As far as I remember it was rumored that the iPhone 6 missed the sapphire display "by mere weeks" and that it wasn't GT Advanced Technologies' fault, but the manufacturers oversea who saw low production yields (as expected in the embracing of a brand new material and processing technique). I also remember a shipment of sapphire being shipped back to the U.S. for reprocessing and someone posting some delivery info that they found for it (China -> GT). This is all off of the top of my head but it was all pretty recently and you're welcome to search for it.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple's Sapphire Partner GT Advanced Technologies Files for Bankruptcy
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
As far as I remember it was rumored that the iPhone 6 missed the sapphire display "by mere weeks" and that it wasn't GT Advanced Technologies' fault, but the manufacturers oversea who saw low production yields (as expected in the embracing of a brand new material and processing technique). I also remember a shipment of sapphire being shipped back to the U.S. for reprocessing and someone posting some delivery info that they found for it (China -> GT). This is all off of the top of my head but it was all pretty recently and you're welcome to search for it.
Well... it was obvious, we just didn't pay attention.
This company has an exclusive contra with Apple.
The company didn't provide the goods as Apple requested.
The company lost money in such production.
iPhone 6 came out without their saphire glass.
They are broke.
This company has an exclusive contra with Apple.
The company didn't provide the goods as Apple requested.
The company lost money in such production.
iPhone 6 came out without their saphire glass.
They are broke.
Wow, that's unexpected
I wonder what that will do to Apple's plan for the product
Probably nothing. Apple's plan for the product is likely what caused this. I.e. if they originally decided to use sapphire for the 6 but then delayed it until the 6S or 7, then that could have been the issue.
Chapter 11 is a reorganization. Usually what happens is that equity holders are wiped out (American Airlines is a notable exception to that), and some debt holders exchange their debt for equity. GM went through that in 2009. American, Delta, and United each went through it over the last 10 years or so.
Just a nasty rumors that enables another Apple rumor of another Apple product having a low yield output and will be in short supply when product launched a la Apple Watch which increases curiosity and demand because Apple knows people don't want to miss out! Expect long lines at your local Apple store on launch day!
Low yield output...you do realize that the demand increases every single year and Apple delivers more and more each time?
I suppose this must mean GT "bet the farm" on a partnership with Apple but was ultimately unable to meet the deadline or quality requirements or scale requirements... E.g., perhaps they had a plan to make saphhire less prone to shattering, which would make it appropriate for a phone, but it didn't work out as expected.
Anyway, this doesn't neccissarily mean saphhire won't make it to phones and improve them... But it seems to be delayed at least.
Anyway, this doesn't neccissarily mean saphhire won't make it to phones and improve them... But it seems to be delayed at least.
I am currently a share holder. How does Chapter 11 affect me? I suppose I may lose all equity in the company?
I hope so I bought at 17$.
I hope so I bought at 17$.
Does anybody really believe Apple was a mere "weeks" away from using sapphire displays in the iPhone 6? That rumor came out a month or two before mass production started. No way was Apple still deciding which displays they were going to use only a month before the new phones were announced.
We all saw the rumors that suggested Apple wanted sapphire in the iphone 6. What does this news mean for the odds of sapphire in the 6S? Do we think it affects it at all?
The problem discussing this topic is there are too many "maybes" involved. Maybe Apple watched one of those Sapphire videos where they tried to scratch it with cinder blocks and thought OMG! That's the BEST material EVER to use for the iPhone and then someone showed them the video of someone dropping it a few inches onto pavement and it shattered like so much garbage and they said! OMG! That will RUIN us!!! Frankly, I'm guessing it's something along those lines.
Look how much trouble those "bending" videos caused and they were just a few defective phones. Imagine the nightmare of a video showing shattering iPhones from 4 inches off the table would cause. The material currently seems unfit for a full glass cover for those reasons. It's a bad idea to even consider that material unless they can modify its molecular structure (like alloys for metal) to get rid of that shattering problem because let's face it, people drop their phones all the time. It probably has something to do with the fact that people can't put the damn things down (especially when driving) and eventually their hands give out and they just drop them.
