Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Corning Again Criticizes Sapphire as Potential Alternative to Gorilla Glass

AppleScruff1 said:
Or maybe Corning knows more about glass and sapphire than Apple does?
Click to expand...

I imagine GTAT is just as knowledgeable when it comes to Sapphire and glass. Especially considering they're the ones who pioneered a brand new process in the manufacturing of Sapphire.

No one knows what the implementation of the material will be until Apple announces it. Basing knowledge of Sapphire on past implementations/processes is pretty much pointless. Corning has no clue what GTAT and Apple have up their sleeve, and is generalizing in order to prevent the market from all jumping on a bandwagon they don't currently participate in.
 
Corning sounds pertrified by sapphire... it must be really good!
 
All I know is I've never had a sapphire crystal on any of my watches scratch, but all of my iPhones with Gorilla Glass develop many tiny scratches merely days after getting them. :mad:

Bring on the sapphire!!!
 
Quote:
When we look at it, we see a lot of disadvantages of Sapphire versus Gorilla Glass. It's about 10 times more expensive. It's about 1.6 times heavier. It's environmentally unfriendly. It takes about 100 times more energy to generate a Sapphire crystal than it does glass. It transmits less light which it means either dimmer devices or shorter battery life. It continues to break. I think while it's scratch resistant product it still breaks and our testing says that Gorilla Glass, about 2.5 times more pressure that it can take than Sapphire on. So when we look at it, we think from an overall industry and trend that is not attractive in consumer electronics.

Does anyone proofread front page stories? I find it hard to believe this was the guy's direct quote.
 
zorinlynx said:
Ya know, in my years of using mobile devices, seeing them in the field, and so on, SCRATCHES are not even close to being a common problem.

CRACKING is. We need glass that is resistant to shock and won't spiderweb when dropped. Current smart phone and tablet screens are already fairly resistant to scratches; I don't use a screen protector on my iPhone and I certainly don't baby it yet there are no easily visible scratches.

I think Apple is going in the wrong direction with sapphire glass. It's okay for the camera; that's a tiny piece and the camera does get abuse because it's on the back of the phone, but not for the screen!
Click to expand...

One of the things that were explained by a rep from GT at CES (I think that's who it was anyways) explained that gorilla glass has a tight layer that on the outside that kinda keeps the glass together and the more scratches you get on the surface the more prone you are to getting a cracked screen. He explains that after you scratch the glass and drop it, the crack follows the pattern of the scratch. I think if this is true, then maybe sapphire glass may actually tackling the issue before the user drops the device.
 
TallManNY said:
I doubt Apple would mess with the most profitable product in the world and hope on a gimmick that will have actual drawbacks in both use and expense.
Click to expand...

You mean like Aluminium over Plastic?

Slower and more expensive to make
End result is a product that is less strong and more prone to damage

But hey, it looks cool
 
I'm actually kind of impressed with how much this VP appears to know about the science. Sure, he may have been schooled, but he retained it. All too often you get marketing tag lines in response to these kinds of questions.

CausticPuppy said:
uh, what?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapphire#Transparency_and_hardness

I guess transparency might be an issue if Apple decides to use 5-foot-thick glass on their devices.

Shattering isn't the problem-- maybe Corning can let us know when they make a version of Gorilla Glass that scores a 9 on the Mohs scale.
Click to expand...

I won't claim to know much about the properties of sapphire and which is actually better for any given purpose, but that section of Wikipedia is written from a perspective of advocacy. The language isn't neutral, and the facts aren't referenced to any other source. "Highly transparent" isn't given a comparison point.

M.PaulCezanne said:
And yet it breaks more than Gorilla Glass?

Hmm... Credibility prob, bro.
Click to expand...
Granite is hard. It breaks too. Kitchen sponges are not hard. They don't break.

I know, mind blowing, right?
 
zorinlynx said:
Ya know, in my years of using mobile devices, seeing them in the field, and so on, SCRATCHES are not even close to being a common problem.
Click to expand...

Thus the entire economy thriving on screen protectors :rolleyes:- including mall kiosks (which are marketed ONLY for scratch protection, not protection from drops that crack the screen). Probably half or better of the posters on this site have a film on their device for scratch protection over their Gorilla Glass. Sell your used device on eBay and I guarantee there is a comment needed about whether the screen is in perfect or scratched condition (and to what degree - with description of size of scratch and/ or number of).

