As far as cost goes, most of what i've heard is that Apple is planning on bonding a thin layer of sapphire with a cheaper substrate. No sense in going full thickness sapphire if what you're after is the scratch resistance. Wasn't there an article about an apple patent for bonding sapphire to a substrate not too long ago? I'm not seeing it in the rumor roundup.
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Apple Preparing for Massive Production of Devices with Sapphire Displays
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which is true but its the next logical step to attempting a scratch proof display which can help with shattering by reducing fissures and hairline cracks
Bonding a hard sapphire layer to glass allows you to use a softer less brittle glass which will be less prone to shattering.
I was impressed by this video of an iPhone 5 vs a block of concrete. Almost too good to be true
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdRaQhLD4x8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdRaQhLD4x8
Sapphire display, sick! Apple may be behind the times in terms of software, but they do come up with these useful hardware changes. My watch has a sapphire front and I've had it on my wrist for 10+ years, thru construction projects, etc etc I've abused the crap out of it and not a single scratch. If I got the same longevity out of a cell phone screen I'd be amazed. Good stuff.
i would think if its hard for concrete to scratch it it would be harder to ultimately shatter it although this wouldn't be shatter proof be a definite upgrade
only reason they are doing it is for the selling point... "only smartphone with sapphire display!"
Can't find the quote at the moment (and it was from Corning anyway) but I read that GG3 is way less likely to shatter than sapphire for any given thickness. Sapphire may well be "tougher" than GG3 if you're comparing scratch resistance, but listen to what isn't said in the claims. Shatter-proofing is more important to me as I could then happily get rid of this case on my iPhone and use it as Jobs intended it to be used ;-)
that's a great selling point though and doesn't every manufacturer do this sell products based on it's merits.
also this is very innovative from apple attempting to make a better screen surface and backing it with it's own cash
I have read sapphire is more susceptible to shattering from a hard impact than gorilla glass
Yes, thanks, I should have been more clear in my question as someone sarcastically noted it's glass. My question pertained to the sapphire process, being an extremely durable material, I'm certain it would require more energy to recycle than common glass.
Thanks for the answer, and for understanding my question.
The is the most interesting part to me. February seems awfully early for them to follow their regular September iPhone release. Something new with a sapphire display coming in June?
If you kept using the same smartphone for 10+ years, we'd all be amazed
In real life, most smartphones are only used for a few years at most. What would be nice and green, is if the screen sapphire could be traded in to be reused or recycled as seed material.
More like "only affordable smartphone with a sapphire display!", since Vertu already uses sapphire for their ~$10,000 Android phones.
You read wrong then. Sapphire is less prone to shattering than gorilla glass. The number one problem with gorilla glass is that it is susceptible to tiny hairline scratches. When you drop your phone, the glass then shatters along these tiny fissures because of the weakened state of the substrate. By reducing scratches you in turn reduce cracking and shattering.
i was thinking the same thing i mean you don't need 100 million displays all at once it may be coming earlier than usual hopefully
Don't worry, the financial press will find a way to spin this as a negative. Just waiting for the headline "Apple iPhone With Sapphire Display Susceptible to Scratching From Diamond Rings".
What's the recyclability factor on sapphire?
*Yes, I am aware it is glass, and glass is recyclable. I assumed the general MacRumors commentator was aware of this fact, however for those who sarcastically responded allow me to rephrase.
The sapphire process used in these rumored displays may require more energy to recycle the material depending on how the sapphire is truly implemented (either as a coating, shield, etc.). As these are rumors, my question was purely hypothetical and assumed readers would know that glass is a recyclable material.
Thank you
Actually, synthetic sapphire isn't glass, it's made out of aluminum powder.
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Unlike Harry Winston, most of us don;t carry a diamond in our pocket.
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You can't win them all. Maybe apple will use some sort of layered version of sapphire in order to mitigate shattering?
I'm not sure how it compares to gorilla glass, but it is likely to be highly reflective, as sapphire is more reflective than standard glass. Gorilla Glass has a refractive index of ~1.5, sapphire is ~1.8, so it is likely more reflective, given an equal level of polishing. This could be reduced with coatings, but then you are losing the advantage of scratch resistance (you could coat the inner side safely, but it's the outer surface that generally has the majority of the noticeable glare). Another possibility to reduce glare is slightly curving the screen. On the plus side, sapphire has excellent optical clarity if you're looking straight through it.
That's because a cracked screen is easy to spot from a distance where as you'd need to have someone's phone in your physical possession in order to examine it for scratches.
I doubt a curved screen would be advantageous here. Do you prefer an old curved screen CRT over a flat panel display?