“Many assume that Apple is using Corning’s Gorilla glass for the iPhone 5 but Apple’s latest patent puts that into question to a certain degree,” Jack Purcher reports for Patently Apple. “Especially in light of Apple’s use of thinner In-Cell glass, Apple may have used a new process for strengthening their thinner glass.”
“The patent doesn’t confirm if the patent pending process was used in the manufacture of the current iPhone 5 or is one destined for future iDevices,” Purcher reports, “but it’s abundantly clear that Apple has a new process for strengthening thin glass that involves the use of a very sophisticated ‘Glass Ion Exchange Bath’ system.”
Much more, including Apple’s patent application illustrations and diagrams, in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
Trust Apple to make a breakthrough in the optical industry…
Tempering glass lenses will never be the same again…
Necessity beats all other reasons for innovating.
“thinner In-Cell glass”
Weird phrasing; there is no “In-Cell glass”. In-Cell is about moving touch sensors into the matrix itself, so it has nothing to do with glass per se aside of getting rid of separate touch-layer glass.
Also, there is no doubt that Apple uses Gorilla glass.
However, it does not prohibit Apple using additional glass processing (baths or whatever else) that would be done during manufacturing, pre-assembly.
I wonder how much profit does Apple make of the $149 charged when replacing broken glass (Iphone 5)?