Apple’s iPhone 6 is not coming in May, but it is coming with sapphire

“Because Apple sells more than 150 million iPhones a year, certain kinds of secrecy surrounding the company’s ubiquitous smartphone have become impossible,” Mark Rogowsky writes for Forbes. “One recent example concerns the apparent switch for the upcoming iPhone to sapphire as a screen coating, replacing the thin piece of glass that has been there since 2007.”

“Last November, Apple paid $578 million to GT Advanced Technologies in Arizona to help it produce lots and lots of sapphire, which is used in high-end watches because it’s so durable and scratch resistant. But what wasn’t yet clear was whether that meant Apple would be taking the big step of covering the whole iPhone screen with i,” Rogowsky writes. “Up till now, Apple has used sapphire only to cover the camera lens and the iPhone 5s fingerprint sensor. And with the rumored iWatch, it seemed possible that GT Advanced was going to make sapphire crystal primarily for that product. By carefully examining GT’s statements surrounding its earnings report, however, we can clearly understand (1) that its definitely making sapphire crystal for the iPhone and (2) the iPhone won’t be out till the second half of 2014, as is normal.”

Read more in the full article here.

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