Apple's Phil Schiller Says iPhone 5 Scratches "Normal"

While Apple may have shifted 5 million iPhone 5 handsets in just three days, there's still plenty of debate about Apple's new mobile, especially between pro-Apple and pro-Android camps. Fuel to the fire apparently came from Phil Schiller himself this week, answering to the fact that some iPhone 5 casings were already scratched after barely a week on the market with a short and rather frustrating e-mail.



When you first unbox the iPhone 5 its finish seems impeccable. It's clearly a luxury item, and an expensive one too, but it now seems that finish may not be quite so perfect, as some iPhone 5 users have already reported signs of scratching on their flash new phones. That's not what you want from a high-end, design-conscious handset!

"It's normal"

Apple has changed the rear casing of its latest iPhone, using matte-finished aluminium instead of the glass plate seen in the 4 and 4S. We've already seen this kind of material used elsewhere, notably in the iPhone Edge and more recently in the HTC One S, and we did notice that it scratched easily—especially in the HTC.

So could Apple be using the same stuff in its iPhone 5, which, let's not forget, starts at £529? Well, from the look of things, that could be the case. The problem seems to affect black handsets in particular, as the scratches are less visible on the white model. Users have reported that the black top-coat is scratching and chipping away to reveal the original silver colour of the aluminium underneath—particularly on the sides of the phone and sometimes on the back too. That's not something you'd expect to see after just a few days' use. Worse still—some users have reported finding the handsets already scratched when unboxing them. Ouch!

But when a new iPhone 5 user apparently contacted Phil Schiller himself to report this problem, the Apple boss' response was surprising, to say the least!


According to Phil Schiller, "Any aluminium product may scratch or chip with use, exposing its natural silver colour. This is normal".

Yeah, so relax guys—"it's normal"!

Website 9to5Mac published Phil Schiller's e-mailed reply (above) to seemingly prove the authenticity of the e-mail exchange.

We're currently in possession of a black iPhone 5 that we've been using for about a week now, and, so far, there aren't any chips or scratches on the matte black finish. However, it'll be interesting to see how the material ages.

Stay tuned for our full iPhone 5 review, coming soon.