iPhone SE (2022) Oleophobiccoating on new phone

[jm31828]

I bought a new SE3 recently and noticed the oleophobic coating was working well, showing nearly no fingerprints with use.

I had returned returned the phone for another SE3 and am finding that this phone, right out of the box shows a ton of fingerprints when I use it for even a few minutes.

Is it normal to have different effectiveness of the coating going from one phone to the next? It just seems odd, hoping I didn’t somehow get a used/refurb device. (Bought from Apple, new- so I suspect that’s not possible)

 

[Andeddu]

Why did you return the original phone?

 

[jm31828]

Why did you return the original phone?

Kind of a long story, but I had bought an SE as I was wanting a smaller phone with LCD due to very slight PWM sensitivity on OLED displays. After a week or so I decided that I wanted to try the Mini instead (especially after reading that PWM seemed manageable on the 13 Mini), so I tried that and decided that I liked the SE better, so I returned it and bought another SE.

It was a rather dumb situation, but I waited until almost the 14th day until determining I wanted to try the Mini, so I didn't have time to hang onto both for a while.

 

[Andeddu]

Unlikely you received a refurbished unit if you purchased it new. There are likely variables in the application of oleophobic coating so I would consider your situation normal. You should consider using a high quality glass screen protector such as a Spigen which, I believe, has the same coating.

 

[jm31828]

Unlikely you received a refurbished unit if you purchased it new. There are likely variables in the application of oleophobic coating so I would consider your situation normal. You should consider using a high quality glass screen protector such as a Spigen which, I believe, has the same coating.

Thanks! Yeah, I remember on previous phones I've had, right out of the box they were fingerprint magnets which led me to believe Apple went light on the oleophobic coating, or maybe it wasn't there anymore at all- and screen protectors always did a better job of repelling fingerprints than the actual screen itself. I just haven't put one on this new phone yet, and it was interesting to see the difference between the two devices here.

 

[mavis]

I really notice the presence (or lack of!) oleophobic coating on new devices. In general, I find the coating either completely worn off or utterly ineffective, within 2-3 months of getting a new device.

That said, I'm finding that I clean the screen on my iPhone 14 Pro Max far less often than on previous iPhones. I think it's because of the AOD. Since I never see the screen completely black, I don't notice fingerprints as much as with previous iPhones. I just got my phone about two weeks ago but in that time I think I've only cleaned the screen once. 🤔 So I'm hoping that the coating lasts longer on this phone.