Dbrand
is
scrapping
plans
to
fix
its
anti-yellowing
Ghost
Case,
but
not
because
it
yellows
—
it’s
that
it
scratches
very
easily.
The
company
had
promised
in
November
to
ship
free
replacements
with
scratch-resistant
coatings,
but
now
it’s
telling
customers
via
email
they’ll
have
to
wait.
Most
of
its
production
run
of
those
ended
up
“unshippable,”
the
company
says,
so
instead
it’s
sending
a
redesigned
“Ghost
2.0”
this
summer.
Essentially,
it’s
a
delay.
The
company
says
that
its
first
test
runs
of
the
newly-coated
cases
looked
good,
but
when
it
tried
to
manufacture
them
at
scale,
the
coatings
got
all
gloppy
at
the
edges:
As
you
can
imagine,
after
developing
a
zero-yellowing
anti-scratch
solution
that
was
the
first
of
its
kind,
we
were
quite
excited
to
pull
the
trigger
on
mass
production.
Last
week,
our
first
mass-produced
stock
cleared
the
production
lines.
During
quality
control
inspections,
we
immediately
knew
that
something
was
different
between
the
short
run
of
“process
validation”
samples
we’d
approved
for
mass
production
and
what
was
actually
coming
off
the
tools.
A
significant
portion
of
the
units
we
inspected
were
showing
signs
of
coating
buildup
and
inconsistencies.
See
the
edges,
how
they
glop!Image:
Dbrand
Dbrand
CEO
Adam
Ijaz
tells
The
Verge
that
while
the
company
has
ended
“the
active
development
and
manufacture
of
Ghost
1.0”
(that’s
what
Dbrand
means
when
it
says
it
will
“discontinue”
the
case),
it
still
has
stock
available.
He
added
that
the
company
intends
“to
offer
an
upgraded product
to
all
Ghost
customers,
regardless
of
their
satisfaction
with
the
product.”
Indeed,
you
can
still
buy
it
for
iPhone,
Pixel,
and
Galaxy
phones,
but
a
disclaimer
on
the
page
for
each
version
says
buyers
will
get
the
2.0
case
for
free
“later
this
year.”
Dbrand’s
original
case
“after
two
months
of
use.”Image:
Dbrand
The
company
says
it’s
been
“spending
boatloads”
to
acquire
new
manufacturing
equipment
to
make
the
Ghost
2.0,
which
it
says
it’s
been
designing
since
last
year
when
it
originally
announced
the
replacement
program.
It
also
acknowledges
that
the
anti-scratch
coating
it
was
working
on
was
just
a
“band-aid”
fix,
as
scratching
is
an
“inescapable,
fundamental
problem
with
plastic,”
and
that
cases
using
the
coating
would
have
eventually
scratched,
too.
Dbrand
used
polycarbonate
in
its
original
design
because
the
gummier
alternative,
TPU,
has
a
problem
with
yellowing.
The
company
originally
advertised
that
“you’ll
die
before”
its
clear
polycarbonate
yellows.
The
company
doesn’t
say
in
its
email
what
it’s
doing
with
the
new
case,
but
if
that
scratching
problem
is
inescapable,
I
have
to
wonder
what
the
company
is
doing
to
deal
with
that
issue
and
keep
the
case
clear.
(I
doubt
Dbrand
unlocked
the
secret
to
the
transparisteel
of
Star
Wars
lore.)
I
asked
Ijaz
in
a
follow-up
email
what
the
company
is
doing
with
the
new
design,
and
I’ll
update
here
when
he
responds.
(Originally posted by Wes Davis)
Comments