It seems Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) just can’t catch a break with the quality of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. This time the complaints have to do with their displays, which owners say scratch far more easily than the screens on previous iPhone models.
iPhone 6, 6 Plus owners complain on Apple forums
Numerous owners of the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus have complained on the Apple forums about the cover glass on the new iPhones. The complaint thread was spotted by Apple Insider. Those who said the cover glass on the display of their iPhone 6 or 6 Plus was already scratched claim that it scratched more easily than the screens on previous iPhone models.
More than 103,000 people have viewed the thread, and more than 625 people have replied to it. The complaints stretch back to Sept. 23, indicating that it was only a matter of days for some iPhone 6 or 6 Plus buyers to scratch the cover glass on their new iPhone.
What is the iPhone 6 display made of?
Apple never officially revealed the material it used to make the covers of the displays on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Some experts think it is Gorilla Glass 3, which is made by Corning and comprised of alkali-aluminosilicate glass. Apple has called the material “strengthened Ion-X” glass, saying that it is a material with ions in it that is supposedly harder than the glass covers on previous iPhone models.
Apple Insider said an iPhone 6 owner who carries it around in a “microfiber satchel” showed off the scratches on their smartphone. The website reports that it looks like the glass cover “was perhaps raked against a hard, flat surface or etched with small debris, perhaps during polishing.” The tiny scratches can be felt with a thumbnail and are noticeable even when the screen is turned off.
Why is the iPhone 6 more prone to scratches?
The folks at Apple Insider suggest that the iPhone 6 probably scratches more easily than previous models because it is the first one to have a display glass that’s curved and lacks a bezel to sort of protect it from scratches. The iPhone 5S and other previous models had flat glass pieces with a thermoplastic surrounding inside a harder wrap made of polymer. According to Apple Insider, that design offered better shock protection and prevented scratches if the smartphone was put down on its face.
Apple included the shock protection thermoplastic material in the iPhone 6, but that material is now between the body of the phone and the display assembly. Apple also left out the hard side wall and instead uses a curved cover that wraps toward the aluminum chassis, which is rounded. The point of the design was to make the phone feel better in the fingers and offer better gesture control. However, it also makes it much easier for the cover glass to be scratched because it’s easier for it to meet up with hard surfaces.
