Apple made claims that the iPhone 11 series will boast of "the toughest glass ever in a smartphone," and this is especially true for the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max. This early though, it seemed the company's bragging will be shattered by reports of scratches and cracks appearing on display screens for no reason at all.
Social media sites and tech forums have been flooded by users' reports that indicated that the new iPhone 11 screen is far from durable, as claimed by Apple, when the 2019 models were unveiled last September. More concerning though were the complaints now found on Apple's in-house community forum, which Forbes said has piled up to 15 pages of rants from disgruntled iPhone users.
In one of the posts, one user reported that his/her unit had accumulated so many scratches that it now looks old compared to a three-year-old iPhone 7. The user insisted that the scratches appeared out of the blue, and no sharp objects came in contact with the iPhone 11.
Another user called Apple's attention on why his/her iPhone 11 Pro had attracted scratches when the unit rests in the pocket when not in use. The unit owner said he/she did the same with the iPhone X, but the older phone remained free of nicks and dents.
Other users were reporting worse cases like a crack on the display screen, even when the unit was not dropped. It might have been that iPhone 11 units with these issues were without a screen protector or cases but as pointed out by BGR, buyers would have presumed that the devices paid for with top dollar will come with high durability, and they were right to do so.
Also picking up on the complaints, WCCFTech suggested that the issue is likely an isolated case.
"It could be that only a small batch is affected, as a couple of torture tests show that the display is pretty resilient," the report said.
Indeed in one of these tests conducted by YouTube channel JerryRigEverything, known for running durability tests on flagship tech devices, it was proven that the iPhone 11 series could withstand controlled drops and other forms of lab-based pressure tests.
However, lab testing is certainly different from real-world use where devices like the iPhone can be subjected to all sorts of torturous situations, which can accelerate their wear and tear. It could be that Apple can vouch for the iPhone 11's toughness basing on the in-house durability tests that the tech giant had conducted. It's different, though, when the device is out there and possibly exposed to different ways of abuse.
In any case, Apple has in the past investigated similar claims, and if the problems will prove to be factory defects, it is highly likely that the company will offer a repair program as it did with the free or discounted battery replacement a few years back.
