Is the iPhone X actually more prone to scratching than other Gorilla Glass 5 phones? I've had the X for about four months, and while the screen is pretty scratched up (I refuse to use a screen protector) it doesn't look much worse than my older phones looked.
Anecdotal of course, but i've owned almost every iphone that's launched(skipped the 7 and the 3gs) and i haven't ever scratched my screen, no protectors. Exact same treatment: always a case with a lip, since the 4
My X has a couple HUGE scratches and a ton of tiny ones. I've examined friends phones and it's the same deal. My roommate still has my old 6S, not a single scratch on it and it's almost a launch day device. So nearly 3 years of service now.
It's definitely a variation from the glass they've used in the past. Even my iphone 1 didn't have any scratches...
Anecdotal of course, but I've owned every phone that's launched (well, one phone per generation of course), never with any screen protectors, and I've gotten nothing more than a few minor scratches in the past.
The screen on my X, which I use heavily and every single day since launch, is virtually pristine. Inspecting it right now I can find 2 micro-scratches (both on the edge), and that's it. If anything, this screen has held up better than previous ones.
I'm in the exact same boat. Better treatment than I've given to an iPhone 6s and iPhone 5, and despite neither of those phones ever having had any visible scratches, my iPhone X is COVERED in microscratches. And to be clear, always used a case with a lip, always placed in pocket without any other items.
There's always been a balancing act with Gorilla Glass, there's been at least one version (I think it was Gorilla Glass 2 or 3) of the product that had noticeably less scratch resistance than it's predecessor while providing better durability against cracking - wouldn't surprise me if we see a repeat with Gorilla Glass 5.
I believe the iPhone 1 didn't have an oleophobic coating, which I think is what normally gets scratched. IIRC it was just plain glass, which is a lot harder to scratch.
Much much worse in my experience: iPhone X scratches easily.
That said I would add that I deliberated a lot over whether the X was worth it, and looking back now over the best part of a year I can say a resounding “yes”. I was really worried that iteration one of a new product was going to suck, but the only fault I’ve noticed is the glass scratching easily. Apart from that, I feel that Apple really nailed the iPhone X, one of their all-time best designs.
I really wish I could say the same. The face recognition almost always works but fails when I need or want it the most. I don’t mind if it fails in an elevator but while I’m half awake in bed it’s incredibly annoying. Anecdotal but I wish I had the fingerprint reader again.
Funny enough it's the opposite for me. TouchID would always fail at the most inopportune times - when I'm sweaty or it's humid and I just want to unlock this damn thing. FaceID fails when it doesn't really matter, I'm in bed and just checking morning email or something. Also the solution for FaceID not working is usually simple - just lift your head. When TouchID wouldn't work it was a lost cause and I'd have to resort to entering my long-ass password.
I had less issues with TouchID on my iPhone 6 than I've had on my iPhone 7 for whatever reason. My hands get pretty oily for whatever reason, the sensor on the iPhone 7 is a lot more picky and I regularly find myself either needing to wipe the home button and my hands down or just sucking it up and entering my passcode.
I'd really like to use a longer passphrase to protect my phone, especially now that iOS 12 has the USB locking feature to protect against threads like greykey - but it's a huge pain in the ass to enter a sufficiently long or complex password or passphrase on a touchscreen keyboard so I haven't bothered due to the aforementioned TouchID issues. I'm actually kind of looking forward to upgrading this year and giving FaceID a go, it's annoying that I have to trade the option of using TouchID for it but all the anecdotal evidence I've found presents a more consistent experience.
The ideal solution for me would be to have both FaceID and TouchID -- but at the back of the phone, like the Pixel.
FaceID works great when I'm at my work desk and have the phone on a charging stand. I can just glance at the phone and it unlocks to show my notifications.
Otherwise, I just want to be able to pick up the phone (from the bedside, from my pocket, etc) and have it already unlocked by the time I look at the screen.
I wash my hands a lot so I don’t think I really had that issue very much. I tried not to touch my phone when I was sweaty without using a towel first. And I have the good fortune to not have a lot of humidity. So maybe I had an idealized experience for touchid and you have an idealized face for faceid. Ha.
I do lift my head but maybe it’s something else I’m doing. I’ll try different angles or maybe open my eyes wider. I just feel like this kind of experimentation kind of flies in the face of the Apple experience that I thought I was paying for.
