“The iPhone 6 could feature sapphire glass display that doesn’t scratch even if concrete is rubbed on it, as Apple put half a billion dollars on the technology,” Karla Danica Figuerres reports for International Business Times.
“Currently, sapphire glass is already seen on the Touch ID home button and the lens cover of the iPhone 5s, but it is rumoured that the whole display of the much anticipated iPhone 6 will be turned into sapphire glass that can handle a significant amount of abuse,” Figuerres reports. “According to the marketing director at GT Advanced Technology, Jeff Nestel-Patt, the technology is “virtually scratch free.” Sapphire glass is approximately 2.5 times more durable than the famous Corning Gorilla Glass which is utilised in several smartphones in the market today. As a matter of fact, the sapphire glass can simply break pieces of concrete leaving no scratches on it.”
“Apple paid a total of $578 million to GT Advanced Technologies to speed up “the development of its next generation, large capacity ASFs [Advanced Sapphire Furnaces] to deliver low cost, high volume manufacturing of sapphire material,'” Figuerres reports. “This move is meant to keep the costs of the sapphire screen lower which will be allegedly utilised on Apple’s next flagship smartphone – the iPhone 6.”
Read more in the full article here.
Shouldn’t it read, “Apple rumored to spend half a billion dollars on sapphire glass”?
If it’s a rumored product, the expenditure is rumored as well, right?
The expenditure is real, what Apple is going to use it for is comes out through rumors, educational guesses, stabs in the dark, conjecture, manipulation and other journanalistic tools.
Yay!
That just beer money for Apple, plus they will recoup it on the price increase and sales. Still I eagerly awaiting the 6 while still playing with my 5s.
They should make car windshields with this so that dummies who don’t wear their seat belts won’t crack it on impact. Save the insurance companies lots of money on glass and weed out the morons.
I thought the glass in cars now was meant to weed out morons?
I think you need to learn the role of laminated glass the required quality isn’t just about not being scratched or resist breaking rather less is it. It would still have to be laminated and would still break on serious contact.
Windshields in USA are laminated. ALL other glass in a car is tempered. Laminated is 2 sheets of float glass laminated together with vinyl interlayer. It is meant to break MUCH easier than tempered. Tempered will hammer a nail into a 2×4. A windshield is designed to break easily….SO YOUR SKULL DOESN’T BREAK FIRST!!!! Tempered glass is 10x as hard as your laminated windshield for a good reason my friend. If the windshield was tempered and broke while driving you would have a face full of little tempered bits of glass going in yours and everyones faces. A front windshield can stop an incoming brick and hold it in place before it penetrates. The glue is required to hold a windshield in place up to 30 mph head on impact. FMVSS318 I believe?
@ Glasshole, I work in the glass industry and assure you float glass and tempered glass have the same strength if you’re try to hammer a nail into wood. Both will break using the same force. The difference is the break pattern. Float glass breaks into large spears while tempered breaks into popcorn size pieces. Tempered glass isn’t used in laminated windshield construction because the polyvinyl inter layer keeps the float spears attached to the main structure. The purpose of the laminated windshield is to keep unbuckled vehicle occupants inside the car. This is safer than being ejected onto the roadway but can cause serious injury when stuck hard. Always wear your seat belt and check your passengers are wearing theirs.
Tempered glass is four times stronger than float glass when subject to tensile stress. This stress usually manifests itself as thermal stress. This isn’t important for cars but is an important consideration in buildings.
The relevant US safety standard for automotive windshields is FMVSS 205.
I’d rather have my iPhone and my car windshield coated with Neverwet.
But doesn’t it shatter more easily?
Sapphire glass unscratchable screen, liquid metal unscratchable body and Apple’s slick design = an ever lasting museum piece.
Bye bye cases.
“As a matter of fact, the sapphire glass can simply break pieces of concrete leaving no scratches on it.”
Wow….sapphire glass can break concrete!
Headline ‘Apple makes iPhone into deadly weapon’
Stock price goes through roof.
Samdung fans will find a way to complain
In an attempt to one-up Apple, Samsung will use diamond display screens on its smartphones.
A careless drop scratched my 5S lens. Let’s be realistic with our expectations.