This video presents a durability test and design critique of the hypothetical iPhone 17 Pro, focusing on a significant flaw in its new aluminum unibody design. The core issue lies with the camera plateau, which features sharp, 90-degree corners. While the anodized aluminum oxide coating is extremely hard (Level 9 on the Mohs scale), it is inherently weak on sharp edges due to insufficient substrate for proper adhesion. This design choice, which ignores established international and military standards for anodizing, results in a coating that is highly susceptible to chipping from everyday contact with objects like coins and keys. While the phone excels in structural rigidity—passing bend and flame tests with zero flex or damage—and features a highly scratch-resistant Ceramic Shield 2 screen, this cosmetic flaw on the camera plateau is deemed unavoidable without a protective case.
iPhone 17 Pro Durability Test: A Major Design Flaw Exposed
0:00 A Critical Design Flaw: The iPhone 17 Pro's camera plateau has extremely sharp, 90-degree corners. This is a significant design flaw because the hard, anodized aluminum coating (Level 9 on Mohs scale) does not adhere well to sharp edges and is prone to chipping.
0:52 Stronger Unibody Construction: The new aluminum unibody design is praised as a durable improvement over previous glass-sandwich models. The phone's main body is highly resistant to scratches from everyday objects.
2:07 Advanced Screen Durability: The screen uses Corning's Ceramic Shield 2, which shows high resistance to scratches. Marks from level 6 and 7 picks on the Mohs scale are almost invisible, though a level 8 pick still causes significant damage.
4:50 The Flaw Demonstrated: In real-world tests, contact with a coin and a key immediately chips the anodized coating off the sharp corners of the camera plateau, exposing the silver aluminum underneath. The flat surfaces, however, remain completely undamaged by the same objects.
6:07 Ignoring Industry Standards: Apple's design choice to use sharp corners directly contradicts established international (ISO) and US military standards, which recommend machining a small radius onto edges before anodizing to ensure the coating's durability.
7:04 Purely Cosmetic Damage: The chipping is a cosmetic issue and does not affect the phone's functionality. However, it is an unavoidable flaw that will degrade the phone's appearance over time.
7:51 Exceptional Structural Rigidity: The iPhone 17 Pro, being a solid block of aluminum, is incredibly strong. It passes the bend test with zero flex, cracks, or creeks, demonstrating excellent structural integrity.
8:02 Survives the Flame Test: The OLED display is unaffected by the heat from a lighter, even after 30 seconds of direct exposure.
8:33 The Only Solution is a Case: The video concludes that the only way to prevent the inevitable cosmetic chipping on the camera plateau is to use a protective case with a raised lip around the camera system.