Apple has acknowledged that worn MagSafe charging stands in its retail stores are causing marks on the new iPhone 17 Pro models, addressing concerns that emerged within hours of the device’s launch. Apple told 9to5Mac that the visible imperfections on demo units are not scratches, but rather “material transfer” from aging display equipment that can be removed with cleaning. (Some users, it’s worth noting, say they tried rubbing out the marks on the Apple Store’s demo units but “nothing happened,” claiming “they’re scratches.”)
The durability controversy, dubbed “scratchgate” on social media, first gained prominence through a Bloomberg report published last Friday, the same day Apple launched its new iPhones. Bloomberg journalists visiting Apple stores in New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and London said they found deep blue variants of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max showing scuffs after just hours on display. The black iPhone Air also exhibited similar vulnerability to scratching.
Apple clarified to 9to5Mac that “worn MagSafe stands used in some stores” are the culprits behind the marks, which appear primarily around the MagSafe cutout on the device’s back. The company emphasized these are “not scratches, but rather material transfer from the stand to the phone that is removable with cleaning.” (Again, some say that’s easier said than done.) Apple said it is working to address the problem by presumably replacing the worn charging stands, and noted that other iPhone models, including iPhone 16 variants, are similarly affected.
However, the in-store charging issue represents only part of the durability narrative surrounding Apple’s return to aluminum construction. Popular durability tester Zack Nelson of the JerryRigEverything channel, which has nearly 10 million subscribers, highlighted a separate concern in a video over the weekend, demonstrating that the raised edges around the iPhone 17 Pro’s camera plateau are particularly susceptible to permanent scratching. Nelson said this vulnerability stems from Apple’s decision not to add “a chamfer, fillet, or radius around the camera plateau.”
Apple defended this design choice, telling 9to5Mac the iPhone 17 Pro’s camera plateau edges “have similar characteristics to the edges of the anodized aluminum cases on other Apple products, including other iPhone models and MacBooks.” The company maintains these edges are durable and undergo rigorous testing, though it acknowledges users “may see normal wear and tear, including small abrasions, over time.”
Apple did not immediately respond to Fortune‘s request for comment.
The durability concerns represent a notable shift from the titanium-framed iPhone 16 Pro series to what Apple describes as a “lightweight aerospace-grade 7000-series aluminum alloy” design. While Apple emphasizes the anodization layer exceeds industry standards for microhardness, the material change has sparkeddebate about trade-offs between thermal performance and scratch resistance.
For what it’s worth, extensive testing suggests Apple’s claims about durability are spot-on broadly speaking. The iPhone 17 lineup, as well as the iPhone Air, benefits from Corning’s new Ceramic Shield 2, which covers the front of all four new iPhone models and has substantially improved scratch resistance compared to previous generations. The iPhone Air has particularly impressed in bend and scratch tests, maintaining structural integrity despite its ultra-thin profile. You can watch JerryRigEverything’s video on that to see it in action, it’s quite impressive.
For this story, Fortune used generative AI to help with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing.
