“While Apple remains coy about plans to incorporate sapphire into its product lineup, a new patent application published on Thursday suggests the company is at the least experimenting with the hard material for use in touch-capable displays,” Mikey Campbell reports for AppleInsider.
“Apple’s ‘Oleophobic coating on sapphire’ patent application represents some of the first hard evidence that the Cupertino, Calif. company is looking to include sapphire in its iPhone lineup,” Campbell reports. “Aside from the illustration of an iPhone on the filing’s cover page, Apple’s document makes repeated mention of sapphire displays in phones, tablets and other portable devices.”
“Specifically, the filing describes in detail the methods by which an oleophobic, or oil-repelling, coating can be applied to a sapphire slab prior to installation in a mobile device. Oleophobic coatings were first used by Apple with the iPhone 3GS in an attempt to counter the buildup of oil and other detritus inevitable with a touchscreen display,” Campbell reports. “In November, Apple signed a $578 million deal with sapphire producer GT Advanced Technologies to supply the super hard material for an as-yet-unseen product component. Many analysts and insiders speculate the partnership, which birthed a dedicated sapphire plant in Arizona, will inevitably lead to sapphire displays.”
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.]
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