An eye-opening toughness test conducted by a technology reviewer has apparently revealed that the glass used in iPhone camera lenses is not as scratch resistant as once thought. Since the iPhone 5s, Apple has touted the toughness of its camera lenses for using a hardy material known as sapphire crystal, notes JerryRigEverything.

On the Mohs Scale of Hardness sapphire will scratch at an 8 or 9 compared to regular glass which will scratch at a 5 or 6.

However, when put to a test the iPhone 7 lens cover was found to scratch at a level of 6. The result was compared against the sapphire crystal of a Tissot watch which scratched at the expected level of 8. This would put an iPhone’s scratch resistance at the same level of Corning Gorilla Glass found in most other smartphones.

After running additional tests, JerryRigEverything concluded that the iPhone camera lens does contain sapphire crystal elements, but only on the exterior of the lens. Further inspection also revealed it to be an incredibly thin coating of sapphire crystal relative to the proportion of the rest of the lens prompting the question, "How impure can your sapphire be while still being called sapphire?”

Speaking with The Verge, Apple disputed that the correct testing conditions were not adhered to in the tests. "The iPhone 7 camera lens is sapphire, and under proper testing conditions achieves the hardness and purity results expected from sapphire," said a statement from the company. It would seem that the iPhone lens is so thin that applying heavy pressure (equal to the much thicker watch) would cause the lens to fracture instead of scratch.

JerryRigEverything later clarified that the iPhone camera lens is solid sapphire and not a laminate or glass coating; however, he still stands by his testing method in the following tweet:

@jspring86az lol. Thickness has nothing to do with the hardness level. But it's cool. I like how Apple didn't say it was pure.

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Apple are confident that the iPhone 7’s glass will survive the usual day-to-day wear and tear. But with the 7 sporting a protruding camera, it’s best to avoid placing too much faith in the so-called sapphire lens.

2016-10-7 03:00