When I saw Sapphire, GT, and Technologies for a second I thought this was going to be news about new graphics cards...
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Apple Sapphire Deal with GT to Hit Full Production Beginning in 2H 2014
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When I saw Sapphire, GT, and Technologies for a second I thought this was going to be news about new graphics cards...
Cool but...
Is Apple fixing a problem that doesn't exist? I have a Nexus 4 phone that I have used without a screen protector for over a year and it has been thrown in pockets full of change or keys without a single scratch on it, and I have dropped the phone numerous times, even on concrete, without the glass breaking. And its not even using the latest generation of Gorilla glass.
I think using sapphire will be an excuse for Apple to continue to justify a $900 phone when its widely known Apple is making well over 50% profit on every iPhone. I'd rather Apple drop the price of the iPhone then to bling it up with gemstones.
Apple is creating another over-hyped marketing feature that will drive consumers into a buying frenzy making them believe that sapphire is superior to glass when most people do not have an issue scratching or even breaking current generation glass technology.
Is Apple fixing a problem that doesn't exist? I have a Nexus 4 phone that I have used without a screen protector for over a year and it has been thrown in pockets full of change or keys without a single scratch on it, and I have dropped the phone numerous times, even on concrete, without the glass breaking. And its not even using the latest generation of Gorilla glass.
I think using sapphire will be an excuse for Apple to continue to justify a $900 phone when its widely known Apple is making well over 50% profit on every iPhone. I'd rather Apple drop the price of the iPhone then to bling it up with gemstones.
Apple is creating another over-hyped marketing feature that will drive consumers into a buying frenzy making them believe that sapphire is superior to glass when most people do not have an issue scratching or even breaking current generation glass technology.
Cost of a sapphire screen would only add about $10 to the cost of the device. If you don't need it (you said you don't), then don't get it.
You have android anyway, not sure why you would care.
Scratched and broken screens are still a problem, just because Gorilla Glass is a potential solution doesn't mean others shouldn't be researched and utilized.
Sounds like Corning has already won it's marketing battle with you.
... or some serious "under the table" money
Not under the table. It'll be a contract.
GT AT: "OK, so how many do you want?"
Apple: "All of them."
Just out of curiosity....why does anyone think at 2014 will see anything other than Touch ID sensors for new iPhones and this time iPads from this new partnership?
Is that "small" amount of sapphire thought to be unprofitable for this company?
Honest question.
Is that "small" amount of sapphire thought to be unprofitable for this company?
Honest question.
WTF are you talking about with the 'doesn't mean girls haven't either' part of you comment?
Just asking.
I love one folks can jump to a conclusion based on a few news stories and marketing from interested parties when the actual OEM (apple) would have likely spent a lot of money in its labs actually going over the pros and cons of shifting to a newer material
Aluminum and saphireApple tech is slowly taking the place of jewelry.
I'm still waiting for the day I can get down on one knee and propose to a woman with an off-contract iPhone although that probably depends more on the woman.
OFF contract iPhone? Do you really want to propose to someone who's afraid to commit?
This makes no sense. Corning wouldn't be selling to ChrisCW11. So whether he likes GG or Sapphire is irrelevant. But you are absolutely correct that other solutions researched and utilized. Sapphire is a potential solution to mitigate scratches. Broken screens are a different animal altogether. My guess is they will laminate the sapphire on some other substrate to help with breaking.
You ≠ world. Lots of people break and scratch their screens, also just cause you currently haven't doesn't mean you won't in the future.
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Im pretty sure Sapphire can't physically shatter. You are talking about cracking which could happen to anything.
nothing at the bottom
Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your personal view, in a capitalistic economy, it never pays to chase the bottom. You go where the money is. Let Samsung and the rest fight over the poor, the disenfranchise, the 90% of the world. This is the brutality of an unsustainable system we call capitalism. I don't think Apple intend to be in this segment of the market. Their original idea which is true today too, is to great products that they can be proud of. It is so happen that quality is very often associated with "expensive."
Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your personal view, in a capitalistic economy, it never pays to chase the bottom. You go where the money is. Let Samsung and the rest fight over the poor, the disenfranchise, the 90% of the world. This is the brutality of an unsustainable system we call capitalism. I don't think Apple intend to be in this segment of the market. Their original idea which is true today too, is to great products that they can be proud of. It is so happen that quality is very often associated with "expensive."
