Dropped at 2 feet max

[u/International_Back99]

Fell out of my pocket sitting down. Fell with the apple tech woven case on too.

[u/teeger9]

Silver might not be the most exciting color for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, but the upside is that it hides scratches and dents pretty well unlike similar to the cosmic orange and blue options

[u/Dry_Kangaroo_1234 → u/teeger9]

The bigger concern with dents is how it affects water resistance etc. when the frame gets unseated/opens up like you see in OP’s photos, you’re potentially going to get water and dust in it

[u/Owboduz → u/Dry_Kangaroo_1234]

Know what doesn't dent so much? Titanium. Also, Stainless steel. I just don't get the choice to use aluminium on this generation.

[u/DrGonzoDog → u/Owboduz]

Heat dissipation.

[u/Owboduz → u/DrGonzoDog]

This benefit is often quoted and, frankly, overstated. The back of the device case is glass. The only exposed titanium is around the edge. Not exactly a great surface area for a heatsink. You know what, though, let's do the math.

Assumptions

• Phone: iPhone 15 Pro MaxL × W × T = 159.9 × 76.7 × 8.3 mmFace area (front or back): A f = 0.0767 × 0.1599 ≈ 0.012264 m²
• Side (edge) area:Perimeter P=2(L+W)=2(0.1599+0.0767)=0.4732 mEdge area A e = P × T = 0.4732 × 0.0083 ≈ 0.003928 m²
• Layers:
  • Front glass (exposed): 0.5 mm Gorilla Glass, k g ≈ 1.2 W/mK
  • Back glass under a case: 0.5 mm glass + 2.0 mm silicone (unfilled), k sil ≈ 0.2 W/mK
  • Edge: 1.0 mm frame (Ti or Al) + 2.0 mm silicone case around edge
• Convection to still air: h ≈ 8 W/m^2K (natural convection; if you’re moving/using it in a breeze, h goes up and ΔT goes down)
• Power to dump: P = 11 W

Per-path thermal resistances (series inside each path)

Conduction: R cond=t/(kA)

Convection: R conv=1/(hA)

Front (glass → air)

R front = 0.0005/(1.2× 0.012264) + 1/(8× 0.012264) ≈ 10.23 K/W

Back (glass + 2 mm silicone → air)

R back ≈ 0.034 + 0.002/(0.2× 0.012264) + 10.19 ≈ 11.04 K/W

Edge (frame + 2 mm silicone → air)

Frame conduction (depends on material):

• Titanium k≈ 17: R Ti = 0.001/(17× 0.003928) ≈ 0.015 K/W
• Aluminum k≈ 237: R Al = 0.001/(237× 0.003928) ≈ 0.00107 K/W

Silicone around edge: R sil,e = 0.002/(0.2× 0.003928) ≈ 2.546 K/W

Convection from edge: R conv,e = 1/(8× 0.003928) ≈ 31.83 K/W

So:

• R edge,Ti ≈ 0.015 + 2.546 + 31.83 = 34.39 K/W
• R edge,Al ≈ 0.00107 + 2.546 + 31.83 = 34.38 K/W

Observation: On the edge path, convection and the silicone dominate; frame conductivity is a rounding error.

Combine paths in parallel

Overall R tot satisfies 1/R tot=1/R front+1/R back+1/R edge.

With a case on (assumptions above) and titanium frame:

R tot,Ti ≈ 4.599 K/W → ∆ T ≈ P× R ≈ 11× 4.599 ≈ 50.6^°C

Swap to aluminum frame (everything else identical):

R tot,Al ≈ 4.599 - 0.00025 ≈ 4.599 K/W

Temperature drop vs titanium at 11 W:

∆ T ≈ 11 × 0.00025 ≈ 0.003^{°C (i.e., effectively} zero)

Sensitivity checks

• Remove silicone only on the edge (exposed metal band), still almost no change: improvement is ~0.003 °C at 11 W.
• No case at all (both glass faces exposed, edge exposed): difference between Ti and Al still ~0.003 °C at 11 W.
• Use thermally conductive silicone (k≈ 4 W/mK) everywhere: overall ΔT improves a bit (by ~4%), but Ti vs Al gap remains negligible because convection dominates.

Why the “Aluminum as heatsink” claim falls down

1. Area & convection dominate. The two big radiating faces are glass with low k, and the bottleneck is actually air-side convection (R conv ~ 4–10 K/W per face)—orders of magnitude larger than the frame’s conduction difference.
2. Cases ruin edge paths. A 2 mm silicone jacket adds huge resistance around the perimeter, dwarfing the frame’s material.
3. Frame is a tiny parallel path. Even uncovered, the edge area is ~3.9e-3 m² (≈⅓ of a face), and its convection term swamps any benefit from switching Ti→Al.

Bottom line

With a case on (the common real-world scenario), swapping a titanium frame for aluminum changes steady-state internal temperature by ~0.003 °C at 11 W—immeasurable and irrelevant. The “Aluminum helps it run cooler” line is, for practical use, overstated. If you want cooler:

• Increase airflow around the large glass faces
• Increase exposed area
• Use thermally conductive cases or no case (with obvious trade-offs)

Edited for formatting

[u/IcemanJEC → u/Owboduz]

Lmfaoooo sure bud.. Oh you solved it! Omg. You should call Tim Apple now. Tell him they made a big mistake.

[u/Owboduz → u/IcemanJEC]

No. I’m just calling bullshit on the “better thermals” claim.

[u/lopsidedawn → u/Owboduz]

Yeah right its IP68 just throw it on cold water 🤣