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Foxconn Rumored to Produce Sapphire Displays for Apple's Next iPhone

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Foxconn Technology Group, Apple's main iPhone assembly partner, is reportedly gearing up to produce sapphire displays for Apple's next generation of mobile devices, according to a report by China Economic Weekly cited by Focus Taiwan.

Foxconn has reportedly reached an agreement to build a display factory on an over 300-acre plot of land adjacent to an iPhone 6 assembly plant in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, where the company had been reported last month to be looking into such a facility. Just last week, Foxconn was also reported to be planning a new iPhone display plant in Taiwan.
The China Economic Weekly reported Tuesday that Foxconn has signed an agreement with the Zhengzhou city government in Henan Province, central China, to set up a display factory on a 133-hectare plot of land next to an iPhone 6 assembly plant.

The new factory is expected to manufacture sapphire displays for the next generation of the Apple devices, the report said.
Click to expand...
Rumors of Apple's continued interest in sapphire displays for the iPhone come less than two months after the company's previous sapphire partner GT Advanced Technologies filed for bankruptcy. Apple had been widely expected to use sapphire displays on at least some models of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, but that turned out to not be the case as production difficulties apparently prevented the move and led to the collapse of the partnership between the two companies.

According to the new reports, Apple "has not given up on a plan to use sapphire displays in its next-generation smartphones." Market observers, however, reiterated that Apple plans to cautiously evaluate the sapphire displays to determine feasibility and avoid shortages.

sapphire_furnaces.jpg
Following the reports concerning the adoption of sapphire displays in the next generation of iPhone, shares of Taiwanese sapphire manufacturers rose sharply. Share prices of local sapphire firms had been depressed following Apple's decision to not adopt sapphire displays for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Beyond the iPhone, Apple also plans to use sapphire displays in higher-end models of its upcoming Apple Watch, a plan Asia Securities Investment Consultant analyst Chang Chih-cheng says will boost local Taiwanese sapphire manufacturers in the near-term far more than rumors of the iPhone 6s or 7, as rivals see the possible benefits of the scratch-resistant display and adopt it for their own devices.

Article Link: Foxconn Rumored to Produce Sapphire Displays for Apple's Next iPhone
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/11/26/foxconn-sapphire-iphone-displays/
H

Hopai77

macrumors newbie
Oct 16, 2014
5
0
Yes!

About time! I have iPhone 5 and am looking forward to upgrade to iPhone 6S Knew this would happen! Though the pics are from GT Advanced, probably did not finish the construction of Foxconn plant in China.
 
B

Bahroo

macrumors 68000
Jul 21, 2012
1,860
2
Dam 6S is gonna be sounding like a incredible update imo

-14nm Apple A9 chip/heading into S cycle which usually gives us biggest performance gains between iPhones, and would also give even better battery life for the next 6 Plus S and 6S iPhones

-supposively rumored to have dual camera lens setup for "dslr" like quality

-110% they fix whatever bend issues/body issues with current 6/6Plus

-sapphire screens now actually looking like it will actually happen next year according to this report

-
 
H

heyyoudvd

macrumors regular
May 13, 2011
218
74
Bahroo said:
Dam 6S is gonna be sounding like a incredible update imo

-14nm Apple A9 chip/heading into S cycle which usually gives us biggest performance gains between iPhones, and would also give even better battery life for the next 6 Plus S and 6S iPhones

-supposively rumored to have dual camera lens setup for "dslr" like quality

-110% they fix whatever bend issues/body issues with current 6/6Plus

-sapphire screens now actually looking like it will actually happen next year according to this report

-
Click to expand...

Chances are they'll finally give us 2GB of RAM, as well.
 
Z

Zxxv

macrumors 68040
Nov 13, 2011
3,558
1,104
UK
what does a sapphire screen bring to the iPhone? will it be lighter? will the screen be better more clear? will it increase battery life? otherwise I don't see a need for it other than its sapphire. So what. It has to bring more benefits else I'm not really impressed.
 
Tankmaze

Tankmaze

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2012
1,707
351
Bahroo said:
Dam 6S is gonna be sounding like a incredible update imo

-14nm Apple A9 chip/heading into S cycle which usually gives us biggest performance gains between iPhones, and would also give even better battery life for the next 6 Plus S and 6S iPhones

-supposively rumored to have dual camera lens setup for "dslr" like quality

-110% they fix whatever bend issues/body issues with current 6/6Plus

-sapphire screens now actually looking like it will actually happen next year according to this report

-
Click to expand...

heyyoudvd said:
Chances are they'll finally give us 2GB of RAM, as well.
Click to expand...

2GB RAM and possible A9 quad core :D
 
T

TMay

macrumors 68000
Dec 24, 2001
1,520
1
Carson City, NV
One has to consider that despite GTA's failure and according to documents in the bankruptcy, GTA was able to build the larger boule's, albeit at a 50% yield and higher cost.

I'd speculate that Apple has sufficient IP and experience that with a more adroit partner, i.e. Foxconn, they might be able to launch sapphire screens for the next iPhone, something that would prove yet another disruption in the industry.
 
N

newagemac

macrumors 68020
Mar 31, 2010
2,091
23
This was planned all along.

The GT Advanced plant was just used to develop the expertise and do all the trial and error tests. Once all the kinks were worked out, they arranged to tear down the whole operation and set it up at Foxconn where everything could be done much cheaper and integrated into the assembly process already in place.

The feigned surprise at Apple that GT was going bankrupt was a dead giveaway.
 
Keniutek

Keniutek

macrumors 6502a
Oct 6, 2011
720
1,437
Poland
newagemac said:
This was planned all along.

The GT Advanced plant was just used to develop the expertise and do all the trial and error tests. Once all the kinks were worked out, they arranged to tear down the whole operation and set it up at Foxconn where everything could be done much cheaper and integrated into the assembly process already in place.

The feigned surprise at Apple that GT was going bankrupt was a dead giveaway.
Click to expand...

Gets it :)
 
PowerBook-G5

PowerBook-G5

macrumors 65816
Jul 30, 2013
1,243
1,179
cuongnq said:
I'm waiting for 7S :D
Click to expand...

iPhone 7S: Solar (???), Shiny, Storage (where they finally drop the 16GB model)

As long as the benefits (thinner/lighter devices at the cost of battery life/functionality are not benefits, Jony) of using Sapphire for the iPhone 6S's display outweigh the cons, bring it on Apple!
 
A

avanpelt

macrumors 68030
Jun 2, 2010
2,956
3,877
Let me get this straight...Foxconn is currently seeking to build a plant and the expectation is that they can get the plant built, get the manufacturing equipment installed, get the equipment up and running, and be able to churn out usable sapphire in mass quantities all in less than one year? If they're able to pull all that off, I'll be absolutely astounded.
 
Patriot24

Patriot24

macrumors 68030
Dec 29, 2010
2,813
805
California
Applefan 2013 said:
iPhone 7S: Solar (???), Shiny, Storage (where they finally drop the 16GB model)

As long as the benefits (thinner/lighter devices at the cost of battery life/functionality are not benefits, Jony) of using Sapphire for the iPhone 6S's display outweigh the cons, bring it on Apple!
Click to expand...

7S = Variant of the S1 chip from the Apple Watch comes to iPhone
 
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