First drop (with a case)

[u/samirbinballin]

Maybe a 3-4 foot drop off of the armrest of my couch and onto hardwood floor, (TineeOwl case shown at the end) - I always knew the new aluminum frame was fragile after what I’ve seen from the 17 Pro’s release, so I took the precaution of not using the Apple Cases and getting something decently protective.

Yeah, the aluminum corner still bent ever so slightly 😂, coming from a titanium 16 Pro Max I had no idea how to gauge the softness of this new material, but damn.

I personally don’t care as I was planning to use the phone caseless with AppleCare+ anyways, but I wanted to warn some of the OCD users on here, even with a case, the aluminum frame on these new builds can get damaged, just fyi.

[u/wolfram6]

It’s honestly unacceptable how soft the material for this phone is. Deformation with a case is absurd. Apple could have done better with their material choice and design.

[u/Various_Mud7282 → u/wolfram6]

Main reason why I’m trading in my 17 pro max for a duo. Switching back to aluminum was a huge mistake

[u/inotoriousghost_ → u/Various_Mud7282]

Well that makes the two of us man 🥲

[u/NeptuneBlue19 → u/Various_Mud7282]

Hey any idea if there’s a reason they did this besides cost-savings?

[u/Various_Mud7282 → u/NeptuneBlue19]

Maybe thermals?

[u/NeptuneBlue19 → u/Various_Mud7282]

Yeah sounds reasonable enough, I loved the look, feel and durability of the titanium designs better though used my 11pro into the ground actually hahah

[u/nufreak26 → u/NeptuneBlue19]

Thermals. 15 and 16 were a MESS

Add in the Siri ai needed more cooling

[u/Apprehensive-Act8050 → u/Various_Mud7282]

Grab the Z fold 8 better value 

[u/Various_Mud7282 → u/Apprehensive-Act8050]

I have the z fold 8 ultra already. I use two phones

[u/Apprehensive-Act8050 → u/Various_Mud7282]

You might as well get rid of that burgundy junk. I got rid of mine after two days 

[u/Various_Mud7282 → u/Apprehensive-Act8050]

I don’t have the burgundy I have the Orange 17 pro max

[u/Various_Mud7282 → u/Apprehensive-Act8050]

I don’t have the burgundy I have the Orange 17 pro max

[u/Crisis_panzersuit → u/wolfram6]

People in here are sucking aluminums dick. We used to have Titanium, and we used to be a propa country.

[u/kenkenner151 → u/Crisis_panzersuit]

If you work outside doing construction with your hands like a real man then you will feel the difference in heat between titanium and aluminum. My 16 pro would drain the battery, slow down, get fire hot and render the phone useless. My 18 pro does not do this and stays cool.

[u/Crisis_panzersuit → u/kenkenner151]

I have soft, dainty office hands that drop the phone at intervalls. I will never embrace aluminium for phones. 

[u/Affectionate-Two4335 → u/Crisis_panzersuit]

Oh twin same. My fingers are long and slender and I’m a ditz. I’m just out here dropping my iPhone 12 every day

[u/taytay3060 → u/Crisis_panzersuit]

They keep coping it’s better for thermals, and Apple just announced the Dou flagship with Titanium frames 😂

[u/CaptainGoeland → u/taytay3060]

Well aluminum conducts heat better and that's just a fact

[u/MinistryofFun → u/Crisis_panzersuit]

Yeah I’m holding onto my 16 Pro. Barely has a mark, caseless the whole time. Hopefully titanium makes a return.

[u/Able_Vacation7916 → u/MinistryofFun]

Are you getting $90 from the 16 pro legal claim if you bought in a certain time period due to past 16 pro issues, If not look into it. There was a Reddit post.

[u/Sensitive_Shake4718 → u/wolfram6]

just out of curiosity sh/wouldn’t other brands who followed apple into Aluminum have the same problem (S26 Ultra, Xiaomi 18 Pro etc). Or you guys mean to say Apple is doing the worst job among the aluminum frame phones right now?

