Slashdot Mirror
Apple Reportedly Heading Off iPhone 'Glassgate'
alphadogg writes "Apple is reportedly working behind the scenes to address scratching and cracking of the iPhone's glass back panel by certain third-party cases. This 'Glassgate' story got rolling with a report in the gdgt newsletter by Ryan Block, who says he spoke with sources inside and outside of Apple about this issue, but was unable to get an official Apple comment. Block writes: 'Apple has apparently found that non-bumper style cases — specifically those that slide onto the iPhone 4, which are occasionally prone to particulate matter getting caught between the rear of the phone and the case — can cause unexpected scratching that could quickly develop into full-on cracking or even much larger fracturing of the entire rear pane of glass. To put it another way: Apple is afraid you might buy a standard slide-on iPhone case, put it on your phone, and then discover the next time you take it off that the entire back of your device has been shattered by no fault of your own.' Apple is said to be taking it seriously, looking to avoid the sort of backlash it got when reports surfaced over the summer that the iPhone 4's antennas didn't work correctly when users gripped the phones in a certain (and quite natural) way."
thank god
if apple could have come up with a way to reject the offending third-party cases, they would have by now.
Next up assgate, you don't want to know about this defect trust me.
Don't make things that are exposed to shocks, scratches and scrapes out of glass! Use diamondoid materials instead.
I laughed at the weak who considered themselves good because they lacked claws.
why does every type of problem that anyone encounters now have to be suffixed with "gate".
Not every problem is the result of a conspiracy to cover up illegal activity, so the analogy doesn't really fit imo.
Looks like this was just a case (no pun intended) of design oversight.
I'm certainly not an Apple fan, but I used to give them credit for at least providing quality products, even if it was marked up considerably over their competitors.
From what I've heard, it seems like they just haven't been putting as much quality effort into the iPhone 4 as they did for the previous generations.
But maybe that's just what I hear from the interwebs.
Actually, Apple provided these cases to many iPhone 4 users, free of charge, to fix the antenna issue.
You better believe that Apple is afraid of being liable for providing cases to users that destroy the device.
There's a spot in User Info for World of Warcraft account names? Really?
Yes sometimes 3rd party items can be crap, but in this case it was 3rd party crap that apple itself was pushing, and that's a little different. I dont think sony pushed those savecards, or your laptops manufacturer that crappy battery.
"... they just haven't been putting as much quality effort into the iPhone 4..."
Breakdown in Apple management?
"Those users are putting their cases on wrong." - Steve Jobs, master of customer service
"16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
Apple provided "bumper" cases, which this article specifically states do not cause the problem.
They did offer 3rd party cases for sale on their site, but they are not the cases that Apple gave to customers.
Can we please stop suffixing every controversy with the word "gate"?
Technoli
Everybody wants free cases for the antenna thing, and Apple gives in. Now people use the free cases and the back of the phone breaks. Oh great. Haven't had any problems myself.
This entire thing could have been avoided by not having glass on the back side of the device. Other than looking pretty, what purpose does having a glass back serve?
I'd also like to point out that not all third-party brands are bad...Seidio is a good example of a third-party company that generally releases high quality products.
Living With a Nerd
You're unreliable crap.
This is speculation right now, where are the pictures of phones with scratched or broken glass?
The damn phone has been out for months and Gawker, Powerpage or any of the Apple fanboy sites have no photos of this "issue".
Too bad the back of your phone has cosmetic damage. Maybe if you had some type of case on hand, you could cover it up and never worry about it again.
FTFS: "Apple has apparently found that non-bumper style cases — specifically those that slide onto the iPhone 4, which are occasionally prone to particulate matter getting caught between the rear of the phone and the case — can cause unexpected scratching that could quickly develop into full-on cracking."
This happened to me (particulate matter getting caught between the rear of the phone and the case causing scratches). Have gone caseless since with no further scratching. In any case, replacing the back panel is trivial.
Set your phasers on "funky"!
