(Bloomberg) — Gadget shoppers from Hong Kong to London to New York waited on long lines Friday to purchase Apple Inc.’s latest iPhones. But some arrived at retailers to find that certain store models were already scratched.
The deep blue variants of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max exhibited scuffs after just a few hours of being on display, Bloomberg News found from visits to Apple stores in Hong Kong, Shanghai and London. The black iPhone Air also showed itself to be prone to scratching, the reporters observed.
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It’s the company’s first major physical redesign of its smartphones in years. With this generation, the handsets return to an aluminum shell and feature what Apple has touted as a more scratch-resistant finish on the back.
It’s unclear how widespread the issue is. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Consumers in China, one of the first markets where the new devices went on sale, took to social media earlier Friday with photos of scratches on the back of the newly released iPhone 17 lineup. As of Friday afternoon, the related hashtag was among the top trending topics on China’s Weibo, with more than 40 million views. Users on X similarly posted images and video of the scratched handsets.
Aluminum, the material Apple used for its iPhone 17 Pro and Max enclosures, is known to be scratch prone, and the blemishes are especially conspicuous on darker-colored devices. The iPhone 5, released in 2012, received similar complaints from users about scuffs on the black and slate models. The iPhone 17 Pro is offered in three shades, with the deep blue being the darkest. That handset is not offered in black, which is otherwise a mainstay in Apple’s usual iPhone color selection.
Apple has contended with launch-day hiccups in past years. Users also complained about how the iPhone 7’s glossy black finish could be easily scuffed. Earlier, the super thin iPhone 6 experienced a more serious issue, as users found it was susceptible to bending. The iPhone 4 also infamously had a problem with its wireless antenna failing when held in a certain way.
The fresh social media comments come during an otherwise strong debut for the iPhone 17 line, which Apple is counting on to maintain its momentum at a time that the company is struggling to roll out AI features.