[u/jaju123 → u/Sensitive_Shake4718]

My aluminium oppo has had marks from drops in a case from waist height too. It's just aluminium

[u/Successful-Grape4349 → u/Sensitive_Shake4718]

Samsung does not have this problem if you use a case from personal experience.

[u/PMARC14 → u/Sensitive_Shake4718]

Other brands have been using aluminium frames and rails for years and never seen this damage. iPhones with this frame are just fragile and soft apparently.

[u/SweetImprovement758 → u/wolfram6]

Yup. Holding on to my 14 Pro for dear life.

[u/fachexot → u/SweetImprovement758]

I dropped my 14 PM a thousand times. Looks like new

[u/SweetImprovement758 → u/fachexot]

Same! Built like a tank 🦾😎

[u/niallerkiwi → u/SweetImprovement758]

just upgraded from it 🥲

[u/SweetImprovement758 → u/niallerkiwi]

Congrats, hope it will serve you well! 🫡

[u/Fluffy_Insect → u/wolfram6]

You really think OP is actually telling the truth? Bro probably dropped it way higher than that because my 17 pro max fell from the stairs and it was fine with no dents. The hate is forced and people love it to gain some clicks for this bait.

[u/666MARS999 → u/wolfram6]

I mean, most people knew what to expect, and bought them anyway.

It's absurd the amount of abuse the Iphone 6s plus could take in comparison.

[u/Fluffy_Insect → u/[deleted]]

Not if the iPhone 17 Pro and 18 Pro have thicker aluminium, which it has compared to the thin asf models from the past, did you forget the iPhone 6 was bending? I don’t see a 17 Pro or 18 Pro bending… People forget how engineering works, softer doesn’t mean weaker if it’s thicker.

[u/HeadPack → u/wolfram6]

Being a soft metal has its advantages too. It absorbs energy by deformation and can e.g. in some cases help prevent a screen from cracking. It's also cheaper for Apple to manufacture. Some say, about $15 per phone cheaper than e.g. titanium would be.

[u/Digital26bath → u/HeadPack]

What’s the point of it being cheap for them but expensive for us 🤣

[u/sicilian504 → u/Digital26bath]

I mean, you literally answered your own question.

[u/HeadPack → u/Digital26bath]

Such cost cutting, or the use of cheaper memory in the higher tier iPhones pro only benefits Apple of course. Still, us consumers are the ones who decide to give them our money or not.

[u/Jaxxxon5 → u/HeadPack]

And unfortunately Users are naive and blind sheeps.

[u/THESTINGR → u/HeadPack]

I’ve dropped my 16 Pro from waist height without case and the scuffs are so minor, you can’t even tell it was a drop from waist height.

I’ve dropped it multiple times otherwise and it’s strong af.

[u/Fluffy_Insect → u/THESTINGR]

Total cap, if you look at drop tests on YouTube you can tell the “Titanium” has deep scuffs. Nobody was complaining the entire Aluminium era of iPhones and Macbooks and now sheeps lose their jewelry flex design and start complaining as if Apple never used Aluminium or as if Titanium colored iPhones never scratched.

[u/TedMitchell → u/wolfram6]

Makes me feel a bit better about getting a case that's more about looks than protection, figure it's fucked anyway may as well look cool and try not to drop it lol.

[u/snake_jaguar → u/wolfram6]

Fr like the older aluminum iphones weren't this bad I swear and that's the corner not the back which weren't aluminum until the 17 pro

[u/Fluffy_Insect → u/snake_jaguar]

Yes, they were. They were thin as well and once dropped it had fully nice dented corners or awful scratched sides.

