Summary

Gruber follows up on a post about iPhone scratch resistance to address a widespread misconception about camera lenses. Readers worried about setting their iPhones down lens-side on hard surfaces, fearing permanent camera damage. He clarifies that the exposed circles on the back are not the actual lenses but sapphire covers over the smaller, spherical, recessed lenses inside. Sapphire is far harder than glass and nearly impossible to scratch under normal use. Even if scratched, a lens cover scratch would have virtually no effect on photo quality due to how camera optics actually work.

Key Insight

iPhone camera 'lenses' are actually sapphire covers — nearly unscratchable in normal use — and even if scratched, the optics of modern cameras mean image quality would be unaffected.

Spicy Quotes (click to share)

• 2

  The exposed lens covers are made of sapphire, not glass, and are thus incredibly scratch-resistant. They're by far the most scratch-resistant parts of the phone.

• 3

  I've never once found even a tiny scratch on any of my iPhone camera lens covers, and I've never taken any particular care to avoid scratching them.

• 2

  Sapphire is far more likely to shatter than scratch, because it's so hard.

• 4

  Don't try scratching your lenses with a diamond hardness pick and you'll be fine.

• 3

  Also, believe it or not, a fine scratch on the lens cover will almost certainly not affect image quality at all.

• 3

  It's counterintuitive but the surface of the lens is not where light is focused — the sensor, inside the camera, is.

• 2

  That's not a silly thing to worry about.

Tone

informative, reassuring, practical