Apple's Move to Revolutionize Sapphire Manufacturing Likely to Leave Competitors Behind

[bbyrdhouse]

I think you misspelled a word.

Actually,

misspell |misˈspel|
verb (past and past participle misspelt or misspelled) [ with obj. ]
spell (a word) incorrectly.

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So a friend of mine who is a materials guy was explaining to me why sapphire is more "shatter" resistant than gorilla glass. His explanation makes sense to me:

Sapphire is NOT as flexible as Gorilla glass; however it does have some flexibility. But phones screens DO NOT SHATTER because they were flexed beyond their tolerance. Look at the Corning video that they show how flexible gorilla glass is, it bends nearly to the curve of a banana; but on a phone the glass is attached to a rigid phone body; Do you think when you drop your iPhone it bends that much? He explained then phone screens "shatter" i.e. Spider-crack across the screen due to being essentially "Crushed" against some hard surface (usually point pressure, i.e landing on a corner or rock etc...) This causes essentially a "chip" which due to glass' properties(harmonics) this propagates spider-web-cracks all over the screen.

He says that sapphire is much more resistant to initial "chips" far less likely for those "chips" to cause spider-cracks.

Just some input

Great post!

 

[jamesnajera]

Yep, and I believe Apple did this for Small HDDs (iPods), Flash Memory (iPods/iPhones), and maybe even with LCDs in the iMac. This is a fantastic strategy and eventually drives the cost down across the board. I also love the fact that it speeds up the advancement of technology. I wonder if someday we may see a iPad or iPhone with a Sapphire Crystal housing (get rid of the aluminum).

 

[macs4nw]

If sapphire is brittle and breaks easily, I'm not understanding why it is such a breakthrough for phone screens. You never hear people complain about scratching their phone screens, but you see plenty of cracked screens.

Precisely what I've been wondering. Just a stab in the dark, but perhaps they're coating gorilla glass with an ultra thin layer of sapphire, for the best of both worlds?

That would prevent the gorilla glass substrate from getting scratched, because it's those scratches that make it much more likely to crack.

 

[iChrist]

I am sure the guys at Apple figure this out already a lot smarter than you and I

Hopefully their grammar is better too.

 

[AppleScruff1]

So a friend of mine who is a materials guy was explaining to me why sapphire is more "shatter" resistant than gorilla glass. His explanation makes sense to me:

Sapphire is NOT as flexible as Gorilla glass; however it does have some flexibility. But phones screens DO NOT SHATTER because they were flexed beyond their tolerance. Look at the Corning video that they show how flexible gorilla glass is, it bends nearly to the curve of a banana; but on a phone the glass is attached to a rigid phone body; Do you think when you drop your iPhone it bends that much? He explained then phone screens "shatter" i.e. Spider-crack across the screen due to being essentially "Crushed" against some hard surface (usually point pressure, i.e landing on a corner or rock etc...) This causes essentially a "chip" which due to glass' properties(harmonics) this propagates spider-web-cracks all over the screen.

He says that sapphire is much more resistant to initial "chips" far less likely for those "chips" to cause spider-cracks.

Just some input

This makes sense. The screen on your phone doesn't flex much when you drop it. Another factor is impact resistance. You drop a glass or plate on the floor and it breaks because of the force of the impact, not being flexed to much. Maybe sapphire is more resistant to impact than Gorilla Glass? Or maybe Apple isn't going to use sapphire screens on the iPhone at all. Who knows at this point? I would think that if they do, they have done their research and found an improvement over what is currently available.

 

[pmau]

I think the whole sapphire discussion is all about the iWatch.

My guess is that the production yield is quite low and they need to be able to fine tune production. They need capacity to be able to screen the spread in quality.

If the will produce some curved surface, they'll better have some options before they acyually ramp up to produce 5 million units.

Having a whole production plant with partners in different technologies allows them to send samples around and let groups contribute knowledge in secret.

The last thing they want is have Samsung have a look at their production line settings. Not because of the design but for the ability to mass-produce a high quality product.

Something that Samsung has not done in the past few years, except for displays maybe.

I highly doubt they will be a sapphire iPhone. It's all about investing money in quality production lines with high yields to maintain a margin once this thing ships.

 

[kdarling]

Competitors will have to pursue their own sapphire manufacturing endeavors or concede sapphire to Apple and pursue different transparent cover materials to use in their devices. Most companies will be left behind as they do not have the financial reserves that allows a company like Apple to invest in a full-scale production facility dedicated to a single material used in their devices.

Apple competitors don't have to invest in a sapphire furnace facility of their own.

When Gorilla Glass took off, third party companies in places like China and Japan came up with their own versions and built factories.

If sapphire becomes a highly desired part, then more factories will arise, just as they always have when a new market appears.

 

[imageWIS]

For any of you that own a hgih-end Swiss watch, you know how awesome synthetic sapphire crystal is. It's basically transparent aluminum*.





*Hello computer.

 

[gnasher729]

I promise you Samsung will release a phone with a sapphire display within 6 months of Apple.

Unlike software, massive production of sapphire glass is hard to copy

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The point wasn't that Apple invented Sapphire Glass, they also didn't invent aluminum. The point of the article is that Apple will be the first company to figure out how to mass produce it affordably. Apple will sell more iphone 6's in the first hour it's available than Vertu has sold in 15 years. Also Vertu definitely did not worry about the cost of the components as the phones have sold for over $10,000.

