Early reports have suggested that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air are more vulnerable to scratches and scuffs, primarily due to damage spotted at Apple Stores.
Apple customers have discovered that the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models Apple has out for display at its retail locations have scratching in the area of the MagSafe charger. Those devices are handled by hundreds to thousands of people a day and are also attached to proprietary metal charging stands, so it's been unclear if iPhone models owned by customers will see the same issues.
YouTuber JerryRigEverything did a scratch test over the weekend, and his results suggest there is an area of the iPhone 17 Pro that's vulnerable to scratching, but it's not where Apple Store iPhones are seeing damage.
The iPhone 17 Pro models are made from aluminum this year, and Apple uses an anodization process to add color. The process provides a strong, scratch resistant finish that is similar to sapphire in terms of hardness. It's not easily scratched, and JerryRigEverything demonstrated that most of the iPhone 17 Pro's shell is going to hold up well against minor scratches, including the area where the Ceramic Shield 2 cutout is located for MagSafe charging.
Most is the key word when it comes to testing, because there is a vulnerable area. The camera plateau has a sharp, raised edge that is not chamfered, and it is a weak spot where the anodized layer is not well-adhered. The aluminum coating in the camera area does scratch easily.
Items typically found in a pocket, like keys and coins, did not cause damage anywhere on the iPhone 17 Pro, except at the edges of the camera plateau.
The scratch test results suggest that iPhone 17 Pro owners won't have to worry about the kind of scratching seen on iPhone models in Apple retail stores, but the camera is an area of concern. It is likely to get scratched, so if you're worried about that, you might want to use a case to prevent it. The coating on the iPhone 17 Pro models is thin, so more significant drops could cause damage in other areas.
Apple doesn't use the same anodization process for the iPhone Air as it does for the aluminum iPhone 17 Pro models. Apple has described its titanium coating process in the past, and it uses Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) to deposit a thin layer of colored titanium on the iPhone. It's possible the iPhone Air is more vulnerable than the iPhone 17 Pro, though it is looking like the scratched models in retail stores may have been damaged by the metal on the chargers that Apple uses.