Welcome back to 2016, everybody. The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Max in Deep Blue scratch way too easily.
Aluminum Brings Back the Age Old Problem of Scratching and Denting on iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max
Everyone had the same thought when Apple announced the switch from titanium to aluminum on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max – that it would scratch easily.
Turns out, that’s very true and nothing much has changed, and it takes us back to the 2016 days of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus which used aluminum as well.
Going through social media posts you’ll notice that the Deep Blue version of iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max scratch easily. In fact, Bloomberg talks about this as well, and anodized aluminum frame is to blame here.
Is Apple going to do a recall? Of course not. Because aluminum returned to the menu with the intention of improving thermal performance of the iPhone, and the way it interacts with the world is a tradeoff.
Titanium offered strength and great scratch resistance, while offering subpar thermal performance – aluminum offers the opposite of that. Add that vapor chamber cooling system on top, and you have an iPhone that flies.
The only thing I can recommend is a case, that’s all. Just buy one with a microfiber lining inside and you’ll be good. Given how great the thermal performance is this year, you don’t have to worry about your iPhone getting too hot anyway.
If you really, really want to avoid the scratching issue completely, just buy the phone in the silver color option. Anything too bright or too dark is always risky when aluminum is involved.
Given the entire situation, it makes perfect sense why Apple avoided releasing a completely black iPhone this year with an aluminum frame.
