iPhone 5 Rear Case Scratch Test Video - MacRumors
Skip to Content

iPhone 5 Rear Case Scratch Test Video

by

In response to concerns about the durability of the Black iPhone 5's back shell, iFixIt has posted a video pitting a black iPhone 5 against a 2 year old with a set of keys.


Again, this video shows more purposeful abuse to the iPhone 5 than in daily usage, but they do compare it to an iPhone 4S glass backing. As expected, the glass back is not as susceptible to blemishes as the iPhone 5 with the same amount of abuse.

Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

mrxak Avatar
mrxak
181 months ago
Apple can't win. They use a hard material like glass, people slam them on the ground and cry about the glass breaking. They use a softer material like anodized aluminum, and people key the thing and cry about little scratches.

I prefer the glass, but oh well, nobody understands how good glass is until they see the alternative. This is like people complaining about the paint job on their Bentley after they drove it through a barrier into a ditch.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
D
deekon
181 months ago
To be fair, NOTHING is safe from a 2 year old with a set of keys.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spiderman0616 Avatar
spiderman0616
181 months ago
Is this seriously what we are resorting to now for news clicks? If you gouge a 2 year old a set of keys and have her bang the crap out of an iPhone, it scratches. SCUFFGATE.

I'm seriously worried for humanity.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
inscrewtable Avatar
inscrewtable
181 months ago
This is shocking and made me wonder about the build quality of my iMac, sure enough I pushed it off the desk and the 27" behemoth hit the wooden floor with a sickening crunching sound, now it's broken. If it wasn't for this iPhone exposé I'd never have thought to check.

Later I'll be putting an electric drill to my Gibson and seeing if my arm can withstand a pass under a circular saw.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iParis Avatar
iParis
181 months ago
I don't mind it getting scratched that much. To me the device looks like it will hold together really well.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TonyC28 Avatar
TonyC28
181 months ago
Milf
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

Apple Intelligence Comes Under Fire Feature

Apple Will 'Watch Everything Burn' When AI Bubble Bursts - Ed Zitron

Monday July 27, 2026 7:11 am PDT by
Memory prices have doubled, Macs and iPads have gone up, and iPhones are expected to follow. Ed Zitron – who writes the Where's Your Ed At newsletter, hosts the Better Offline podcast, and has been described by Politico as the AI boom's most "acerbic gadfly" – has spent years arguing the buildout driving those costs will never pay for itself. We asked him what happens to Apple if he's...
Read Full Article • 267 comments
imac video apple feature

Apple Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever This Year

Wednesday July 29, 2026 12:03 pm PDT by
Apple this year acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014. This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019. Q.ai...
Read Full Article
iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching in Two Months With These 12 New Features

Friday July 24, 2026 7:26 pm PDT by
It is now late July, and that means the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are less than two months away. The devices are expected to look similar to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, but there will still be many year-over-year changes, with rumored features including a smaller Dynamic Island, 5G via satellite, and more. Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro...
Read Full Article