Corning Says Devices With Flexible 'Willow Glass' Displays Unlikely to Appear for at Least Three Years

[MacRumors]

While The New York Times reported earlier this month that Apple is working on a curved glass smart watch that could potentially make use of Corning's recently-announced bendable Willow Glass, Bloomberg now reports that Corning sees a wait of at least three years before devices using Willow Glass displays will be able to hit the market.

"People are not accustomed to glass you roll up," [Corning Glass president James] Clappin said after an event marking the opening an $800 million factory for liquid-crystal-display glass. "The ability of people to take it and use it to make a product is limited."

The Corning, New York-based company is producing the glass and making "a lot of effort" to teach "very big name" customers how to handle the spools, Clappin said, declining to elaborate. The introduction of the glass comes as companies including Google Inc. consider making wearable computing devices.

Clappin noted that Willow Glass may find its way into some simple products as soon as later this year, but that more complex applications such as flexible displays will require substantially more work before they can be brought to market. He also declined to comment on whether Corning had been in discussions with Apple about its rumored smart watch project.

Apple is already a customer of Corning, using the glassmaker's durable Gorilla Glass in its mobile devices. Corning announced its latest Gorilla Glass 3 product last month, offering three times greater scratch resistance and improved strength, and Apple is assumed to be incorporating the new glass into upcoming products.

Article Link: Corning Says Devices With Flexible 'Willow Glass' Displays Unlikely to Appear for at Least Three Years

[gmanist1000]

Lines up for when Apple should start using liquid-metal

[Ingot]

Darn it. I wanted a new watch soon. I really did.

[pgiguere1]

The watch could use curved glass without it being flexible though.

It's not like the face of the watch has to be flexible anyway. Only the strap has to. Unless the plan was to have the display integrated in the whole watch, including the strap, which would have been a bit weird.

[larrybeo]

Will a Willow Glass product come with a bendable Lith-Ion battery, too? What about a bendable flash drive? I'm confused what the point of a bendable screen is if the rest of the product isn't able to be flexible and bend as well.

[darkslayer13]

But I REALLLYYYYY wanted to sue for getting broken glass in my wrist...

[dennno]

Still waiting for completely scratch proof glass. My iPhone 5 has heaps of small scratches on the screen.

[cxny]

I can wait 30 years for a new watch don't hurry on my account.

[orangeillini14]

Originally Posted by larrybeo

Will a Willow Glass product come with a bendable Lith-Ion battery, too? What about a bendable flash drive? I'm confused what the point of a bendable screen is if the rest of the product isn't able to be flexible and bend as well.

Flexible batteries exist.

http://www.tested.com/tech/453807-fl...t-normal-size/

As for other flexible components, I'm not sure.

[chinaboxer]

but you should remember that apple is always years ahead of its competitors when it launches a new category. this pattern may apply to this.

[bb426]

Originally Posted by dennno

Still waiting for completely scratch proof glass. My iPhone 5 has heaps of small scratches on the screen.

I've had mine since day one, without a case, and use it daily. No scratches. What the hell do you do to your phone?

Originally Posted by chinaboxer

but you should remember that apple is always years ahead of its competitors when it launches a new category. this pattern may apply to this.

You may be surprised, but competitors are doing a good job lately appealing to consumers. I wouldn't say the proposed "iWatch" should be compared to iPhone or iPad at all either (not that you said that, but I feel like that's where you're going with this "new category" thing).

The whole watch thing will be outdated by the time Apple releases something if they don't go all out on it.

[iGrip]

So much for all the peeps in the interweb lands who thought an iWillow was going to be the perfect stocking stuffer this Xmas.

Oops.

[TimUSCA]

Originally Posted by dennno

Still waiting for completely scratch proof glass. My iPhone 5 has heaps of small scratches on the screen.

How do you do this? I haven't seen scratches on my iPhone screen since the 3GS, and I'm not exactly careful all the time with it. I've seen videos of people ramming their keys into the iPhone 5 screen, and nothing.

[HarryKeogh]

Originally Posted by dennno

Still waiting for completely scratch proof glass. My iPhone 5 has heaps of small scratches on the screen.

Me too. As a person who walks around with his iPhone "naked" and carries several carats of loose diamonds in the pocket of his very tight skinny jeans at all times, I need this. Take my money!

[bb426]

Originally Posted by HarryKeogh

Me too. As a person who walks around with his iPhone "naked" and carries several carats of loose diamonds in the pocket of his very tight skinny jeans at all times, I need this. Take my money!

