the screen up to the top edge and that will or won’t happen.
Also I live in a country with great consumer protection laws so if I get any problems because of this down the line, I will not be the one paying to have them fixed.
Indeed. I'd be just happy with a good display and no stainless steel frame gouges. I don't care about gaps and clicky buttons so much. Then again that's just me. Lol.
Hi guys! I may as well toss in my two cents here.
My original iPhone 13 pro max had a tiny little scratch on the earpiece visible only if I angled it just right under a bright source of light. It bothered me a bit (‘cause OCD) so I decided to go the express replacement route. Reason being that if I didn’t like the replacement, I could just send the replacement back and stick with my original. Lo and behold, the replacement arrives with an extremely mushy power/side button. I contacted apple and they told me to send the replacement back. Was a bit of a hassle cus after they received the replacement I had to call to have them put my apple care coverage back on my original phone which can be a bit of a process. Once that was resolved I decided to give it another shot cus why the hell not.. bad idea - the replacement this time had the gap issue y’all are talking about. So I called up apple again and said I’m returning the replacement. I’m gonna have to go through the whole process again but at least now I know what the lottery system looks like.
My advice would be to try express replacement if it really bothers you and you have applecare plus. You may luck out and get one you like. But if you don’t or end up with one you perceive to be worse you could always stick with your original device. Every other way of replacing is non reversible, including a swap through the Genius Bar.
At the end of the day, the lesson I have personally learned is to lower my expectations and not buy into the ‘precision crafted, surgical grade, seem-less design’ ******** Apple keeps yapping about in their keynotes. It’s a mass produced item being assembled in china by under skilled labor getting paid half a peanut an hour and apples prioritizing supply over quality.
My original iPhone 13 pro max had a tiny little scratch on the earpiece visible only if I angled it just right under a bright source of light. It bothered me a bit (‘cause OCD) so I decided to go the express replacement route. Reason being that if I didn’t like the replacement, I could just send the replacement back and stick with my original. Lo and behold, the replacement arrives with an extremely mushy power/side button. I contacted apple and they told me to send the replacement back. Was a bit of a hassle cus after they received the replacement I had to call to have them put my apple care coverage back on my original phone which can be a bit of a process. Once that was resolved I decided to give it another shot cus why the hell not.. bad idea - the replacement this time had the gap issue y’all are talking about. So I called up apple again and said I’m returning the replacement. I’m gonna have to go through the whole process again but at least now I know what the lottery system looks like.
My advice would be to try express replacement if it really bothers you and you have applecare plus. You may luck out and get one you like. But if you don’t or end up with one you perceive to be worse you could always stick with your original device. Every other way of replacing is non reversible, including a swap through the Genius Bar.
At the end of the day, the lesson I have personally learned is to lower my expectations and not buy into the ‘precision crafted, surgical grade, seem-less design’ ******** Apple keeps yapping about in their keynotes. It’s a mass produced item being assembled in china by under skilled labor getting paid half a peanut an hour and apples prioritizing supply over quality.
They’re rushing production and not calibrating machines tooling equipment for reduced down times. That’s how all greedy corps work. It’s a numbers game for them. Similar practices occur during auto manufacturing as well. Example, They don’t shut down the paint booth to calibrate so a few cars are returned due to dust and debris or lack of paint on certain panels. Lol.
Spot on! They probably figure it’s easier to keep churning out phones with minor quality issues and deal with it on a case by case basis. Sad reality is most people slap a case on their phones right in the store and don’t inspect them closely enough to pick out any minor defects and apple knows it. The number of times I’ve seen minor cosmetic issues on iPhones the past few years has all but convinced me apple is well aware of this issue and just doesn’t consider it financially feasible to address. The one silver lining here is that apple is at least pretty good on customer service and are usually willing to keep replacing units until you find one you’re able to make your peace with; I personally just don’t have the patience to keep chasing after it anymore.
Hi everyone
I had the same gap issue with an iphone 13 Pro Sierra Blue.
The gap was extremely visible.
I have exchanged the phone and the new one had a smaller gap - half of the original one but the screen had some issues. When viewing the screen on the normal viewing position the top half was slightly yellow and not so sharp at the bottom one.
Exchanged the phone again and now there is no gap at the top, but there is one at the bottom. I can live with the one at the bottom as it’s not as distracting as one on the top was when the light was reflecting on it.
Also the screen on this new phone is a good one.
Based on my experience with changing the phones in the past, this is where I have found issue with them:
1. Not all buttons are clicky
2. Dust under the camera
3. Dust under the screen glass (yes, had one 11 pro which had this issue)
4.Screen had colour shifting (exchanged 4 11 pro ones till I got one with a good screen)
5. And now the gap one, which is a new one added on my list to check when I will buy a new iphone.
This last one which I received, passed almost all of them. The screen is good, still has a bit of colour shifting, but this time it’s not so noticeable. You have to look for it to find it.
So there is hope, if you want to play the exchange lottery - which I advise you to do, cause if Apple will have a lot of returns maybe they will improve their QC.
I had the same gap issue with an iphone 13 Pro Sierra Blue.
The gap was extremely visible.
I have exchanged the phone and the new one had a smaller gap - half of the original one but the screen had some issues. When viewing the screen on the normal viewing position the top half was slightly yellow and not so sharp at the bottom one.
