iPhone 4 Not Scratch-Free? Gorilla Glass Can be Scratched

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Earlier today we showed you the first iPhone 4 reviews and renown publications such as the New York Time, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today or online tech sites like Engadget and BoingBoing have all liked the iPhone 4. In fact the device was praised for its qualities and seen as the handset to beat this year.

And these reviews also tell a thing or two about how the new iPhone handles drops. The device survived drops from 1 to 2 feet drops and worked perfectly thereafter. That means you’ll be able to drop your new iPhone more than a few times before rendering it useless, and, whether you like it or not, that will happen.

But what about that glass that protects both the front and the back of the iPhone? While the Gorilla Glass is 30 times more durable than regular plastic, that doesn’t mean it won’t scratch. The picture above shows the Engadget test unit and there’s a visible scratch right on the back panel of the handset.

On the other hand iFixit tore down the iPhone 4 earlier and while they were able to reveal details about the front glass panel, they were not able, at least not yet, to say if the back is made of the same material. It’s definitely resistant, hardened glass, but is it exactly the same?

iPhone 4 owners won’t be happy to have their devices scratched as easily as this one. The iPhone Joshua Topolsky reviewed for Engadget has been with him for only a few days and the scratch there is pretty visible.

You could always buy iPhone 4 accessories that would protect the device from ever getting such nasty wear marks. You can consider it an investment for the future especially if you plan to sell your iPhone 4 in a year from now when the iPhone 4G will be rolled along. But it’s still annoying to see the iPhone scratch that fast.