The iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max appear to provide little resistance to scratches and scuffs around the sharp edges of the camera bump. Tech blogger Zack Nelson demonstrates this weakness in a durability test on his JerryRigEverything YouTube channel, explaining that the anodized aluminium layer on the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max “does not stick to corners very well” — creating a weak point in the coating. This is a known issue with the electrochemical anodizing process, so it was a design decision Apple knowingly made.
“For some reason, Apple didn’t add a chamfer, fillet, or radius around the camera plateau, and I think it was intentional, so it looks cooler,” Nelson says in the video. “But that decision to look cool out of the box is going to plague everyone who owns this phone down the road.” The video shows that everyday objects, like a coin or house key carried in the same pocket as the iPhone 17 Pro, can chip away at the anodized coating around the sharp corners of the camera bump. However, that same mildly aggressive scratching on the flat surface of the camera plateau only produced dust that could be easily wiped away.
Bloomberg earlier reported that demo units at Apple stores last week were already exhibiting scratches and scuffs after only a few hours on display, especially on deep blue versions of iPhone 17 Pro models and the black iPhone Air. Here’s an example of the glass back of the iPhone Air showing scratches.
If you have a new iPhone in your basket, this may be your sign to also add a protective case, or live with that patina since the scratching is only a cosmetic issue.