As with sibling - Touch ID was useless to me for some reason, it hardly ever worked, but face recognition is almost perfect (except when wearing sunglasses).
I can't objectively answer, but I have played with previous Google Android devices and I generally think Google's design is awful, and the products feel cheap. The Pixel as a device looks a lot better, but I think Google's design is so universally terrible that I would never switch to them.
More generally, I would rather pay extra for a product that isn't based on advertising.
I am not the person you asked, but I might be able to give some input. My “credentials”: I have owned many many phones because of my job, and currently still use 3 smartphones on a daily basis: two Android phones and one iPhone. Cost is not at play in my case, so there is also no sunk cost.
I wrote up something, but I feel that it is both below the standards of HN, and not something I would want to publicly attach my personal name to. I’d be happy to send it to you if you’d like.
Yep definitely something up with the screen on the X, mine is covered in small scratches. Not noticeable except in sunlight so not too bothered, but it is a bit annoying. Other than that I agree it’s a brilliant device. Will probably get the screen replaced under Applecare at some point (maybe wait until I inevitably drop and break it one day, lol)
It’s not the glass material, it’s one of the coatings, probably the oleophobic one, that is showing micro scratches, and it’s a lot worse and the launchday devices
This seems very surprising to me. I'm running a ~$200 Moto G4 for a year and a half now and it has no visible scratches. I don't use either a case or a screen protector and I never have for any of my phones. In fact it looks basically exactly the same as the day I bought it. Sounds like a glass screen just is not worth it for me, no matter the number of apes.
Just took a good look over 2-and-something-years-old ZenFone 2. I've only noticed some very light scratches upon a careful inspection, only when looking at the display surface at angle where it had reflected daylight. Dust specks are way more noticeable.
I don't use any protectors, I put the phone in my packet together with my keys, my cat tries to chew on it every time he sees it lying on the bed (I don't know why), and otherwise handle it quite recklessly.
The only way I really got cracks is when phone fell out of my hands, face-down on a gravel. Happened on a second month after the purchase, had to replace the display (but still decided I don't want a protector film)
Now, reading about the scratches I wonder how bad it is with iPhone X.
It's more prone than my Pixel 2. I have both an iPhone X and a Pixel 2 in the same brand and style of case. They both only go in my left pocket, which only holds my phones (keys go in the right). I got them both at roughly the same time, but the Pixel 2 looks brand new (once I wipe the fingerprints and case-edge dust off) and the iPhone X has quite a few scratches near the bottom edge.
I don't have an X, but my 8 Plus (which I'm assuming uses the same glass and coatings) is, at only nine months old, scratched worse than any iPhone I've owned yet (this is my fourth iPhone; I upgrade about every two years).
I don't know that I'd really call them "microscratches", either-- they're pretty prominent, and one runs fairly deep.
Just to add to this, my 8 (not plus) is the same. It’s also the only one I’ve used a case on, and in a short time is more scratched than any previous iPhone I’ve had.
Anecdotal, but I’ve never had micro scratches in my other screens shortly after purchase, but have on the iPhone X within a week or two. And I’ve owned at minimum two of every previous generation and haven’t had issues on an 8 or 8+ screen either (yes, I own over 50 iOS devices).
Because anything put on a screen makes it look like shit to me. I didn't pay that much money on a top of the line phone only to make it look like a low-end one.
I don't understand people with screen protectors. Unless they plan on reselling it.
BTW, I think people with iPhone X but with a screen protector are making a fundamental signaling mistake: you show to people that you can't really afford the phone.
I use a leather case and plastic screen protector (7 Plus) not because I care about resale value, but rather because I don't want to coddle my electronics; I want them to be fairly durable. The way I see it, the dividend from the trend of maximally thin phones is the ability to put them in a robust leather case without them becoming too bulky.
My anecdotal experience has been that a plastic screen protector greatly reduces the likelihood of screen breakage, presumably because the soft plastic can absorb some amount of impact force. I've never ever broken a screen, and I drop my phone fairly often.
I also prefer the finger-feel of the Belkin plastic screen protector. And I enjoy replacing the protector every 6 months or so and walking out of the store with an absolutely perfect, scratch-free screen.
(I tried the Belkin glass screen protector once; it cracked within a month. And I disliked the finger-feel.)
