Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority
TL;DR The iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max are facing a “scratchgate” controversy due to widespread scratches on demo units.
The issue is not the return to aluminum as a build material, but a design flaw in the sharp-edged camera plateau.
This “spalling” damage should serve as a warning to Android brands who might try to copy the design.
Apple recently launched the iPhone 17 series and the iPhone Air. While the Air is grabbing a lot of headlines for its slim physique, the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max are also in the news for their “scratchgate” controversy. Demo units in Apple Stores worldwide have been spotted with scratches on the phone’s frame. Now, we better understand what’s happening with the iPhone 17 Pro’s scratch resistance, and why Android brands should not copy the large camera plateau.
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iFixit tore down the iPhone 17 Pro to peek at its internals, but it also spent some time trying to scratch the phone and put it under a microscope.
The report notes that the anodization layer on top of the aluminum body is brittle, which isn’t an issue on the flat surfaces of the iPhone 17 Pro, as most scratches are shallow and don’t cut through to the bare metal. We know from YouTuber Zack ‘JerryRigEverything’ Nelson’s durability test that most of the scratches you would have seen on the demo units are most likely just a deposit layer from the object trying to scratch the device. You should be able to wipe such deposits with a cloth.
However, iFixit notes that the anodized layer flakes away on sharp corners, specifically like the edge of the camera bump (which Apple calls the “camera plateau”), echoing concerns pointed out by Nelson. This flaking damage to the metal is called “spalling.”
However, unlike popular belief, the report notes that the problem with the iPhone 17 Pro isn’t the switch from aluminum to titanium. While titanium oxide is a little harder than aluminum oxide (the oxide layer is a protective layer added onto a metal surface through anodization), it doesn’t explain the spalling.
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