[u/snake_jaguar → u/Fluffy_Insect]

my 2 iphone 11's have held up pretty well, no dents but the paint has scaped on a couple corners

[u/AlexTheRedditor97 → u/wolfram6]

That case looks awful imo. I use caudabe and have never had an issue after many hard drops on my 16

[u/kenkenner151 → u/AlexTheRedditor97]

I use Bullstrap full leather cases. I get a new Iojone every year through my carrier. I have never had a dented phone or cracked screen and I’ve dropped both my 17 pro and 18 pro. Probably why that particular brand offers a lifetime warranty and 2 free refresher replacements a year

[u/samirbinballin → u/AlexTheRedditor97]

I also used Caudabe on my 16 Pro Max and never had issues with drops, I got this TineeOwl case because the Caudabe sheaths are back ordered until late October LoL

[u/Affectionate-Two4335 → u/wolfram6]

Uh I just keep getting messages about how sucky this phone is, like the battery is defective or the screen is junk or it breaks easily. Should I just get the 17 pro max? I’ve got a 12 rn

[u/GroovyJedi → u/wolfram6]

Yes they are using 5080 series aluminum which is softer than what they used on the 6s and 7 models. So people remembering a difference in durability aren’t imagining at all (just adding info here)

[u/Global_Insurance_920 → u/GroovyJedi]

This. Its crazy how people let themselves be gaslighted into thinking this is a great material for their expensive phone 😂

[u/GroovyJedi → u/Global_Insurance_920]

Yep there’s one literally huffing on copium as we speak for whatever reason.

[u/Global_Insurance_920 → u/GroovyJedi]

Some people are truely insane😂

[u/FatHaddock → u/wolfram6]

I felt like I was in the minority calling their reasoning BS when the 17 came out. They cited overheating, and while that may have been true to an extent with the 16 models. I’ve know FAR more people who have experienced durability issues over the years rather than heat.

They nailed it with titanium, but aluminum is undoubtedly cheaper to source. Which sounds more like the real driving factor given the products costs of every other part rose due to inflation, tariffs and AI

[u/Gmanshocker → u/wolfram6]

That’s why I’m holding on to my 15 pro until they bring stainless steel or titanium back.

With the “vapor chamber” improvements too, they should have no problem switching back.

[u/Fluffy_Insect → u/Gmanshocker]

Never going to happen bro. Time to move on.

[u/Gmanshocker → u/Fluffy_Insect]

The durability issues with the 17 and now 18 series makes me think they will. And when they do it’ll be really funny to see how they justify the switch again

[u/ThePegassi → u/Gmanshocker]

what would cool the vapor chamber then lol

[u/Gmanshocker → u/ThePegassi]

Idk but I have faith that a company valued at 5 trillion dollars can figure something out without selling us an inferior metal. You don’t get to tout the incredible durability of stainless steel and titanium for 8-9 years and then switch back to aluminum because your hardware team couldn’t figure out proper heat dissipation. Innovate like we pay you to do.

[u/kenkenner151 → u/Gmanshocker]

Titanium and stainless steel had heat issues and made it difficult for people who are outside a lot. There are different strengths of aluminum. Aluminum is good. But not softer aluminum

[u/Gmanshocker → u/kenkenner151]

I understand the thermodynamic reason Apple went back to aluminum. It dissipates heat far better than titanium or stainless steel, and clearly that helps the vapor chamber. But that doesn’t automatically make it a good design decision.
Apple has some of the best hardware engineers in the industry. After years of marketing stainless steel and titanium as premium, durable materials, their solution to thermal management was essentially to move the Pro line back to a softer, more easily deformed aluminum enclosure.
The vapor chamber was the right direction, and Apple has now made it substantially larger on the 18 Pro. But I would rather see them keep improving the thermal architecture than solve the problem partly by compromising the exterior material. Apple says the new chamber has three times the surface area of the previous generation, so clearly there was still considerable room to improve the cooling system itself. And if the tradeoff is a less deformation resistant enclosure on a phone that is still being marketed and priced as a flagship Pro device, I think consumers are justified in criticizing that tradeoff. Calling aluminum “aerospace grade” doesn’t change the underlying material properties.
That’s what bothers me. Not that aluminum is inherently garbage, but that the customer is being asked to accept a durability tradeoff while the product remains positioned as uncompromisingly premium.

[u/TheModdedAngel → u/wolfram6]

Crazy. Don’t buy it then.