Following up on yesterday’s article regarding scratches reported on iPhone 17 Pro demo models, Apple has gone on the record to state that the marks were caused by the chargers the company uses for in-store displays.
Per 9to5Mac, Apple has stated that the marks are not scratches, and are instead material transfer from the stand to the phone. The marks are removable with cleaning.
The company has stated that it will fix the problem in its retail locations, and that other models like the iPhone 16 are also affected.
Separately, scratch tests have suggested that the camera plateau area on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max is prone to scratching. Apple says that the edges of the iPhone 17 Pro camera plateau have similar characteristics to the aluminum cases on other Apple devices, like the MacBook. The company has stated that while the edges are designed to be durable and undergo testing prior to release, but that users may see normal wear and tear that includes small abrasions over time.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
The Sapphire crystal face of the Apple Watch Ultra just got put through its paces by the cool cats at the JerryRigEverything YouTube channel, which compared it with other smartwatches that also use a sapphire cover.
Sapphire, which is one of the hardest minerals in existence, is extremely difficult to scratch, making it a popular choice for premium watches.
The YouTuber, who’s known for doing durability tests with electronic devices, has posted a new video in which he measures the hardness of the sapphire cover of the Apple Watch Ultra as well as Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 and Garmin Fenix 7. The main purpose of the test was to find out if these three watches in fact have sapphire crystal as promoted by the companies.
Per Zack, who runs the YouTube channel, sapphire is a material with a hardness level close to that of diamond. Using the Mohs scale, which measures the hardness of minerals from 1 to 10, he shows how scratch resistant the screens of devices such as phones and smartwatches are. While glass scratches at level 6, sapphire scratches at level 8 or even 9 depending on how pure it is.
Apple claims to have used sapphire as a material in its devices since the iPhone 5, which was the first unit to have a sapphire cover on its camera lens. However, Apple actually uses a sapphire composite material, which is not as hard as pure sapphire.
JerryRigEverything offered the following tests to compare the Apple Watch Ultra’s face to that of its competitors:
In the tests, the sapphire crystal on the Apple Watch Ultra had minor abrasions at levels 6 and 7, while the real damage starts at level 8. The results were similar with Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5, which began to show abrasions at levels 6 and 7 that were less visible than on the Apple Watch. The YouTuber explains that this is probably due to impurities in the material or polishing issues. As for the Garmin Fenix 7, tests show that it has the purest sapphire crystal of the three watches, as it barely had abrasions at levels 6 and 7.
In conclusion, the YouTuber concluded that neither Apple, Samsung, nor Garmin are lying when they say that their watches have sapphire crystal – although the screen of the Apple Watch Ultra seems to be a bit more susceptible to scratches than the screen of other watches.
The Apple Watch Ultra retails for $799.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
If you’ve been hankering for an iPad with an OLED display, it might be in the later stages of development and en route for two years from now.
Apple is apparently producing final prototypes of iPads with OLED displays, with the device focusing on a lightweight design and improved image quality.
The prototypes are rumored to be in production with Korean display partners Samsung and LG Display, and are undergoing a series of tests at the moment. Apple is thought to be focusing on giving the OLED iPad a lighter design and “unrivaled image quality,” partly facilitated by a dry etching process that significantly reduces the weight of the display. The company is also believed to be developing a special coating to increase the display’s durability, necessitated by how thin it is.
The first OLED iPad models are expected to include an 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro and the devices are widely rumored to launch in 2024.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
The Touch ID sensor in the upcoming iOS devices (including the iPad) will be both more plentiful and more durable.
Per an article in the China Times, manufacturer TSMC will boost its Touch ID production 233 percent to 120 million units. The component will also purportedly become more durable in the process.
It’s been thought that Apple will incorporate the Touch ID sensor in both the rumored 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone handsets as well as the forthcoming iPad Air and iPad mini generations. Until now Touch ID has been limited to the iPhone 5s, in part because of the limited amount of sapphire available for cover glass. Apple has partnered with GT Advanced on at least one sapphire plant, however, which should make widespread use cost-effective.
