If you’ve been scrolling through social media this week, you’ve probably seen the mini-panic over brand-new iPhone 17 Pro, Pro Max, and iPhone Air demo units looking scuffed up in Apple Stores.
Well, Apple has finally solved the great “scratch-gate” mystery, and the answer is a little embarrassing. It turns out the phones aren’t actually scratched. Instead, some of the store’s old, worn-out MagSafe display stands were literally rubbing off and leaving marks on the back of the shiny new iPhones.
Apple says the residue can be easily wiped off and that it’s fixing the issue with its displays. So no, the new phones aren’t mysteriously fragile. It turns out that the display stands just needed a good cleaning.
Not all scratches are equal, and the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max’s shape could make the anodized coating susceptible to chipping. People are also reacting to videos from iFixIt and Zach Nelson’s YouTube channel JerryRigEverything. The videos show a possible issue with the anodized coating around the edges of the camera plateau on these models. In his video, Nelson takes a quarter and rubs it along the edge of the camera plateau, causing the coating to chip.
What is the iPhone 17 Pro Made Of?
The 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max bodies are made with aerospace-grade 7000 series aluminum, Ceramic Shield, and Ceramic Shield 2. The Pro models have an aluminum unibody frame, which means a lot of the back is no longer made of glass.
While some on social media point to the new aluminum chassis as the problem behind the demo-unit damage, multiple videos show the scratches on the Ceramic Shield back panel on the dark blue iPhone 17 Pro (and on the black iPhone Air). There are even videos where a person purposely scratches the back of their new iPhone Air only for the residue to wipe away, mostly clean.
Ceramic Shield, made of ceramic nano-crystals suspended in a glass matrix, covers most of the 17 Pro’s back under the camera bar. Apple says it is four times more resistant to cracks than the back glass on the previous iPhone 16 Pro.
Then there’s Ceramic Shield 2 on the 17 Pro’s display, which Apple claims is three times more scratch-resistant than the Ceramic Shield used on previous models (and the backs of the new Pro and Air models).
During a briefing for the new iPhone models on the day they were announced, an Apple spokesperson noted that Ceramic Shield is focused on handling drops while resisting cracks, while Ceramic Shield 2 is all about crack and scratch durability.
JerryRigEverything’s Video and Anodizing on the Edge
In his iPhone 17 Pro video, JerryRigEverything’s Nelson does his usual scratch, bend, and burn tests but calls out a possible issue with the anodized coating on the iPhone 17 Pro’s aluminum.
“Apple forgot to do one really important thing. They ignored an international standard. And it’s going to haunt every single person who buys this phone,” Nelson warns in his video.
The ISO standard Nelson refers to is for decorative anodizing, recommending a specific radius threshold that’s 10 times the thickness of the finish, which apparently the edge around the camera bar doesn’t follow.
According to Nelson, corners, like those around the iPhone 17 Pro’s camera plateau, are weak points for an anodized coating. Think of the anodized layer on the aluminum like nail polish: it gives the phone its color while also helping protect it. If the coating gets scratched too deeply, you can see the actual metal color of the aluminum underneath. More people are likely to notice the damage on darker colors than cosmic orange.
He also shows how the corners around the 17 Pro’s camera plateau are particularly a concern because they lack a chamfer, fillet, or bevel, which typically protect the edge from chipping. He acknowledges that Apple used a robust coating and shows how it protects the back against items like coins or keys. However, when he takes the same quarter and rubs it along the edge, chunks of the finish come off.
Notably, Nelson made all of the scratches on the phone’s body with a knife, which leads to the suspicion that demo units might have been intentionally damaged, alongside Apple’s explanation about the MagSafe risers.
“I’m a massive fan of this new iPhone design,” says Nelson. “Less glass and more aluminum is always a good thing.”
iFixIt’s ‘Spalling’ iPhone 17 Pro Teardown
In iFixIt’s iPhone 17 Pro teardown video, Shahram Mokhtari, the company’s lead technician, confirmed Nelson’s finding of an anodized coating issue on the camera plateau’s edges. Mokhtari pointed out that the problem isn’t the aluminum unibody but the shape of the phone’s camera bump. The plateau’s sharp edges do not adhere well to the anodized coating, while the flat surfaces, like the phone’s back, do.
Under a microscope, Mokhtari drags a hardness tool (similar to a penny) across the flat back of the camera plateau. You can see where he dragged, but the anodized coating remains intact. He drags the same tool across the edge, and the coating chips off, revealing the metal underneath. The technical term for this is spalling.
“When there’s an edge to the oxide layer, like at the edge of the camera plateau, the brittle oxide bears the stress of your keys or coins rubbing against it. And so it spalls,” Mokhtari explains.
He also acknowledges that iFixIt hasn’t seen similar vulnerability on the iPhone Air and standard iPhone 17 as their backs are made from glass and Ceramic Shield, respectively.
Are the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Durable?
In short, the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air are durable. But normal wear and tear could cause small abrasions to show on the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models. These issues won’t change how the phones operate, but putting a case on the Pro models seems like the best way to avoid any chipping.
The iPhone Air and baseline iPhone 17 don’t exhibit the same spalling issue that Pro models have, likely due to their glass backs.
If you find your new iPhone scratched or with chipped anodized coating, take it back to your retailer and see if you can exchange it. If those scratches were done purposely, you may be stuck with it. For those concerned about damage, investing in a case is a wise move. Luckily, plenty of options are available.