In any case, I'm starting to honestly think the iPhone was the worst invention of all time and will eventually lead to the destruction of the human race as people get dumber and dumber as their phones get smarter and smarter. The masses can't even do basic math without a calculator. It's truly pathetic. Texting will be the death of proper speech, writing and normal social interaction. Movie theaters will crumble not because of giant home theaters, but because people watch movies on their phones now.... UGH. I'm starting to think Steve Jobs was the proverbial Miles Bennett Dyson character from T2 and the "network" that forms Skynet in T3 won't be desktops on the Net, but smart phones in people's pockets. They could defeat Skynet just by smashing their phones, but they can't bring themselves to harm their beloved devices so the human race is destroyed by cyborgs created by a super computer that isn't in some building somewhere like Universal Studios implies, but in the pockets of the human race! LOL.
Of course, once the cyborgs destroy all the humans, Skynet is destroyed as well since the phones in their pockets (if they aren't damaged when their human masters are shot) won't get recharged. Arnie would be spending all his time trying to gather all those phones up and keep them charged....
So Apple basically has GT Advanced Technologies sign an exclusive agreement that they will only produce saphire for Apple's rumored iPhones and Apple Watches over the next five years at a high volume capacity, thus limiting GT's partnerships with virtually any other potential clients. Then GT suddely files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to not enough business continuity/cash flow.
http://investor.gtat.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=804195
Did Apple inadvertantly screw their business partner by having them sign this exclusive contract? Should Apple at least explore a possible buyout of this company or at least license the tech?
Mixed feelings about Apple's business practices at times.
I suspect they screwed up by not being able to deliver the sapphire screens in time for the iPhone 6. There are rumors that they missed by only a few months. But they may have put all their eggs in this basket.
Chapter 11 has saved many many companies. They might even get Debtor in Possession financing from Apple. From the rumors out there, the technical issues for the sapphire phone screens should be addressed easily by the time the 6s starts getting produced. Then when you couple that with the Apple Watch, there should be a tidal wave of money coming GT's way.
Business is sometimes dirty business. I remember reading that the iPhone was not made of saphire because the glass cutting company in Asia was not able to cut the glass fast enough due to the curve so who's really at fault here? Maybe Apple should just start buying their glass now for the iPhone 6s!? I think saphire glass would be a huge selling point for the 6s instead of the usual better chip/camera/battery.
Last edited:
This makes more sense than the unsubstantiated comments about doing this to get rid of debt.
They are, but just because a business goes into chapter 11, it doesn't mean that the banks, shareholders and other creditors will accept their plan, and that means that they could still go bankrupt and be liquidated.
It's a similar process to administration in the UK.
----------
Why?
This might have nothing to do with Apple.
I say that because of this comment in the original article..
If Apple have already helped them with their investment, it may be other poor decisions that have driven this company to insolvency. If that's the case, then Apple shouldn't throw good money after bad.
Tax Consessions
Did GT get some sweet tax incentives from Mesa, AZ and possibly Maricopa Country? I wonder what this will do to those agreements? Sounds like the Mesa taxpayers may get screwed over.
Did GT get some sweet tax incentives from Mesa, AZ and possibly Maricopa Country? I wonder what this will do to those agreements? Sounds like the Mesa taxpayers may get screwed over.
I'm sure the supplier talk to APPLE about their state but more plausible since Apple didn't use their glass it basically put bankrupt them with no other buyer willing to take their product at that scale. I doubt Apple wanted them to go Chapter 11 and wait to buy at discount. Why generate this type of press or work in this way..
Yeah, I do believe that. The rumor came out after the iPhone 6 was announced (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1775849/"weeks" could mean that they weren't ready for it a X amount of time before production started so they decided to skip and go with glass.
Apple is not going to let GT Advanced go out of business or let anyone else purchase the company. Unless there is a suitable replacement, GT is a strategic supplier. It isn't a coincidence that they signed an exclusivity agreement.
Worst case scenario, Apple purchases GT and operates the plant themselves.