An iCase will solve this problem (not to be confused with an iJob, iGates or an iSteve) NEVER accept a cheaper alternative.
Read the scripture here:
http://www.apple.com/legal/trademark/guidelinesfor3rdparties.html
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
They did offer other brands of cases. I got a free speck branded case for my iphone 4 via their free case program.
Gone!
Are the iPhone backs made of glass too? (Description says "back".)
If your only tool is a hammer, every problem becomes a nail.
this is the same whining that we had to hear when apple first brought out the black ipod and people realized black shows scratches more than the old white did.
Stuff gets scratched when you use it, DEAL WITH IT.
Grit can get trapped inside a case and scratch the device? NO SHIT? have these people never used a case before? Take it out and CLEAN IT every now and again.
Are apple customers the most helpless people on the planet, or does the media just make them look that way?
All of these problems will be fixed with the iPhone 5, scheduled to be released Q4 next year for $600. Get your credit cards ready, you mindless consumers of Apple products. Lines are shortening at the Apple store.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
I think it's hilarious. The first thing I thought when reading the summary was, "Hey Look! They're bringing back *gate!" It's been a long time since I've seen the *gate practice. I'm hoping this time around we'll see the following:
* Gategate
* Fencegate
* Stargate
I see some kind of subversive conspiracy involved with your comments. /. submissions?
Would you be willing to testify before Congress about your
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
I don't think that any of the cases they offered are slide on. And this potential problem apparently is only with those kinds of cases.
"In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson
Many casemakers paid extra for "apple approved" logos, and the ability to sell in the apple store. Apple has now stopped ALL sales of these cases from their store. yeah.
Apple is said to be taking it seriously, looking to avoid the sort of backlash it got when reports surfaced over the summer that the iPhone 4's antennas didn't work correctly when users gripped the phones in a certain (and quite natural) way."
Left-handers natural? Ha! That's more insidious propaganda from the Soros/Koch Brothers-funded group, Lefthanders International, a front group for an evil left handed supremacist secret society. Don't believe the lies!! They wil
Appearance over utility. That's Apple for ya.
I thought making the back side glass was not overly bright in the first place. I'm not in the group that wants their phone to be all shiny and pretty so they can show it off anyway.
I have not upgraded to the 4, still using the 3gs. Because of the front glass the iPhone requires a case. I have a rubber case that has tread on the back, like a tire. It helps it grip and keeps it from sliding.
If you are the type of person that is going to buy a case that covers up the glass back of the iPhone are scratches on the back really going to bother you? If it cracks the back that could be an issue but how is Apple to blame for this? I would be upset with the people who made the case. It's their fault for the design flaw in their product. You won't see and Apple logo on any of these!
Encryption: I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend your right to encrypt it...
The title says it all.
Apple did not provide any slider-type cases as part of the free case program, and these investigations are targeted only at that one type of case.
I've got an iPhone 4, with it's associated death grip(e) and continuing proximity sensor issue. It's worked OK to date, a bit slippery, and I love it's electro ice-cream sandwich design (even if it was made to be broken).
That said, this thing seems so problematic that I can't help but think it's Apple's S-Type or X-Type Jaguar. The smart phone everyone will forever associate with problems. It's beautiful form that doesn't allow for any real-life durability.
Kind of like a celebutante.
Wouldn't doing it yourself violate the warranty?
RIP America
July 4, 1776 - September 11, 2001
Where do all these rabid anti-apple drones come from? Another blog post from some anti-apple idiot about some total non-issue, backed up with no proof, and some made up anonymous sources inside and outside apple. LOL. I guess it is just a coincidence this fantasy story is coming out before the crap Microsoft Phone is coming out?