... I wish I just carried carats of diamonds in my pocket. iPhone screen scratches would be the least of my worries.

Don't know bout the very tight skinny jeans though.

[ChrisA]

So Apple can't use this stuff for a few years. That is understandable because a LCD display is ore than just the glass cover. The rest of the display would need to band as well.

But. I'd buy a sheet of that glass today, just the glass. I think it would be perfect for picture frames. It could be thin so as not to show and if it bends it would not break when you ship it in a UPS box.

Also I'd like to use it as a "finish" laminated to something else. Seems that glass would be durable, chemical resistant and if flexible would be crack if bent. Lots of uses for this stuff right now.

[madsci954]

Originally Posted by dennno

Still waiting for completely scratch proof glass. My iPhone 5 has heaps of small scratches on the screen.

Between a 3G, 3GS, a couple 4 and 4S's, I had only one scratch on any of my screens, and it was barely noticeable (you had to angle it in the right light to see it). Unless you're carrying your phone in the same pocket as your keys, or happen to have sand or uncut diamonds in your pocket, it shouldn't scratch.

To that end, the only way to have a 100% scratch-proof screen is if it were made of diamond.

[ChrisA]

Originally Posted by dennno

Still waiting for completely scratch proof glass. My iPhone 5 has heaps of small scratches on the screen.

You will NEVER get it. Did you know that even diamonds can be scratched? The hardness of a diamond is different based on orientation, meaning that that are harder in one direction than in some other. So if you angle two diamonds in the "right" way one can scratch the other. So even glass coated with diamond film (they do make such stuff) will scratch

[cbw87]

Originally Posted by madsci954

Between a 3G, 3GS, a couple 4 and 4S's, I had only one scratch on any of my screens, and it was barely noticeable (you had to angle it in the right light to see it). Unless you're carrying your phone in the same pocket as your keys, or happen to have sand or uncut diamonds in your pocket, it shouldn't scratch.

To that end, the only way to have a 100% scratch-proof screen is if it were made of diamond.

I assume the guy you quoted isn't talking about the big, noticeable scratches you can see when the screen is on, that get there when you drop your phone, or put it in the same pocket as coins, keys, etc. - but rather than tiny micro-scratches that are only visible in the right light and with the screen off, that get there almost no matter how careful you are with your device. They go unnoticed by / are not bothersome to most people, but if you look closely, they'll be there.

[bb426]

Originally Posted by ChrisA

You will NEVER get it. Did you know that even diamonds can be scratched? The hardness of a diamond is different based on orientation, meaning that that are harder in one direction than in some other. So if you angle two diamonds in the "right" way one can scratch the other. So even glass coated with diamond film (they do make such stuff) will scratch

Exactly, from what I understand as well.

In the end, it always comes down to personal responsibility.

[phillipduran]

Looking forward to heads up displays on glasses like where google is going with their glass product.

Imagine sports goggles with a map overlay showing your teammates location.

[DreamCatcher411]

Put it on Mac Pro 2013.

Black or White with Apple glowing on the side?

It could happen!

[Nunyabinez]

I believe all the rumors that I have heard about the iWatch have used the term "Curved Glass" not "Flexible Glass." I don't think this in anyway means Apple won't come out with such a product (nor do I think that it means that they will). So, I'll wait and see what happens. I'm ambivalent about the iWatch. I don't wear or need to wear a watch, but depending on what it does, a wearable computer might be be interesting.

[AlphaHumanus]

Originally Posted by pgiguere1

The watch could use curved glass without it being flexible though.

Agreed. its exciting to think where displays can be implemented with willow glass.

Originally Posted by pgiguere1

It's not like the face of the watch has to be flexible anyway. Only the strap has to. Unless the plan was to have the display integrated in the whole watch, including the strap, which would have been a bit weird.

This patent would imply (to me at least) that Apple intends to do just that.

Originally Posted by bb426

... I wish I just carried carats of diamonds in my pocket. iPhone screen scratches would be the least of my worries.

Don't know bout the very tight skinny jeans though.

FTW.

[Jetson]

Originally Posted by chinaboxer

but you should remember that apple is always years ahead of its competitors when it launches a new category. this pattern may apply to this.

Then the Samsung, Google, and Microsoft copycats will pounce on the new market Apple creates and claim that THEY are the innovators and that Apple is a washed-up has been.

Reminds me a bit of the rivalry between 'Spacely Space Sprockets' and 'Cogswell's Cogs' - heh