Jumped back on the forums recently and noticed that every other thread in the AW forum has someone suggesting Apple is using some cheaper form of sapphire in their AWs. Comments about 'impurities' and the glass scratching much easier than the sapphire in your average mid-range watch.
I find this highly, highly unlikely. I haven't watched the Youtube videos yet that people keep linking, and I am wondering if this is coming from just a single video. But sapphire is a very simple material. Impurities aren't going to impact hardness. Color maybe, but it shouldn't impact hardness. It's also no longer an expensive thing to produce. Cutting costs by using some sort of cheaply produced sapphire, if there even is such a thing, isn't going to save Apple any money whatsoever. And while I imagine all companies cut corners here or there, Apple typically doesn't make a habit of this. Certainly not on something like the grade of a sapphire crystal, on the screen of a watch that's constantly being handled and advertised as being extremely durable. It just doesn't make any sense.
There are ways to scratch sapphire with something slightly softer than sapphire if the impact is done in a certain way at a certain angle. There's a lot of physics that goes into scratching a material beyond simple hardness. And there are a lot of things out in the world that can and do scratch sapphire. But it's still pretty easy to go years without damaging a sapphire crystal in any way. The AW also doesn't have the same protection around the crystal that most watches do. And it's flat on top. All these things matter. So your AW with a sapphire screen can certainly scratch, but it's not likely. And if you see something you think is a scratch, there's a good chance it may actually be something else, or even under the screen. You can even polish a sapphire crystal with the right materials (cheap diamond paste in various grits).
I would genuinely be interested if anyone has any evidence of these assertions beyond some random Youtube video. Otherwise, it seems like a bunch of people echoing a single unsubstantiated claim over and over again.
I find this highly, highly unlikely. I haven't watched the Youtube videos yet that people keep linking, and I am wondering if this is coming from just a single video. But sapphire is a very simple material. Impurities aren't going to impact hardness. Color maybe, but it shouldn't impact hardness. It's also no longer an expensive thing to produce. Cutting costs by using some sort of cheaply produced sapphire, if there even is such a thing, isn't going to save Apple any money whatsoever. And while I imagine all companies cut corners here or there, Apple typically doesn't make a habit of this. Certainly not on something like the grade of a sapphire crystal, on the screen of a watch that's constantly being handled and advertised as being extremely durable. It just doesn't make any sense.
There are ways to scratch sapphire with something slightly softer than sapphire if the impact is done in a certain way at a certain angle. There's a lot of physics that goes into scratching a material beyond simple hardness. And there are a lot of things out in the world that can and do scratch sapphire. But it's still pretty easy to go years without damaging a sapphire crystal in any way. The AW also doesn't have the same protection around the crystal that most watches do. And it's flat on top. All these things matter. So your AW with a sapphire screen can certainly scratch, but it's not likely. And if you see something you think is a scratch, there's a good chance it may actually be something else, or even under the screen. You can even polish a sapphire crystal with the right materials (cheap diamond paste in various grits).
I would genuinely be interested if anyone has any evidence of these assertions beyond some random Youtube video. Otherwise, it seems like a bunch of people echoing a single unsubstantiated claim over and over again.