iPhone 5 Meets 2-Year-Old with Instructions for Destruction

By Jane McEntegart
published

Apple's shiny new toy meets the newest member of iFixit's team.

Apple proudly announced on Monday morning that the iPhone 5 had sold an impressive five million in its first three days of availability. However, that wasn't the only iPhone 5 news floating around. Reports from around the web are talking about scuff marks on iPhone 5 units right out of the box. One of the differences between the iPhone 5 and previous models (specifically, the iPhone 4 and 4S) is that this phone doesn't have that all glass back. Instead, the backing is anodized aluminum and early adopters are saying that not only does this new casing scratch easily, in some cases, it's arriving already scratched.

So, just how scratchable is the iPhone 5's back casing? How's it going to look if it's subjected to every day life? The folks over at iFixit decided to introduce their iPhone 5 to a 2-year-old with a set of keys. Check out the results below.

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Jane McEntegart
33 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Alphi
    well done mom, now this kid is either going to grow up hating large multinational corporations or having no respect or appreciation for the value of things.....
    Reply
  • house70
    Duh. Tempered glass will resist scuffs better, but be more brittle compared to aluminum.
    The main concern would be the denting; if that kid could dent the case in a few under-powered attempts, this will be pretty bad if the phone were to be dropped. Dents mean potential internal damage.
    IDK who does the anodizing process for Apple, but it seems like a piss-poor job to me. I have cheap flashlights with anodized aluminum bodies that can take a lot more damage than that and still look better. Maybe they cut some corners in order to cut costs, something that would not surprise me a bit from Apple. That case looks more like it was painted, not anodized.
    I have yet to see an iPhone owner with the phone uncased; they seem to brag about how pretty their device is, but then hide it away for fear of damage.
    Seems to me that high-quality plastic, polycarbonate, TPS or carbon fiber are the materials to go with for long-lasting phone panels.
    Reply
  • captainblacko
    the majority of iphone users seem to spend ££/$$'s on those snap on cases anyway. Why would apple waste money manufacturing something which will most likely get covered....or was this apples plan all along......
    Reply
  • house70
    alphiwell done mom, now this kid is either going to grow up hating large multinational corporations or having no respect or appreciation for the value of things.....LOL...
    Hating large multinational corporations? What's wrong with that?
    Appreciation for the value of things? Come on! That is entirely subjective. Value is what something is worth to someone, something perceived. For instance, some people would say the value of that phone is high, e=whereas others will say it's worthless. Unless you mistake value for price...
    Reply
  • masterasia
    "Rub it hard"
    Reply
  • SoiledBottom
    Ifixit Milf
    Reply
  • camel82
    IMHO the tradeoff "better scratched than cracked" is not bad.
    And anyway it is better Al or gorilla glass than plastic, until someone starts using Glock polymer for phones, which seems quite overklilling to me (pun intended).
    Reply
  • fuzznarf
    house70LOL...Hating large multinational corporations? What's wrong with that?You probably don't drive a car or take the bus, ride a bike, use a phone, a computer, watch tv, listen to the radio, read newspapers or books, or do anything else that has made your daily life a breeze by those large multinational corporations that provide goods and services man wants, needs, and desires. Companies only get big by providing something that people want. Not one business have ever succeeded in proving this concept wrong.
    Reply
  • innocent bystander
    Awesome video.

    I'd love to see what she does to the rest of the electronics in the house now that she's been conditioned that rubbing the iPhone with a set of keys and a steel ring is "cool"

    "WOW, daddy's football trophy! 60" Plasma TV!... this will be even more awesome than the iPhone with the keys! I can't wait for the praise I'm going to get for this one!!!"

    IB
    Reply
  • ekho
    Old video by the way; It's not News :-\
    Reply