I don't subscribe to the Apple kool-aid, but in all fairness there are plenty of phones out there that just simply suck for design reasons. I'm on my fifth Palm Pre in one year (lucky I have insurance). One with slider problems, two the power button stopped working, and the last one the modem went to hell on it. Seems like these gadgets are not made to last long.
boycott slashdot February 10th - 17th check out: altSlashdot.org
The bumber and Zagg's invisishield have been the best combos and most tasteful
If it cracks the back that could be an issue but how is Apple to blame for this?
Apple designs a product - a fourth generation of a product - knowing full well how their users user it and you're saying it not their fault? They even supplied some of the cases that caused the damage.
This is a shitty design and it is Apple's fault.
Good god! Putting so much glass on a cell phone?!? A device that's going to be used, moved around, dropped (it should stand up to dropping a small height like a foot or so like falling out of a purse), stuck in purses and knocked around, etc...
If you have to baby a device like a phone, then it's too delicate of a design. The designer should be whipped for this.
RIP America
July 4, 1776 - September 11, 2001
This doesn't seem to be the fault of the third-party. Any case that fits tightly around a device will eventually let in small debris, it's the fault of the material if that debris weakens and/or damages it.
"Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" - Salvor Hardin
Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones...or particulates.
Cracked or shattered glass on the back of the iPhone is a serious issue. Anyone who's been cut by glass can relate. Understanding that this hasn't happened yet, one could easily see why Apple is working to head this off. "Gushing blood caused by iPhone" isn't something Steve can explain away with "He was holding it wrong".
Is Jobs doing his cancer thing again?
This is nothing more than an attempt to draw page views from apple-hating sheeple. Nothing to see here.
If you buy third-party stuff, don't be surprised it doesn't work properly.
Just as those old "10x larger" savecards for PS1 or 2 sometimes erased your saved games.
Or my "new" laptop battery from China died after just three months.
3rd party == Sometimes unreliable crap.
Derp.
These are sanctioned, licensed, and badged 3rd-party accessories.
It's the equivalent of a printer branded as "Windows 7 Compatible" completely hosing your Windows 7 installation.
I admit, I have no data to back this up, just anecdotal observations, but does it seem like a fair number of people walk around with iPhones with cracked screens? I don't think I've ever seen people walking around with Droids and Blackberry's with shattered screens. When it's happened to people I know, they'll admit that they dropped it, but I drop my Droid at least once a week, and so far it's OK (knock on wood).
I feel like the iPhone casing has gotten so minimal that there's not much to muffle the blow if you drop it on the edge - nothing left to give. I'll give Apple props for this though; even though the cracked screens look like crap, the phones still work, touch screen and all.
This is a shitty design and it is Apple's fault.
Good god! Putting so much glass on a cell phone?!? A device that's going to be used, moved around, dropped (it should stand up to dropping a small height like a foot or so like falling out of a purse), stuck in purses and knocked around, etc...
If you have to baby a device like a phone, then it's too delicate of a design.
jesus tapdancing christ.
It seems like half the time I'm defending apple and half the time I'm bashing them.
Im not schizophrenic, I'm anti IDIOCY.
You want a ruggedized cell phone, GO BUY ONE. If you buy a phone made of GLASS, don't expect to be able to toss it around like a nerf football. It's not rocket freaking science.
My Tag Heuer watch has a sapphire crystal and it has ZERO scratches on it after 3+ years of continuous wear. I wear this watch all the time, including times where one might question the wisdom of wearing a $2500 watch (ie, crawling in the crawlspace working on a lighting/wiring project).
Other than looking pretty, what purpose does having a glass back serve?
I'm not a materials engineer (or any kind of engineer for that matter) but I think the issue is a little more complex than that. First of all, though laypeople like us refer to a material as "glass" or "plastic" each of these terms describes a large class of particular materials with sometimes widely divergent properties. The iPhone 4's "glass" isn't the same as the glass in your drinking glass. (I guess they call it "aluminosilicate glass" but I don't know what that means.) And who knows if the glass on the back is the same as the glass on the front.
