When you get a brand new iPhone X and start it up, one of the first things you do is set up FaceID, and almost every time after that, you are looking straight at the top (notch) of the phone to align your face with the True Depth camera. Even after so many weeks, I still sort of get my face in front of the phone, when in fact, it works pretty much even at certain angles. Just four weeks ago, I noticed a smudge-like stain on my OLED screen just where the finger needs to be to swipe up for the multi-tasking gesture. When the screen is brightly lit, you cannot notice anything, but only at an angle with the screen dark (off), can you see a fine, grey smudge.
I took it down to apple and the Genius Bar technical expert said it was "cosmetic flaw". With apple Care, in fact, without the screen being shattered, this sort of damage would have been covered anyway, even if the cosmetic flaws were caused by a diamond ring or a set of keys, without it being dropped or run over by a car.
But they did not want it exchanged, and I walked away somewhat disappointed, hearing only the apple store staff say to me: please don't smash it on the sidewalk and come back. I laughed, and wondered if I genuinely would have done that, knowing my disappointment.
I took a 20X 21mm jeweller's loupe and finally had a look at the flaw, which were in fact a series of fine feather-like scratches in a very small space at the bottom of the OLED screen. No one else seems to complain about the same cosmetic flaws. The scratches look very peculiar and am struggling to imagine what may have caused it. Are these fine fractures or scratches: perhaps the expert only can tell.