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One element of many reviews for the iPhone 12 Pro is its stainless steel frame, which many users pointed out is easy to muddy up with fingerprints. However, one of the iPhone 12 Pro variants may avoid this fate thanks to its design.

Not every iPhone 12 Pro is created equal, apparently. That’s according to Matthew Panzarino’s review of the iPhone 12 Pro, which he published earlier today for TechCrunch. He notes that most of the iPhone 12 Pro models feature a physical vapor deposition process for edge coating. However, that’s not the case with the gold variant of the smartphone.

Panzarino says that Apple opted to use a “special, high-power, impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) process” that effectively “lays down the coating in a super dense pattern”. This methodology means that frame around the gold iPhone 12 Pro is brighter, but also still remarkably tough. It has a molecular structure that makes it more durable than the standard method:

Most of the iPhone 12 Pro finishes still use a physical vapor deposition process for edge coating. But the new gold (which I do not have in person but looks great) uses a special high-power, impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) process that lays down the coating in a super dense pattern, allowing it to be tough and super bright with a molecular structure that mimics the stainless steel underneath — making it more durable than “standard” PVD. One side effect is that it’s easier to wipe clean and takes on less fingerprints, something that my blue model was, uh, definitely prone to.

The fact it’s less susceptible to fingerprints is one thing. But it’s Panzarino’s mention that the stainless steel frame on the gold iPhone 12 Pro is more durable that really raises the eyebrows. This could mean the frame doesn’t get dinged up as easily as the other iPhone 12 Pro models may. This could be an important element to someone out there considering the various color options for the iPhone 12 Pro, especially for someone who is leaning towards the gold model.

Be sure to check out our review roundup for both the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro.

Did you pre-order the gold iPhone 12 Pro? If so, does this detail make you even happier with that decision?