Unless an Apple engineer shows up it's hard to guess at the exact reasons they would use one material over another, but we can guess. For one, they say this material is stronger than plastic, though obviously it may be more prone to shattering when dropped. That's an interesting trade-off; maybe using the glass improved the structural integrity overall, reducing the need for internal structural components and thus increasing the space available for the battery. Maybe Apple's testing showed that dropped phones were likely to break regardless, and the glass back didn't increase the average damage per drop much. Maybe testing found that people were naturally more careful with glass objects.
I think it's too easy for Slashdot types to have this reaction that some product design decision was completely stupid because they see some obvious downside, and the advantages are sometimes harder to see. But there are a lot of products which seem to have no obvious flaws, but completely suck because the designers never take any risks (see: Microsoft Word). I don't like to use those kinds of products.
I have seen the future, and it is inconvenient.
If you buy third-party stuff, don't be surprised it doesn't work properly.
I do love your conciseness, but in this case, I think you really meant to say "If you buy Apple-tested Apple-certified 'Made for Apple' third-party stuff (which Apple takes a minimum of 40% from its retail price wherever they may be sold), then don't be surprised if those products destroy your much pricier phone (instead of protecting it). The official 'Made for Apple' icon never actually stood for anything. You guys are idiots if you ever actually believed otherwise. "
what "made for iPhone" means:
What the crap is "made for iPhone" supposed to mean if not "we've tested it and it works as advertised"?
It applies only to electronic accessories:
http://developer.apple.com/programs/mfi/
It means that the accessory is sufficiently shielded to protect it from electronic noise when the device is in operation. Pretty much any cell phone will cause electronic interference when placed on top of an AM radio, and on an unshielded amplification circuit in, for example, an alarm clock, GSM devices will cause clicking and buzzing.
For cases, it's pretty much meaningless, and it's not a licensed use (which is why there's no little picture with it on the packaging). The people who put the phrase without the trademarked logo are being disingenuous.
There's a reason you don't see third party iPhone and iPad cases in Apple stores.
-- Terry
The difficulty is that sometimes non-shiny is the best way to go. Tough plastics are not necessarily pretty, shiny polycarbonates and acrylics can suffer cracking as well as scratches. More exotic materials bring new unexpected real world problems.
It's very difficult to pack all the functions into a small case like a phone and make it work well. My feeling is that in an effort to distance themselves from upstart makers like HTC, and manufacturers with their own fabrication like Samsung, Apple simply put too much effort into shiny because they had got about as far as they could with ergonomics, given the CPU and battery available.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
I suppose this may be where Apple's liquid metal purchase will come into the picture.
That's the spirit! Make the iPhone cases out of mercury. It will solve a multitude of problems!
"If you are going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill
I didn't realize these 3rd-party products were "Apple approved".
My bad.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Let's see a poorly performing Droid or a high performance iPhone that eats it's lunch for execution speed but I have to be careful with? To each their own but I will stick
with the better performing device.
Got Code?
Time for a firmware update!
Here come Apple bitches.
Go read the fucking article. find out where it says "Made for Iphone" and try to understand two sentences related to that if you can.
Then take Steve's dick out of mouth, wash your mouth few times. While you are at that, also take that iphone out of your ass. Once you release all the smug-gas which has accumulated in your stomach, and with your orifices clean of all the blockage, you will start feeling better and develop ability to read and comprehend.
Then come back to this board.
A device that's going to be used, moved around, dropped (it should stand up to dropping a small height like a foot or so like falling out of a purse), stuck in purses and knocked around, etc...
One foot is way to little. The typical user will have their phone about 3 feet (or let's say a meter) above the ground when removing it from a purse (or pocket). And it should be able to withstand that, IMO. Of course, I won't buy something that looks like it won't handle normal use for me, so it better do fine in my pocket, and the occasional fall from there.
Sure I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?
What's the DRM Tag for? Dirt Rights Management?
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
At the very least, mercury exposure could explain the behaviour of die-hard Apple fanboys :)
However, Liquid Metal is not mercury even though mercury is liquid metal.
