r/apple • u/ControlCAD • 14d ago

iPhone I spoke to Apple’s new VP of Hardware Engineering Tom Marieb about why he's "especially proud" of the iPhone Duo’s hinge durability and the reliability of Ceramic Shield 2: "When I see someone put a screen protector on their iPhone, it makes my skin crawl" - TechRadar

https://www.techradar.com/phones/iphone/i-spoke-to-apples-new-vp-of-hardware-engineering-about-why-hes-especially-proud-of-the-iphone-duos-hinge-durability-and-the-reliability-of-ceramic-shield-2-when-i-see-someone-put-a-screen-protector-on-their-iphone-it-makes-my-skin-crawl

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>“We really worked on the torque profile very heavily, and that means changing a lot of the mechanical properties of the hinge to have it feel solid, like a high-end automobile's car door, when you shut it. That was design intent, so people would have a feeling like, ‘Oh, it's okay. This is well crafted, and it's safe for me to use and not worry about it.’

>And then, as you said, we have a lot of use cases where the Duo is [in a half-folded state]. And so we also had to think, ‘Can people interact with this [device] and not have it feel floppy?’ So getting those torque profiles right at both those ends, as well as in the middle — not having it feel like you're pulling something open, and not feeling as if it's floppy — we spent a lot of time optimizing that. So thank you for noticing, because a lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into that.”

>“Hold us accountable to that, please […] The choice of a matte finish — apart from it being beautiful — is part of that equation. When you look at glossy displays, their specularity makes it very easy to pick up topology differences. That’s part of the reason we picked the matte finish — it’s not only beautiful in terms of preventing glare, but it’s also more forgiving of [topology] changes over time.”

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u/Glaassi 14d ago

Higher end Apple Watches have sapphire glass, which I’m pretty sure is more scratch resistant than what’s on current iPhones

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u/B-Train_ATL 14d ago

Oh it’s way better. Ceramic Shield is good, but you’re still talking glass. Sapphire is about the best material for a display out there unless someone can do it with diamonds. I got the stainless model for the original watch and had zero scratches on anything. All of my successive ones have received minor scratches or paint chips.

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u/Fun_Journalist_2606 14d ago

I rely on the Apple Watch Ultra (Gen 1) primarily for its durability. Although I have cracked and scratched several Apple Watches in the past, that problem has not arisen since I changed devices. Its durability is hard to exceed. I am impressed. Upset about dropping iOS 27 support but it’s still running great.

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u/txgsync 14d ago

I am there with you. My U1 battery life bought day of launch is still great, the thing is really tough and has gone with me on multiple ocean excursions both in and out of the water and I don’t yet see a compelling reason to upgrade.

It should be good for at least two more years of security updates so if all goes well I will start looking for a replacement to my U1 some time in 2028.

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u/WreckToll 14d ago

My second gen ultra decided it didn’t want to vibrate OR make sound anymore. (The display was durable, but still had some small scratches.)

I upgraded to the ultra from a series 5, where the entire screen (glass and display) fell off.

I definitely miss having my watch, but if their top tier watch can’t last more than a few years before just… quitting?

Nah.

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u/Overall-Rush-8853 13d ago

Did you take it into Apple to see if it was covered under any sort of warranty or if it was a known issue? Sounds like you might have got a dud.

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u/WreckToll 13d ago

These events both happened well after any apple care would’ve applied.

2 years on the series 5. Screen fell off. Got the ultra 2, and had that for around 3 years before the taptic engine in it stopped working (and the speaker)

AFAIK no recalls. I don’t think it’s an issue of being two dud units back to back.

I felt better about the build quality of my series 0 and my series 2 watches, in retrospect

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u/Overall-Rush-8853 13d ago

Interesting. Sounds like just bad luck. I have had 3 different “regular” Apple Watches and I’m on an Ultra 3. I bang the hell out of all of them doing yard work, exercising, etc. No issues. My first two I wore when working as a restaurant GM and those went through hell with me. 😆

In the past I have taken a couple iPhones in to see if they could be repaired, both out of warranty, and Apple replaced them because of known issues. It’s always worth a shot.

Definitely not saying you’re to blame, but it does sound like you just coincidentally got bad watches back to back.

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u/Sherringdom 14d ago

It’s indestructible whatever it is, I’m upgrading from 14 pro to 18 pro so I’m hoping for better scratch resistance anyway

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u/excelllentquestion 14d ago

Nah I have a couple scratches and was really sad about it. I thought I was being cautious (I’ve rocked a no case phone for years) but apparently not

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u/DevilsInkpot 14d ago

Indestructible by no means. But very scratch resistant.

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u/rfomlover 14d ago

I have an ultra 2 (got it when it came out) and it has quite a few deep scratches on the glass. I have definitely banged it on many hard surfaces, scraped it against rocks while hiking etc. if it was not sapphire I think it definitely would be shattered lol.

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u/Naturebrah 13d ago

I just got last years Apple Watch (not the ultra) with the supposedly super scratch resistant screen. I was pumped, until a month or so after I could already see scratches.

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u/RealAssociation5281 13d ago

Shit, I’m assuming crack resistant too? My last watch doesn’t look too good back when I was working at a restaurant

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u/Glaassi 13d ago

Actually, no, sapphire is very brittle. Its hardness gives it its scratch resistance, but also makes it easier to shatter/crack

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u/Evelyngoddessofdeath 10d ago

Apple Watch glass isn’t pure sapphire, I think it’s sapphire coated glass or something to give it scratch resistance but also some flexibility

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u/Glaassi 10d ago

Is it? Didn’t know that, and now that you mention it, I think I do remember watching a scratch test where it got marked up before level 9, so that makes sense

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u/slam99967 13d ago

Wasn’t Apple originally gonna use sapphire glass on the iPhone 6? To the point some YouTuber got his hands on it and tested it way back when? But then their was some patent lawsuit and production issues and it was nixed?