I’ve seen the damage firsthand—and it’s not pretty.
Update, Sept. 23: As someone who takes digging into tech rumors seriously, I made the five-minute walk from my office to my local Apple Store today to separate fact from hype. Is “scratch gate” just another overblown social media storm? Spoiler: It’s not. Take a look at the photos below, and I think you’ll agree Apple has a genuine problem. Apple Stores are supposed to be where these devices shine their brightest—if this is the “best” the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro look, I don’t want to see what happens after a week in a purse or pocket.
Design has been the biggest buzz around the new iPhone lineup. From the ultra-slim iPhone Air to the… let’s say unique unibody design of the iPhone 17 Pro, this is Apple’s most visually daring lineup in years. But if the growing wave of complaints is any indicator, those bold designs come with a major flaw. We haven’t even tested whether the 17 Pro lives up to its photography hype yet, but one thing’s clear: You’re going to want a case.
When tech watchers slap “-gate” onto an Apple issue, you know it’s serious. Think back to Antenna-gate (iPhone 4’s signal drops) or Bend-gate (iPhone 6’s tendency to warp)—Apple has a long history of navigating these high-profile headaches. Now we’ve got Scratch-gate.
Here’s the issue: Multiple iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models are shockingly scratch-prone. The Deep Blue 17 Pro and Space Black Air, in particular, act like magnets for marks . Twitter (I’m still not calling it X) is flooded with user photos showing scratches, but the worst part? Even display models in Apple Stores—places where devices should be handled with care—are covered in scuffs within days of hitting shelves .
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has a theory, and it makes sense. He thinks the scratch issue explains why there’s no black iPhone 17 Pro this year. “The Deep Blue iPhone 17 Pro is scratch-prone because of its anodized aluminum frame,” he notes. “It’s not totally unexpected—dark aluminum iPhones have had this problem before. That’s probably why there’s no black variant.”
YouTuber JerryRigEverything, who’s made a career out of stress-testing gadgets, breaks it down further in his latest teardown video. The camera bump, he argues, is the “literal Achilles’ heel” here. The sharp edges of that plateau don’t have enough material to keep the aluminum oxide coating (which protects the metal) in place . And it’s not just scratches—users report that even light contact with things like tools can leave dents, and dropping the phone can crack the back glass with repair costs climbing high .
The root cause? Apple swapped last year’s tough titanium frame for a lighter aluminum alloy this time around. Titanium has a Mohs hardness of 6, while the new aluminum clocks in at just 2.5 to 3 . Apple’s added a hard anodized layer to help, but it’s no match for keys, sand, or even a quick brush against a table . Store employees and have acknowledged the issue, framing it as “normal wear” for softer metal , but that’s little consolation for anyone dropping $1,000+ on a device that looks beat-up out of the box.