This is speculation right now, where are the pictures of phones with scratched or broken glass?
The damn phone has been out for months and Gawker, Powerpage or any of the Apple fanboy sites have no photos of this "issue".
You get a +3 interesting while a simple Google search provides plenty of the pictures you claim doesn't exist? RDF?
This is my personal experience of an Apple iPhone vs a Sony-Ericsson K750i. Firstly: I'm not being paid or supported in any way by either Apple or SE and have no professional dealings with either sucky corporation. Got that?
I have a 4 year old Sony-Ericsson K750i. I love it. It's reliable, versatile enough for my needs and it's durable. In the time I've owned it, it has bounced across a motorway and been hit by a car, been submerged in river water for over an hour and been sat on many, many times. It's still going 100% although I find it hard to get new batteries or accessories for it. Fuck SE and their proprietary cables.
I had an iPhone for about three weeks. During that time I saw friends' apps get pulled from the app store and from their phones and last I used it, I was taking it from my pants pocket when I dropped it. It fell a metre onto cement and shattered like a glass grenade.
Only a sucker would stick with an iPhone after that kind of performance yet apparently, Barnum's Law persists.
So I still use my good ol' SE K750i. Even though it doesn't even have 3g.
it's hard to guess at the exact reasons they would use one material over another
Nah, it's easy to guess: Form over function.
Exactly what Apple's target market expect and are willing to pay for.
Why are you buying a case for your iPhone?!?
It's designed to slip into your pocket/purse. It's small, smooth, and fits.
Why people want to put their iPods and iPhones into rubber cases (for years now) is something that escapes me.
Do you wrap your children in rubber?
even though mercury is liquid metal.
Tungsten is liquid metal, under certain conditions.
Unless an Apple engineer shows up it's hard to guess at the exact reasons they would use one material over another,
It would have to be an Apple marketing dude. The engineers only need to explain why they always get pushed off into the chairs in the back of the room when important design decisions are being made at Apple...
> apps get pulled [...] from their phones
This is a lie, so the rest of our posting is most likey lies, too.
And mercury is solid under certain conditions. Did you have a point or was this a start of a list of all of the metals that can be liquid under certain conditions?
Glass is a liquid, too. Just extremely viscous.
bah... just checked wiki:
The notion that glass flows to an appreciable extent over extended periods of time is not supported by empirical research or theoretical analysis
And I find this information new and strange... I thought the empirical evidence was colonial windows tend to be thicker at the bottom, due to gravity and the extreme viscosity. But Wiki can't be wrong, right?
The Admin and the Engineer
And I find this information new and strange... I thought the empirical evidence was colonial windows tend to be thicker at the bottom, due to gravity and the extreme viscosity. But Wiki can't be wrong, right?
From (bad) memory: The way the glass was produced causes the glass to be thicker at some side(s?) and the people building the houses put the thickest side at bottom. (The thing is, I don't remember if this was a fact or only a theory)
It is what it is.
I dropped my iFone from about 3 feet onto a tile kitchen floor. Freaked out a bit, picked it up, and I couldn't even tell where it hit. I suspect this is more Google FUD.
In fact, Apple did. I just got my case for this today, which I chose through the iphone case app. There were a few options, the bumper one being one of them, but I thought "That's not going to stop scratches on the glass back of the phone" so I went with one of these clip-on ones.
I'll get back to you on whether it was a good choice in a couple of days, I guess.
Yes, yes they DID. I received my free one as selected through the iPhone app just a few weeks ago. Fortunately for me, Squaretrade.com ALSO sent me a free case, and I liked theirs better so I stuck with it. Glad I did, too.
There's a spot in User Info for World of Warcraft account names? Really?
The problem is Apple only has a single design of phone, you either have this iPhone with its design flaws, an older model with dated hardware or you don't have an iPhone. If Apple made a more rugged alternative or you could buy other iOS phones (from other manufacturers) you might have a point.