I finally got a chance to call Apple about the defect in my Jet Black Apple Watch. I told them about how there is a piece of bare unpainted silver aluminum that is exposed and how it takes away from the Jet Black experience. It seems like a manufacturing defect since the spot where the coating has come off is right where the screen meets the body.

If I was the one who scraped the watch, the screen would also have taken damage, but the screen is perfect.

The Apple representatives were able to validate my claim with photos that I sent them through their internal portal, and they said since I just got the watch a little bit over a month ago, we can just take this back as a return and we will send you a new watch!

I was quite surprised by that, but I was happy that they were addressing the issue. 

What they basically did was process my watch as a returned item like it was still within 14 days, and then they sent a replacement unit out free of charge. I’m still waiting on the new watch, but I will give it a close inspection when it arrives. 

I told them on the phone that I did go to a store a week ago to address this issue, and they confirmed verbally with me that when you call Apple instead of going in-store, they have more leeway to accommodate for certain issues. 

I can confirm this is true because when I had the Vision Pro, they told me over the phone that we are offering people a one-month return window since there are many challenges with people finding the right size and fitment for their face. I did have to swap out a face shield at least once, but I was still not able to get a good fit, and ended up returning the Vision Pro about a month later. 

If you need to get assistance from Apple and they can’t meet your expectations when you go in store, it might be worth your while to give them a call. Be courteous, friendly, and thorough with your explanation, and odds are they will try to accommodate you as best as they can.

I made it to the Apple Store, and told them what was wrong with the Jet Black watch. Gave them the full spiel.

The Genius was very sympathetic to my (minor) frustration, but he said that since it looks like cosmetic damage, Apple won’t cover that minor flaw. Since it has been out of the 14 day return period, I can’t just do a return and get out of the situation.

I was not happy with that answer, and explained to the Genius that if I had smacked the watch at that spot where the “rugged” Jet Black coating rubbed off, the screen would have cracked or scratched since it is right at the junction between glass and metal. I told them that it is a manufacturing defect.

It was out of the Genius’ hands, and even his manager had the same thing to say once again (roughly quoting:)

“If it is out of the 14 day period, we can’t return it and you would have to file a claim. From what I’ve seen in the past, the repair depot will just look at it and consider it cosmetic damage and you will get the same watch returned back to you. Since we don’t know for a fact what happened to the watch, we have to assume customer error.”

My next step is to try and call Apple directly and try to explain it to them on the phone. The Genius said it is more likely they will replace the watch as a manufacturer defect when you call them since in-person store interactions are more cut and dry, and there is less leeway to make exceptions.

Stay tuned.

It’s been 28 days since I have been wearing the Jet Black Series 10 Apple Watch, and I am impressed with its durability, except for one minor flaw that I would call a manufacturing defect. 

We’ll get to that part at the end.

Part of this past month involved me taking the watch on an international 10-day trip and purposefully leaving my Stainless Steel Series 9 at home so I would have no choice but to always wear the Jet Black. 

There were some moments where I did smack the watch in the shower, or on a wall just maneuvering through the hotel room, but thankfully the Jet Black finish is still flawless. 

I tried to find scratches today under the harshest light that I have, but I could not find any. 

The fact that I needed harsh light to even look for scratches tells you something.

It looks like Apple has improved their manufacturing technique for the Jet Black finish when compared to the iPhone 7. Even if there were scratches, the rounded nature of the watch hides them well since every curve of the watch reflects light and masks any scratches that might be there. 

The only flat surface with a jet black finish on this watch is the digital crown capacitive sensor, and even that was scratch free. 

I even looked at the grooves where the bands are inserted, and those edges and corners were still flawless. 

Now don’t take this the wrong way. This material is aluminum after all.

If you were to put your watch through more extreme situations such as an auto mechanic who is constantly rubbing and bumping against metal parts and concrete floors, or if you are just doing some basic hiking and trip and fall and the watch smacks the ground hard, you will probably scratch the jet black finish. Normal day to day bumps won’t harm your watch, but extreme cases will.

I know when my Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus hit the floor on the corner (many years ago), the corner got scuffed and you could see regular aluminum through it. I don’t think most people need to worry about the watch taking such a tumble since most people hopefully aren’t falling down that hard.

Near the end of my watch examination, I did notice…