iPhone 7 revealed in five colours, including easily-scratching Jet Black

The Jet Black colour is the exclusive member of Apple’s new line-up, and has been showered with attention - but there appears to be one big drawback

The new iPhone colours (Apple)

Apple’s top-of-the-line new colour for its iPhone could easily scratch and should probably be put in a case, the company has said.

The iPhone 7 was released in five new colours. Those included three that were part of the line-up before – gold, rose gold and silver – but also black and “Jet Black”, a new, glossy colour.

That latter finish is new for the iPhone line, which tends to come in just a matte, brushed aluminium. And it is more exclusive than the others, only being available in the two largest storage sizes.

But owners of those phones have already been advised by Apple that they could easily scratch. That problem is so significant that owners might be best putting their new phones into a case and hiding them away, Apple’s tech specs page says.

“The high-gloss finish of the jet black iPhone 7 is achieved through a precision nine-step anodization and polishing process,” a message on Apple’s new iPhone 7 site reads. “Its surface is equally as hard as other anodized Apple products; however, its high shine may show fine micro-abrasions with use. If you are concerned about this, we suggest you use one of the many cases available to protect your iPhone.”

None of the scratching means that the phone will actually be more likely to break or to be any less durable. It simply means that the finish might be more easily scuffed and so should be treated more carefully.