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Sapphire Displays for iPhone 6 Missed by 'Weeks' Due to Yield Issues

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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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One of the biggest rumors for the iPhone 6 was a new sapphire display cover courtesy of Apple's partnership with GT Advanced Technologies. Some rumors had suggested sapphire might be limited to high-end models, but at the device's unveiling earlier this week the feature was nowhere to be found on any of the new models.

GT's stock took a significant hit as it became clear the iPhone 6 was not using a sapphire display, and analyst Matt Margolis has issued a new report based on supply chain sources claiming sapphire displays missed being included in the iPhone 6 by just "weeks".

According to Margolis' sources, the issue was not GT's production, as the company is said to have been steadily shipping out sapphire from its factory in Mesa, Arizona. The issue appears to have occurred in the next step in the supply chain, where finishers in China struggled with yield issues turning the sapphire into display covers.
The issue that emerged is that the finishers were still having trouble creating the sapphire edges and yields were only at 25% or less. I am under the impression that GT's management knew about this last minute shift away from sapphire screens prior to the August 5th conference call and it may have resulted in lower guidance for 2014 by $100m.
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Margolis reports the sapphire supplies have been diverted for the Apple Watch for the time being as the finishing yield issues on the iPhone displays is resolved, and GT continues to manufacture sapphire as rapidly as it can.

What is unclear is how the omission of sapphire displays from the iPhone 6 will affect GT's deal with Apple, which involves certain milestone payments from Apple to GT. It appears unlikely that Apple would bring sapphire to the iPhone until it unveils an "iPhone 6s" a year from now, so it is not entirely clear whether it needs or wants to stockpile GT's output for an entire year or if it has other nearer-term plans for the material beyond the Apple Watch.
I believe GT and Apple still have very big plans for sapphire as a cover screen on mobile devices. Apple may pay continue to pay GT for sapphire bricks that they ship even though the iPhone is not covered up by a sapphire cover screen. Another option thrown on the table is that Apple could even push back the Apple prepayment requirements until the finishing yields are addressed. One item that remains clear is that GT will continue to push out as much sapphire as humanly possible from Mesa.
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Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus without sapphire display covers will see pre-orders launch in a number of countries at 12:01 AM Pacific Time tonight, with availability coming on September 19.

Update: Cult of Mac has received evidence of a delivery confirmation showing nearly two tons of sapphire being shipped from Lens Technology back to GT, perhaps for reprocessing before being reused for another purpose.

Article Link: Sapphire Displays for iPhone 6 Missed by 'Weeks' Due to Yield Issues
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/09/11/sapphire-display-iphone-6-missed/
emir

emir

macrumors 6502a
Apr 5, 2008
610
4
Istanbul
iPhone 6S it is.

So iphone 6 gets the same old gorilla glass 5s has? wow there isn't much of a difference between 5s and 6 besides nfc and size huh.
 
A

afsnyder

macrumors 65816
Jan 7, 2014
1,270
33
Damn that really blows. Oh well. I wonder if the iPhone 6's shown at the hands-on area had sapphire?
 
MonstaMash

MonstaMash

macrumors regular
Dec 24, 2011
205
82
Makes sense. This is going to be Apple's biggest launch. They didn't want supply shortages with such a low yield rate.
 
A

afsnyder

macrumors 65816
Jan 7, 2014
1,270
33
emir said:
iPhone 6S it is.

So iphone 6 gets the same old gorilla glass 5s has? wow there isn't much of a difference between 5s and 6 besides nfc and size huh.
Click to expand...

Likely gorilla glass 3. 6 has the bigger display, and Apple Pay as well as the pimped out camera and video features.
 
aristotle

aristotle

macrumors 68000
Mar 13, 2007
1,768
5
Canada
Wouldn't sapphire be more brittle and prone to breakage? Are we taking all rumours as fact now?

There was nothing but rumours.
 
AndrewR23

AndrewR23

Contributor
Jun 24, 2010
4,548
1,721
emir said:
iPhone 6S it is.

So iphone 6 gets the same old gorilla glass 5s has? wow there isn't much of a difference between 5s and 6 besides nfc and size huh.
Click to expand...
Ding ding ding.

That's why u get the 6+ lol
 
B

bmt134

macrumors 6502
Dec 6, 2012
378
4
emir said:
iPhone 6S it is.

So iphone 6 gets the same old gorilla glass 5s has? wow there isn't much of a difference between 5s and 6 besides nfc and size huh.
Click to expand...

iPhone 6 is basically the same phone as the iPhone 4 except bigger and faster.
 
C

coolfactor

macrumors 604
Jul 29, 2002
7,057
9,727
Vancouver, BC
emir said:
iPhone 6S it is.

So iphone 6 gets the same old gorilla glass 5s has? wow there isn't much of a difference between 5s and 6 besides nfc and size huh.
Click to expand...

Better camera. A8 processor. M8 coprocessor. Better Touch ID. :apple:Pay.

Since the price is not different from what the 5S cost last year, what are you concerned about? There's plenty new for the same price.
 
S

slicecom

macrumors 68020
Aug 29, 2003
2,065
98
Toronto, Canada
Meh, I've never broken or scratched an iPhone screen, and I've owned all the major versions, so unless it's thinner and more clear, or less reflective, I don't really see the advantage unless you're hard on your devices.
 
AppleScruff1

AppleScruff1

macrumors G4
Feb 10, 2011
10,026
2,949
Hopefully Apple will implement the sapphire displays on a later batch of the iPhone, perhaps by the first of the year or so? Just the first few months of production would have glass displays and it would be a good way for them to tweak things before the iPhone 6 Plus S goes into production.
 
bpeeps

bpeeps

Suspended
May 6, 2011
3,678
4,629
I didn't realize how many people were looking forward to sapphire screens. Most will slap a screen protector on it anyway.
 
P

prism

macrumors 65816
Dec 6, 2006
1,060
389
coolfactor said:
Better camera. A8 processor. M8 coprocessor. Better Touch ID. :apple:Pay.

Since the price is not different from what the 5S cost last year, what are you concerned about? There's plenty new for the same price.
Click to expand...

...and a significantly better screen, you need to see it to believe it.
 
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