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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."
This is really nothing new for Apple. Every few years they release a product that has a number of fairly absurd issues they should have caught sooner. This isn't the first iPhone/iPod that's been prone to scratching, but the problems go back well beyond that. Remember the stupid puck-shaped mouse?
Certainly, one of the problems they face now is that Apple has moved far beyond being a niche. In years past they could get away with more because their core base was quite forgiving. But it also seems that the number of issues seem to be growing. I suppose it's Apple's obsession with not compromising on aesthetics, being stubborn about their way of doing things and their experimentation with new materials and manufacturing processes.
The funny think is that the glass used on the iPhone was trumpeted as being amazingly scratch-resistant. I recall reading a story on that glass. I don't recall how much better it was than regular glass, but even 25% more resistance might not translate into a whole lot under actual use.