Some models of the iPhone 12 are losing the color of their aluminum chassis, according to a new report from Svetapple.sk, which includes photos of a PRODUCT (RED) iPhone 12 model that has been visibly faded.
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The side of the iPhone 12 near the on / off button has faded to an orange tone and there is a clear border where the red color has disappeared.
Svetapple.sk says the iPhone was used in a transparent case, so hand rubbing was not a factor, although it is unclear whether the case itself may have caused the problem.
There have been similar reports of weakening users of the iPhone 11 and iPhone SE 2. MacRumors the t101 reader, for example, shared photos of a iPhone 11 with a dramatic loss of color at the edges. This iPhone model was also in a transparent case. Although many of the reports focused on the red iPhone models, fading was seen less frequently on the iPhone 11 models in different colors.
Some MacRumors readers speculated that the color fade is due to exposure to ultraviolet rays enabled by the transparent box, but the problem would probably be more widespread if it were an ultraviolet exposure problem. There was also speculation that the problem could be caused by a chemical reaction with a case, but there is no clear explanation.
There are a limited number of reports about color fading, but this is a problem that seems to have persisted for years, as there are also complaints about the iPhone XR. In addition to the iPhone 12 photos shared by Svetapple.sk, we have not seen similar reports of color loss on other iPhone 12 devices and this may be a manufacturing defect that is not widespread.
Apple probably considers color fading to be a cosmetic problem, so it is not known whether devices that are suffering from color loss will be replaced.