And even if Apple service is above-par in the US, it's decidedly average outside of the US. I have a 6s with the aluminum corrosion issue[0], but "cosmetic damage isn't covered". At least when I still lived in the EU I had consumer rights laws to fall back on.

[0] mine looks far worse than this http://forums.macrumors.com/attachments/image-jpeg.641961/

Woah, Aluminum doesn't corode very readily.

Do you work around mercury vapors, by chance? I wonder if it could also be something unusual in your sweat (perhaps from your diet)?

The prevailing theory is that it's a manufacturing defect in a small number of early devices (mostly ones shipped around launch day) related to some flaw in the anodization process. Since it hasn't happened to enough devices to warrant a class action, it doesn't make it on Apple's radar so it's just "cosmetic damage". In some cases Apple Store/Authorized Retailer staff has blamed it on third-party cases or protectors, but I had mine in an Apple case.

To be pedantic, aluminum corrodes very rapidly in air, but the surface rust (aluminum oxide) is stable and shields the underlying metal. Aluminum oxide mixed with whatever dye Apple used, on the other hand…

Forming an oxide layer isn't corrosion. Corrosion results in loss of material like the pitting you see in that photo. You are correct that the oxide layer prevents corrosion, though.

Touché; I've been out-pedanted!

Residue from the manufacturing?

Almost anything corrodes very easily under human skin contact. If you take a pH testing kit, and put a drop on your skin, you'll notice you're pushing fairly acidic levels.

I destroy guitar strings on a near-weekly basis, despite all the anti-corrosion plating tech they have.

No, annodized aluminum is very resistant to corrosion. Guitar strings are made out of steel, which rusts readily and plating doesn't adhere as well to flexible materials like wires.

You use an acid flux to remove the oxidation on aluminum. Guess what your sweat will do if it is acidic enough? Hobo soldering tip 101 - no flux, use your sweat if you can get away with sodium in your solder and your solder has no flux.

My phone was in an Apple Smart Battery Case the whole time it turned bad, no skin contact.

Bendgate was more a problem of BS media reporting than actual hardware issue.

And Apple's service has topped "customer satisifaction" lists for years on end.

Definitely. I'm a big guy, and I've literally stepped and sat on my 6 plus a dozen times (I can be clumsy) over the two years I had it. I compared it to a straight edge before I upgraded and there wasn't even a tiny bit of bending.

Apple service is next to perhaps only Amex, if any. Perhaps.

Try to close your AMEX account, then watch the veil of friendliness drop. I had two accounts and called to close one. The lady yelled at me (yelled!) because I didnt feel like I needed to give them a reason for closing the account beyond "I dont want it anymore".

Along these lines, Discover has also been fantastic in my experience. One of the only no-annual-fee cards that gets you a person on the phone with no automated button pressing.

I've moved all my banking (credit card, checking, savings) to Discover and I've had great experiences any time I had to call them - except they refuse to lower my APR despite great credit. Oh well, I don't carry a balance so it's just the principle of the thing. And for no annual fee, the cash back is quite nice, and it has extended warranty and purchase price protection too!

I'm not a shill, I promise. I just really like my Discover relationship.

As a student currently building credit, they've also been quite helpful with increasing my credit limit when requested or giving me useful feedback on what I should work on before I request another increase.

Not sure I agree.

I've owned 3 different models of iPhone and the premium support (if you pay it) is worth the price, aside from the issue of booking a time I always leave the apple store with my device fixed or replaced, I never have to come back another day and they always take my complaint very seriously (even showing me diagnostics indicating potential other issues I had not noticed).

I cannot fault Apple's customer service at all, in fact, it's why I still buy their phones instead of going through the impressive hoops I used to go through with sony-ericsson and nokia phones.

About 1 month after it was first reported, I bent my phone by accidentally sitting on it, and the Apple Store exchanged it immediately without counting against my AppleCare count.