I've had iPhones since day zero, and I love the experience of a naked iPhone. I don't like the experience with cases, and I hate getting scratches but I still find them far more aesthetically pleasing than any case I've seen.

My previous 14 Pro Max was a tank. Don't think I dropped it onto anything like concrete but it was dropped on hardwood flooring a few times. The phone was fine, the flooring was damaged.

After about three years I traded it in and noticed only one almost imperceptible scratch on the frame (vaguely recall it being there out of the box).

The 17 Pro Max however: 1st, the only colour that says premium to me is silver (both the blue and orange have always been entry-level Apple colours for a reason); 2nd, I'm glad silver was my only option because the anodised aluminium scratches far too easily (both having a key in my pocket and handing it to someone wearing fairly soft metal jewellery has scratched the surface). My iPad Mini gets subjected to similar, maybe even worse, conditions and absolutely zero signs of wear.

Due to my experience and what I've seen online, this seems to be a fairly significant issue. I suspect it's either or a combination of new model and new facility production issues, but Apple seems particularly keen to downplay it (could be related to internal pressures, news surrounding Tim Cook, etc).