Every time a new iPhone comes out, there’s some stupid little problem that has the fanbase sprinting for the torches and pitchforks. You might remember that the iPhone 4 had an antenna problem where how you held it created a connection between the device’s two antennas, causing the signal to drop.
It was a minor thing, easily fixed with a slight shift of the hand, but at the time, it was as if Apple had announced the iPhone would automatically connect you with a sex offender.
Well, the iPhone 5 is here and guess what? There’s a really stupid little problem that has the fanbase sprinting for the torches and pitchforks. Welcome to the first world problem that is “Scuffgate”.
Essentially, there’s something wrong with the case, in the most cosmetic way possible. The iPhone 5′s casing is made out of anodized aluminum, buuuuuut:
… it would seem that Apple either forgot to seal the anodized coating, or it simply didn’t make the anodized layer thick enough to prevent scratching.
Just to review: This does not affect the quality of the phone itself. It’s just that the phone is getting scuffed and scratched slightly earlier than it would due to normal use. And people are actually calling this “Scuffgate” as if it’s a serious problem.
The iPhone 5 isn’t perfect. The camera, for example, has a weird defect where very bright light takes on a purplish hue. The proprietary connector is a mess for various reasons. Most horrendously, it still supports Instagram.
But the frame flaking a little? Like most aluminium products? Really? Granted it’s a flaw but it’s a fairly minor one. And now people are angry over Apple’s response. Here, people angry over Scuffgate, let us help you put that response into its proper context.
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I hate to defend them, but this goes beyond Apple folk. I hated my Evo because the “battery life sucked” but I secretly pined for a new phone because of a ding on the corner. I lost sleep over it.
That doesn’t make Apple users normal, it just makes you as bad as they are. I’m sorry you had to find out this way, man.
I’d argue the antenna issue was a major problem. For a flaw like that to make it through design and testing and into production was a major failure on Apple’s part. Their solution was to tell people to fuck themselves and spend an additional $20-$30 on a case.
My guess is that will be the suggestion for users to remedy this too.
To be fair, it’s so ridiculously specific I’m not surprised it got through.
Also, Apple has been telling complainers to go fuck themselves for decades, so, really, I wasn’t expecting much.
Scuffgate makes perfect sense to me. Most people don’t care about the quality of the iphone, they care that’s its the iphone 5 and they have it. Yeah, they’ll get lost using maps, but it’s the new iphone so they’ll look really cool wandering around. It’s a superficial thing, so of course they’re going to shit a brick over a superficial scratch. And to be fair, if I waited in line and paid $500 for something that’s scratched by the time I get home because I had a dime in the same pocket, I’d be mad too. The iphone’s major problems seem fixable with patches and updates- at least possibly- but that scratch is there forever.
If you stand in line for a god damn cell phone, and its scratched by the the time you get home, you should kill yourself for waiting in line for a cell phone.
I would absolutely agree with the author’s message, which suggests that consumers, especially rabid Apple fans, are a fickle bunch, and will often blow stuff way out of proportion. However, I witnessed first hand the notion that there are some serious quality issues going on. I saw my wife, open up the packaging of her new iphone 5 a few days ago. Anticipation wasn’t even that high; she’d seen the phone in the store and knew what she was supposed to get. She peeled the front film off; no prob – very slick. She peeled the back film off and man oh man, a dent the size of a nickel was revealed. Not a scuff or a scratch, a true dent that deformed the lettering. She’ll get it replaced, but Apple probably has to hone in on this, as it is not a design flaw (can’t be), but perhaps it is a production flaw, or something more insidious. I don’t think mfg processes are the culprit; there is no way 30% f-ups would have been allowed for in the mfg line before it went live. This smells deliberate. I’m guessing there are some pissed off Foxconn workers who are probably taking it out on the devices; given how bad conditions are out there, screwing with the products might be the best and only way they can get management to listen to their issues. Just hope mgmt doesn’t “listen” by taking a baton to someone’s head.
Here’s the thing.
“Fanboys” don’t really care about these issues. The insufferable tech blogosphereomedia does, because any story they can make that is about Apple increases their page views and ad impression revenue.
He’s probably right- the fanboys are too busy chugging apple koolaid.
Flex, normally I’d agree with you except my Twitter Hate Feed (I have an account just for monitoring insane and selfish people) was a bright river of fire over this.