GoKawiilWhen Apple announced the new iPhones last year, it claimed to deliver “industry-leading durability.” However, within a few weeks of launch, the internet had a collective meltdown about the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max demo units looking scratched up in stores and a few units facing discoloration.
Reacting to the internet theories, Apple told CNET that the scratching was due to worn-out MagSafe risers, which transferred material to some iPhone models’ backs. (You could remove it by simply cleaning the back.) On the other hand, CNET’s Andrew Lanxon chemically treated his Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro to test the discoloration claims.
He concluded that it “wasn’t going to be an issue for the vast majority of owners, and I don’t believe this can be considered any kind of fault on Apple’s side.” So I put my iPhone 17 Pro Max through 11 months of caseless use to find out how daily life affects its cosmetics. I didn’t put a case, skin or screen guard on it — just a ring stand on its back.
After almost a year of daily use with multiple accidental drops and pocketing with another phone, my cosmic orange iPhone is as cosmically orange as it was on day one (for the most part). There’s the expected color chipping and dents from drops, but the real surprise came when I put it against my iPhone 16 Pro (with similar usage). It helped put things in better context.
Here’s how my iPhone 17 Pro Max looks after a year of no-case use.
The Ceramic Shield 2 protection is real
The iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the left, is noticeably more scratched than the iPhone 17 Pro Max after a year of use without a case. Prakhar Khanna/CNET
The iPhone 17 models (and the iPhone Air) have an upgraded Ceramic Shield 2 protection for “3x better scratch resistance,” according to Apple. The 3x remark isn’t something you can instantly quantify. I could only see the difference when I put my iPhone 17 Pro Max next to my iPhone 16 Pro.
I used both devices for a period of 10 to 11 months without a screen guard. So they’ve gone through similar use: being kept in the same pocket as another phone, placed screen-down on a table and accidentally dropped.
My iPhone 16 Pro’s screen looks several times worse in comparison. It’s covered with scratches, both minor and deep. The soft scratches are gathered all over its cover glass. In contrast, the iPhone 17 Pro Max has a few minor ones here and there but nothing prominent. It looks pristine next to its predecessor. I can’t feel the scratches with my thumb on either screen, but the current-gen screen is smoother to scroll, while the iPhone 16 Pro feels comparatively rougher.
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