You are so insightful! Totally awesome post!!
You know, I got this thing going. I don't tell everyone about this, but you're just the kind of insightful person who could appreciate this. I bought an apartment in NYC where they built a bridge a while ago. It turns out, to get the zoning approved they give every owner the right to buy five shares in the bridge. It's a crazy from the early 20th century when the toll was 5 cents but now each share brings in about 16K a year! Anyway, I can only afford to buy two shared because they cost 10K now, but... do you want to split the cost of buying a third share and split the profits? No really, I want to cut you in on the deal. Totally. It's the Brooklyn bridge and you're totally the kind of guy that could appreciate this!
For a company that already had more than $700 million revenue in 2012, Apple's deal that *might* give them a revenue of $1 billion (36% rise) after a year of only half of 2012 revenue and one year of roughly the same as 2012 does not sound like such a great deal.
Of course, what matters is not revenue, but the profits and the jump in profits may be rather large by 2015. Still, I thought they would have held out for a better deal than the one outlined here.
Of course, what matters is not revenue, but the profits and the jump in profits may be rather large by 2015. Still, I thought they would have held out for a better deal than the one outlined here.
I think it can. I'm sure it's the reason why Omega's Speedmaster Professional Moonwatches used a form of acrylic crystal rather than sapphire. NASA wanted something that, if it shattered, wouldn't be sending shards of glass floating around in a zero-gravity environment.
The modern Speedy though, does use sapphire. So I may be remembering it wrong!
You don't think Corning markets to end users? You think those stunts with them running stuff over Gorilla Glass is for the manufactures? They may sell directly to them, but they profit from users going after products that contain GG. They make sure to push it's advantages and diminish it's disadvantages just like Apple will with the use of Sapphire.
I can't speak to whether sapphire can physically shatter, but you are correct that that was the incorrect term to use. I have seen Rolex's and Panerai's with cracked crystals after falling a few feet onto tile/stone floors. I have also seen those same makers watches go to war and come back without any issues. My point was that adding thickness isn't going to make it shatter/crack/bombproof, because there are products that are much thicker than you could feasibly put on a phone, and still have the issue.
My comment was specifically related to mobile products. I may be engaging in hyperbole but no one goes out to buy a mobile device because it contains GG or sapphire. I would also venture to guess the vast, vast majority of consumers have no idea what GG is, or any other component in their devices for that matter. I can't imagine a scenario where someone walks into a store and asks to see all the products with GG. It's not like GG is a choice you can make. Manufacturers make that choice, not consumers. Corning markets to their target audience: manufacturers. What value would they get from marketing to you or me?
Being thick does not really make it much more shatter-proof, you will need other methods.
Aluminum and saphireApple tech is slowly taking the place of jewelry.
I'm still waiting for the day I can get down on one knee and propose to a woman with an off-contract iPhone although that probably depends more on the woman.
The 'All Aluminum' iPhone. Aluminum and aluminum oxide.
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I guess Apple could just buy Arizona. Back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries Southern Pacific railway pretty much owned California.
Your logic only applies to an industry where compatibility with others isn't an important factor (e.g. Cars).
Sure, if the 90% "uninteresting market" is evenly shared by three different platforms (at a similar level of incompatibility with each other as with yours), then getting the lion's share of the rest 10% "luxury market" won't be a problem at all. Unfortunately the reality is that that 90% "uninteresting market" is fully owned by one platform. Android is somewhat segmented, but the incompatibility among the different segments of Androids is totally ignorable when comparing with the incompatibility between two different platforms (e.g. between iOS and Android).
According to Corning, sapphire lets through about 6% less light than Gorilla Glass.
Sapphire can shatter, just like diamonds. Heck, a hammer will do it.
The harder a crystal is, the harder it is to scratch... but easier to shatter.
Even small diameter sapphire watch crystals are generally much thicker than the much larger area (but thinner) Gorilla Glass covers used on phones.
Everyone thinks Apple will bond a thin scratch resistant slice of sapphire to a glass base.
Apple confirms they're threatening to close this AZ plant if the state goes ahead with the gay-bashing bill: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2014/02/25/apple-arizona-gay-discrimination/