Recently, many consumers who received their new iPhone 17 Pro series have reported that applying a screen protector to the iPhone 17 leaves noticeable scratches even when lightly touching the frame with the positioning frame of a dust-free screen protector tool. On September 22, a digital blogger analyzed that this issue may be secondary to the "oxidation lacquer" process.
The iPhone 17 Pro series features a unibody aluminum alloy design, with the frame and rear camera module formed as a single piece. A Ceramic Shield glass back panel is embedded beneath the camera module to support MagSafe charging. The blogger stated that while the Ceramic Shield glass itself is drop-resistant and scratch-resistant, the "oxidation lacquer" process applied to the glass surface is not inherently scratch-resistant, contributing to the increased scratches on the back panel.
According to CNMO, the iPhone 17 Pro series uses a 7-series aluminum alloy. 7-series aluminum alloys are primarily zinc, with small amounts of magnesium and copper added to give the alloy a hardness closer to that of steel. Apple engineers pointed out that "the 7-series aluminum alloy has a high zinc content, is not thick enough and sealed properly, or is over-polished, which can easily cause the dye in the oxide film pores to fall out." The aforementioned blogger suggested that this may mean that the iPhone 17 Pro series is not more susceptible to scratches, but rather that scratches are more noticeable, which is the main reason for the "severe scratches."
In addition, in response to the question of why Apple didn't switch to 6-series aluminum alloy, the blogger stated that the iPhone 6's tendency to bend was due to 6-series aluminum alloy. The subsequent switch to 7-series aluminum alloy solved the problem, but at the cost of "more scratches and paint peeling."
