“At least one manufacturer has hundreds of thousands of battery pack cases that have been certified by Apple’s ‘Made for iPhone’ program — but are not currently available on its store shelves,” Kahney reports.
“As first reported by Ryan Block of Gdgt, Apple is investigating whether the constant action of sliding cases on and off the glass-backed iPhone can cause scratches and eventually cracks, said the source,” Kahney reports. “The iPhone 4′s back is not made from the same toughened Corning Gorilla Glass used on the front. The Glassgate issue is not affected by snap-on cases, our source said.”
Kahney reports, “Apple is slowly evaluating each and every iPhone 4 case at a secret case testing facility. Some may be approved before the holidays. It’s literally on a case-by-case basis (pun intended), the source said.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Our iPhone 4s are InvisibleSHIELD’ed and sometimes also in Apple Bumper cases. After months of use, there’s not a scratch on any of them. If you use a slide-on case, have you had any issues with the iPhone 4’s glass back?
I have that free Incase clear slide on case..for a couple of months and there is not a mark on the iPhone 4.
My 3GS was WAY more scratched.
I keep my naked iPhone 4 in a sena pouch-type thing. I take it out and lay it on the desk sometimes, and just this has caused some scratches on the back. Not many, and it doesn’t bother me too much, as long as the front is okay, and it is. So far.
Use a SENA slide on case that is VERY tight – even has a little strap inside you have to use to get the phone out. No scratches on my iPhone 4, although the case is not as tight as it was originally.
Get an OtterBox case! You won’ regret it.
My iP4 back is still perfect sporting a Speck case. I dropped it for the first time on my driveway the other day, did a BTTF Doc Brown GASP!, and picked up the iP4 no worse for the drop. My iP4 is a great phone btw, has been “beddy beddy gud 2 me.”
I don’t use a case and my phone is not only unscratched but the antenna works just fine. And it’s smaller than wrapping in a case and looks great the way Jobs intended!
Deary me, my phone has a little teeny-weeny scratch on it’s backy- wacky – What am I to do?
The country is going down the toilet and THIS is what worries people?
My wife just said, It’s called ‘ME’. It’s ALL about me.
Any case that touches rhe back of ANY iPhone may cause scratches if debris is trapped behind the case.
My old G3 got a few swirl mark scratches. Suggest putting an adhesive plastic cover directly on iPhone then put a protective case.
Soon, the back of the iPhone will be used for operations like scrolling and tapping so these cases will no longer be viable anyway.
My 4g has a bumper and I have no scratches at all!
Well, considering that the back of mine is still as pristine as the front, I thought that it was Gorilla Glass! I have a beautiful bamboo slide-on case from Grove. It went on once and never came off. I did make sure to clean everything before I slid it on, though… we now return to the secret underground testing facility…
Incase slider is a great case. Who’s going to take their case off to see if the back of their phone is scratched???
Isn’t a case going to cover the phone most if not all of the time, in which case (no pun intended) what’s the big deal?
Mommy, mommy he cursed at me…
Mark S: I’ve held otterbox iphone products. What a pity they couldn’t make a solid case that wasn’t the size of a freaking brick. Not for me!
The InCase slider case is one of the culprits, that has been shown in many reviews to scratch the iPhone.
The ONLY case that I will use is the outstanding, bulletproof Incipio NGP case. Check it out here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003SX0P2E/sw0b-20
I have a very tight DLO hiprider case and no scratches.
MDN has stated in the past they their phone’s are never in a case and are in perfect condition. Now they are in a case? Keep your stories straight MDN.
What wasn’t explained, and apparently what some of you are missing, is that with glass a small scratch is not simply a cosmetic flaw. Scratching, or “scoring”, glass is how a sheet of glass is prepared for breaking on purpose, as in sizing a window pane. A small scratch on the back of an iPhone presents a considerable point weakness, just waiting for for a light tap to go from scratch to complete split (as in “break”).
This is potentially a real problem.
“The iPhone 4’s back is not made from the same toughened Corning Gorilla Glass used on the front.”
Way to cut corners, Steve.
Don’t let stress-risers stress you out.
Asswipe Kerry would be both for and against all slide on cases.
No case, no scratches
I’m wondering. Is the fear that some grit will cause a scratch similar to one made by a glass cutter tool? Id such a scratch appeared I guess the glass could crack on the score line with enough pressure. Having worked cutting stained glass for crafts, I suspect such an inevitability is probably less than a toilet dunking or shattering fall; possible but exceedingly rare.
Much ado about nothing I suspect.
Bumper only – and sometimes not – and not any kind of ” shield”. Not a scratch, since day one!
The apple bumper can cause scratches or discoloration on the antenna band if some dirt or pocket debris gets in there. But since the bumper covers that, who cares?
I been keeping mine with glass unprotected in my pocket and in my sports bag and it hasn’t yet scratched.
Gee I don’t understand. When I go to the beach and theres sand all over and it gets into my iPhone case I think it’s scratching the glass.
Buhuahaha!
Buttwipes
What’s the original meaning of the word “gate?” I can’t remember.