It's not exactly difficult to figure out. Find a quality manufacturer of sapphire glass. Give them many hundred millions of dollars investment to convince them to massively upgrade their production capacity. With an exclusive contract so you are the only one benefitting from these guys' hugely reduced cost per unit.

 

[PieCake]

Sap-phire, so good.

 

[wovel]

This is one instance where journalistic integrity clearly skews in Apple's favour. It's easy for fans to assume that Apple will be benevolent with it's technology and corresponding price structure, but if there's one thing market economics has taught us, it's that a lack of competition never drives down prices. Note, for example, that the iPhone 5c wasn't even a forethought until cheaper handsets from Samsung began to cut into the Mac maker's market share. I'm sure Apple will find myriad uses for Sapphire, but if they're keeping it to themselves, it stands little chance of producing another aluminum revolution.

Never in the history of the world did Apple sell more phones than Samsung....

 

[PieCake]

Never in the history of the world did Apple sell more phones than Samsung....

MacDonald's likely sell more burgers than premium steak houses; it's meaningless.

 

[wovel]

Yeah.. Apple is soooo going leave behind all those other watch makers just because it too makes Sapphire Crystal glass.

This story is totally stupid bogus rubbish, and I wouldn't claim Apple started a revolution in aluminum manufacturing ONE BIT.

If they launch a watch with Sapphire Crystal glass then Apple will only be behind that idea by several decades.

I think we can tell you either a. did not read they story or b. did not comprehend the story..

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MacDonald's likely sell more burgers than premium steak houses; it's meaningless.

The guy I was responding to said that Samsung started selling cheap phones that cut into Apple's market share. It would really be helpful if people would read what they are responding to.

 

[PieCake]

I think we can tell you either a. did not read they story or b. did not comprehend the story..

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The guy I was responding to said that Samsung started selling cheap phones that cut into Apple's market share. It would really be helpful if people would read what the are responding to.

My mistake, sorry

 

[ksuyen]

1. Blue iPhone is made from Sapphire
2. Red iPhone is made from Ruby
3. Green iPhone is made from Emerald
4. White iPhone is made from Diamond

See, everyone can have new jewellery now.

 

[PieCake]

1. Blue iPhone is made from Sapphire
2. Red iPhone is made from Ruby
3. Green iPhone is made from Emerald
4. White iPhone is made from Diamond

See, everyone can have new jewellery now.

Next year for Samsung is looking grim; what with the potential sapphire shortage and their poor transposition of iPhone features, this is near to what I expect for the S6:

 

[ksuyen]

Next year for Samsung is looking grim; what with the potential sapphire shortage and their poor transposition of iPhone features, this is near to what I expect for the S6:

Image

OMG I laugh so hard!

 

[PieCake]

OMG I laugh so hard!

iGlad uLike

 

[apolloa]

I think we can tell you either a. did not read they story or b. did not comprehend the story..
.

I think I can tell you A: I DID read the story on here, and, B: I SHOULD have stopped after the first few words:

Apple revolutionized aluminum manufacturing

 

[adnbek]

Next year for Samsung is looking grim; what with the potential sapphire shortage and their poor transposition of iPhone features, this is near to what I expect for the S6:

Image

It's already here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTLBCACEX2k

 

[PieCake]

It's already here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTLBCACEX2k

Oh my... and I was giving them the benefit of the doubt by using a joke?

The HEIGHT of tack.

 

[zipa]

Same thing happened with my non-sapphire camera phone. Results very different. Cracked camera.

Nowhere near the same thing happened. It was a different device, dropped on a different place, landing in a different way on different materials. Obviously the results are going to be different as well.

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Oh my... and I was giving them the benefit of the doubt by using a joke?

The HEIGHT of tack.

Yes, because this is done in such a massively good taste:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W86AYrLm77M

 

[Serelus]

If sapphire is brittle and breaks easily, I'm not understanding why it is such a breakthrough for phone screens. You never hear people complain about scratching their phone screens, but you see plenty of cracked screens.

Really? you really think apple isn't taking this into consideration at all?
Who knows in what way apple can manipulate the sapphire used for the screens.
It might be less susceptible to cracking than you think.

 

[the8thark]

Non-scratch, no scuff, extremely durable. High-end watches have them and it's an excellent material.

Sapphire is more prone to fracture from stops and other stresses though. So it's a less cracking or breaking vs less scratches question.

 

[Jim Pen]

yes, unibody was really great for longtime apple users...

... now we can`t even upgrade simple things like RAM.

But thanks to all the new apple fanboys, who think they are now part of an insider circle with their iphone and hate everything non apple, apple can push new "innovations" like this, knowing all the new fanboys will still buy everything.

I know so many "Old-Timers" who are disappointed at apple in the last few years.

Imacs? Used to recommend them, now I don`t.
New OS used to be full of innovations. Last time I was mildly excited was leopard.
Mac Mini? Don`t even ask about that old piece of crap.
Apple TV? Almost 800 days since the last update
Displays? Almost 1000 days. Much better products with better pricing from others.
Macbook pro? I used to love my old macbooks pro, but my new one is just "eh"

Sorry for not being excited by the new "revolution". But there are enough new fanboys who hype apple above everything and by that making sure that apple gets comfortable and not being innovative like they used to.