Exchanged the phone again and now there is no gap at the top, but there is one at the bottom. I can live with the one at the bottom as it’s not as distracting as one on the top was when the light was reflecting on it.
Also the screen on this new phone is a good one.
Based on my experience with changing the phones in the past, this is where I have found issue with them:
1. Not all buttons are clicky
2. Dust under the camera
3. Dust under the screen glass (yes, had one 11 pro which had this issue)
4.Screen had colour shifting (exchanged 4 11 pro ones till I got one with a good screen)
5. And now the gap one, which is a new one added on my list to check when I will buy a new iphone.
This last one which I received, passed almost all of them. The screen is good, still has a bit of colour shifting, but this time it’s not so noticeable. You have to look for it to find it.
So there is hope, if you want to play the exchange lottery - which I advise you to do, cause if Apple will have a lot of returns maybe they will improve their QC.
I also noticed this gap above the speaker and I can barely see the metal blinking so I was worried and did some research and found this thread.
Just my two cents to the lottery game. I played the lottery with my
iPhone 11 Pro Max 6 times 2 years ago. I did this mainly because most of the people who posted said that their exchange model was sooooooo much better than the first one. I don’t want to say that those people lied but my own experience was totally different. I did 6 exchanges and EVERY phone had its own different flaws. So be aware that your exchange models will not be perfect. I‘m happy for everyone who gets his own personal unicorn. But I can’t believe that this happens everytime you first exchange your phone. I say that „some“ people just want to legitimate their exchange with saying they got a new perfect one. It just raises hope for people who have the same problem and think that an exchange will be better. Concerning the gap I would say that most of the people are not picky enough to even notice it. Yesterday I was at Apple Store and checked the iPhones there for the gap problem. I‘d say 95% had this gap. Some more visible some only with a special angle. The other 5% I wasn’t able to see the gap. So I won’t change my phone for this to have a 5% chance to get a phone without the gap. And maybe there will be other flaws with it. I‘ll keep mine but it’s hard since I‘m a perfectionist. I‘ll try to live with it and enjoy my phone. Next year we have the next chance to get our personal unicorn. ?
Just my two cents to the lottery game. I played the lottery with my
iPhone 11 Pro Max 6 times 2 years ago. I did this mainly because most of the people who posted said that their exchange model was sooooooo much better than the first one. I don’t want to say that those people lied but my own experience was totally different. I did 6 exchanges and EVERY phone had its own different flaws. So be aware that your exchange models will not be perfect. I‘m happy for everyone who gets his own personal unicorn. But I can’t believe that this happens everytime you first exchange your phone. I say that „some“ people just want to legitimate their exchange with saying they got a new perfect one. It just raises hope for people who have the same problem and think that an exchange will be better. Concerning the gap I would say that most of the people are not picky enough to even notice it. Yesterday I was at Apple Store and checked the iPhones there for the gap problem. I‘d say 95% had this gap. Some more visible some only with a special angle. The other 5% I wasn’t able to see the gap. So I won’t change my phone for this to have a 5% chance to get a phone without the gap. And maybe there will be other flaws with it. I‘ll keep mine but it’s hard since I‘m a perfectionist. I‘ll try to live with it and enjoy my phone. Next year we have the next chance to get our personal unicorn. ?
Last edited:
It all depends. Some do get really lucky and likely just had to go through once or twice. While others end up going multiple exchanges just to get a good one. But everyone has their own standard to what is perfect for them.
Some may not really those gaps (whether it’s on the top or on the bottom). Some may not care about scratches/dents/gouges on stainless steel. Some may not care much about screen uniformity issues.
Hello OP and all others who have the gap on their iPhone 13 pro's and pro max's.
I bought a 13 pro phone three days ago and quickly noticed the gap between the top speaker and the steel band that everyone pointed out in this thread and others - I could also see the small metal pieces underneath the display as well.
I hesitated to go back to the store since it seemed to be an aesthetic issue more than anything. However, I went to my local apple store this morning to check out their "demo" units and none of them had a gap between the speaker and the casing. It was very clear that mine had a gap and others didn't, even though you needed to shine a light at the right angle to observe the gap.
I instantly returned mine and bought a replacement - the new one has no gap at all. I highly recommend doing this if you are still within your return period, otherwise schedule an appointment with the Genius bar. Some people in this thread wrote that the gap was normal but clearly some units don't have it, especially now that three months have passed since Apple released the 13 series.
Maybe this was an issue with the first "batch" of units. Happy with my new 13 Pro, cheers everyone!
Edit: for those who don't want to play the "return lottery", just unbox the phone right away upon purchase in front of the Apple sales person. The person who helped me out this morning totally understood (very kind of him) and you can avoid returning to the store a third time!
Sorry to hear
I mean you can literally refuse the new units until you get one without a gap. However, I'm encouraged to see that all my store's units didn't have a gap - perhaps newer units were fixed? Maybe this was "rush for the launch" problem.I could play the lottery since I‘m in the 14 days return window. But I try not to do it. As I wrote in my previous post, I went through 6 replacements with my iPhone 11 Pro Max 2 years ago. This was pure stress for me because every phone had different flaws. I finally gave up and kept the last one. You really don’t know what you will get as a replacement.Sorry to hear
Yeah for sure, I was a bit stressed about that happening too. Oh well, everyone should do what they prefer.
Just think new readers shouldn't be told the gap is "normal" though.