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iPhone 15 Pro Sharp edge between glass and titanium frame
- Thread starter Nik
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That's right . It's nice to feel like you're holding a very sturdy phone without a case.
I want to share my experience as someone who is from the EU and received the phone early 2024.
My iPhone 15 pro max (natural titanium 256gb) does have sharp and uneven edges on the back of the phone. It's just a very slight "gap" between the titanium frame, but for me personally, it's just big enough to be noticeable and annoying. I also checked 3 other iPhone 15 pro's and they all had this issue to a certain degree.
On older Iphone models (13 pro max and iPhone 11) the back glass is completely flush with the frame.
My iPhone 15 pro max (natural titanium 256gb) does have sharp and uneven edges on the back of the phone. It's just a very slight "gap" between the titanium frame, but for me personally, it's just big enough to be noticeable and annoying. I also checked 3 other iPhone 15 pro's and they all had this issue to a certain degree.
On older Iphone models (13 pro max and iPhone 11) the back glass is completely flush with the frame.
As someone who was very annoyed by this and could not think about anything else while using the phone in the first few weeks, I can tell you that I don't even notice it anymore after around 6 months of use. I don't know if I got used to it or if dust filled those gaps, but I'm glad haha.
The situation with this year's iPhones is disappointing. I hope there are no more shoots like this.
I will not get it replaced. I have seen examples online where the gaps are much bigger and it possibly scratches the skin, in that case I would get it replaced.
However, I think those cases are extremely rare, and most people will just have to live with the build quality as it is. my guess is most people won't even notice it.
I do really hope that with the next iPhone, this won't be an issue though.
Sooo, I just popped open my 15 Pro 512 Natural…..fondling and caressing it like I was Gollum…..and I noticed it straight away. Something just had to be “wrong”. So I came here, off course.
The back is perfectly smooth around the curved glass/titanium edge. I can’t even feel the transition with my bare skin, only using my nails I can barely notice the slight edge between the glass and frame.
But the front is another matter. It’s like the glass is recessed beneath the frame edge. Some places it’s just slight, but on others, especially the corners, it feels like it’s up to 0.5mm height difference. I can only describe the feeling as if I was running my finger on a freshly sharpened knife. That kind of razor blade friction on the skin. And no, it’s not sharp, there’s no paper cut, it just has the same sensation.
I’m writing this on my iPad 12.9 M1 and the edges are wonderfully lovely compared to the phone.
Clearly I’m not alone on this and I’m not sure what to think. Probably won’t matter, I will most likely use a case. BUT I’m not sure I WANT a phone that I paid this much for having such an issue.
EDIT:
I guess a glass screen protector will solve this. But it’s a premium device dot dot dot.
Seems also from reading all the posts in this thread, drops will either dislodge glass and a) make this an issue where there was none, b) make this issue worse or c) potentially remove the issue from your device.
EDIT 2:
I didn’t notice this edge holding my phone when I first took it out of the box, leaving the paper screen cover on. So while I was putting that back on before I put it back in the box….I noticed it completely went away with the “screen sticker” on.
Do they test the tolerance with the sticker on? I guess they use one for the back while assembling also to avoid scratches in the factory? Could explain the issue? That its being assembled and checks out with the sticker on, but once you remove it it’s noticeable? People with no issues could just be slightly off but within tolerance, but it then appears perfect without sticker. I would speculate, but perhaps the issue is not as much assembly issues but rather a design issue that has an extremely small window of tolerance.
The back is perfectly smooth around the curved glass/titanium edge. I can’t even feel the transition with my bare skin, only using my nails I can barely notice the slight edge between the glass and frame.
But the front is another matter. It’s like the glass is recessed beneath the frame edge. Some places it’s just slight, but on others, especially the corners, it feels like it’s up to 0.5mm height difference. I can only describe the feeling as if I was running my finger on a freshly sharpened knife. That kind of razor blade friction on the skin. And no, it’s not sharp, there’s no paper cut, it just has the same sensation.
I’m writing this on my iPad 12.9 M1 and the edges are wonderfully lovely compared to the phone.
Clearly I’m not alone on this and I’m not sure what to think. Probably won’t matter, I will most likely use a case. BUT I’m not sure I WANT a phone that I paid this much for having such an issue.
EDIT:
I guess a glass screen protector will solve this. But it’s a premium device dot dot dot.
Seems also from reading all the posts in this thread, drops will either dislodge glass and a) make this an issue where there was none, b) make this issue worse or c) potentially remove the issue from your device.
EDIT 2:
I didn’t notice this edge holding my phone when I first took it out of the box, leaving the paper screen cover on. So while I was putting that back on before I put it back in the box….I noticed it completely went away with the “screen sticker” on.
Do they test the tolerance with the sticker on? I guess they use one for the back while assembling also to avoid scratches in the factory? Could explain the issue? That its being assembled and checks out with the sticker on, but once you remove it it’s noticeable? People with no issues could just be slightly off but within tolerance, but it then appears perfect without sticker. I would speculate, but perhaps the issue is not as much assembly issues but rather a design issue that has an extremely small window of tolerance.
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That is the exact feeling I had, except mine was on the back glass, both bottom corners. So even though it was subtle, it became very noticeable while holding the phone in my palm with regular usage. Just enough to make my skin feel irritated, yet leaving no marks. It was a weird feeling, hard to describe. But yeah running your finger across a sharp blade (not along the blade to cut yourself) is the closest description I think.
After getting two replacements, I finally got a smooth one and it made a surprisingly huge difference in comfort.
EDIT: Also, I’ve dropped my phone a few times, once being on the concrete when it got knocked out of my hand at the NFL Draft over the weekend. Aside from a couple minor scuffs on the corners, there is zero change in the glass position. I’m not sure that would really be affected by a normal drop.
Let's see whether Apple improved the manufacturing process and quality control with the 16 Pro.
Did anyone with the 15 pro series have any OLED inconsistencies like pinkish areas or green tinting when low brightness and dark backgrounds were used ?
This, I still have my 15 pro max paperweight if anyone wants to see what a defective phone looks like. Apple took my money and ran, will be seeing them in court.
Got my 16 Pro now. It's way more consistent than any 15 Pro I had tested last year, so it did improve. It's still not as perfect as my 13 Pro though.
But eh, guess that works.
But eh, guess that works.
Are you referring to where the back glass meets the frame in the corners ? How’s the gaps in the corners for the front glass. I await ( from others) paper gap tests. 😂
Front and back. Front seems to be completely fine at the edges on my 16 Pro. With some of the 15 Pros I tried you could feel the sharp edge when performing the back gesture/swipe, this isn't the case here.
It's still not perfect though as I said, with the left edge on the back feeling a bit sharper than the right edge, but both are again better than all the iPhone 15 Pros I tried a year ago. You can notice the "sharpness" around the corners a bit more compared to the edges. Again, the 13 Pro was still much better in that regard.
I assume the fact that the back glass can now be swapped independently hurt the precision of fitting the glass in the frame.
Oh wow so the front glass would also sit proud in a corner as well on the 15 pros ?
I tried like 5 or 6 15 Pros trying to find a "perfect" one and while all had issues on the backside, some also had pronounced issues with the front glass, not specifically the corners but also the edges. Might be bad luck or maybe I'm (too) sensitive to these kinds of things, but definitely noticeable.
Definitely no issues with my 16PM this year. I recently had a replacement 15PM from Apple and even that had a slightly sharp edge on the back.
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Yeah I went through 4 different 15 Pros before finally getting a good one. (I go caseless so the scraping against my palm was very noticeable).
The 16 Pro got it right on the first try which is a relief 👍🏻