There are far more phones that get scratched than there are that get shattered. I have had an iPhone (and iPad) since since their introductions. Never a broken screen. But yes to some scratches. And clearly, Gorilla Glass breaks when dropped, so if Gorilla or Sapphire are both going to break on a 4 foot drop to their edge, it comes out in the wash - give me at least the one that won't scratch when my watch accidentally lands on its screen when tossed into a TSA screening bin (how one of my phones got it's first gouge).
 
Their main arguments are that it is expensive and hard to make and according to them gorilla glass is stronger, which isnt exactly and advantage when you drop your phone. The flexability of the material allows it to bend and not crack after droping.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
Or maybe Corning knows more about glass and sapphire than Apple does?
Click to expand...

It's possible. However, if recent history has taught us anything about Apple, it's that they're good at learning quickly (iPhone as a game changer) or they're willing to buy companies that are already good at something (PA Semi).

In any case, I'd say that this isn't destined for the iPhone 6, but for a new product/ test platform. If it's successful, it will make it's way into other lines. As several other posters have said, it wouldn't be smart for Apple to put a new technology in such an important product like the iPhone to start with.
 
Great things cost more simple as that. I wouldn't think there would be a noticeable difference in weight so that's irrelevant.

----------
nikaru said:
Their main arguments are that it is expensive and hard to make and according to them gorilla glass is stronger, which isnt exactly and advantage when you drop your phone. The flexability of the material allows it to bend and not crack after droping.
Click to expand...

Yes it still does break when dropped most of the time. I'm sure that engineering this crystal could have all the same anti-shatter properties as tempered glass does.
 
MacRumors said:
[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]


Corning Glass senior vice president Tony Tripeny spoke critically of sapphire as a material for displays during a question and answer session at the recent Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference (Via Seeking Alpha and CNET). His responses reiterate the company's earlier opposition to sapphire crystal.

ImageCorning Gorilla Glass 2​
Morgan Stanley's James Fawcett asked Tripeny about sapphire versus glass now that "there is one large handset and device maker that people suspect maybe looking at Sapphire." This one large manufacturer is obviously Apple, which is building a plant in Arizona to manufacture sapphire for "a secret project," possibly the iWatch or the next generation iPhone. Tripeny didn't hold back in his criticism of the sapphire crystal material.
Fawcett continued to query Tripeny on the material with the Corning executive hinting that Apple is looking at sapphire for its marketing appeal as the material "has got a very sexy name." Tripeny also mentions the extra cost and lower manufacturing yield of sapphire crystal when compared to Gorilla Glass. Corning now is manufacturing Gorilla Glass 3 for use in smartphones and tablets. Announced at CES 2013, the material is three times more damage resistant than its predecessor Gorilla Glass 2. The company earlier this year also announced a new shaped Gorilla Glass product for devices that require a curved display and a version of its Gorilla Glass with antimicrobial properties.

Article Link: Corning Again Criticizes Sapphire as Potential Alternative to Gorilla Glass
Click to expand...

Who cares about scratching more than cracking or shattrering when a device hits the ground face first? Thats the type of glass all devices needs not sapphire or Gorilla. Both are just a fade.
 
I think Apple may be pushing ahead with this because they want to do away with the need for iPhone owners to use a case, like they've done with the 5c. The problem with using a case on the 5s as I've discovered is that you have to take it out of the case to use it with most peripherals. Not so easy if like me you bought Apple's own leather case which has a very snug fit.

If they made the aluminium back more rounded and comfortable (like the 5c) and then added a scratch proof sapphire display then most people probably wouldn't need a case. The other problem with a case is that it hides the Apple logo on the back in which case Apple is missing out on lots of free publicity from people just using their iPhones in public. Who doesn't notice that glowing Apple logo on the MacBook. Everyone around knows you're using a Mac.
 
Isn't this assuming a bit much about total screen composition?

I highly doubt whatever Apple uses sapphire for will be purely sapphire -- it's likely to be bonded and layered on another silica medium. It will be interesting to see what advantages and disadvantages the hybrid system provides.
 
muadibe said:
You need to research a bit more on what the sapphire thing with GT Advanced is all about. It's more than just resisting scratches.

If the article below is correct, we may be looking at a solar charging panel on the next iPhone.
Click to expand...

Most of the time my phone is in my pocket, TBH, I wouldn't want to keep it on the window ledge in my office, induction charging, IMHO is a better solution.
 
notabadname said:
Thus the entire economy thriving on screen protectors :rolleyes:- including mall kiosks (which are marketed ONLY for scratch protection, not protection from drops that crack the screen). Probably half or better of the posters on this site have a film on their device for scratch protection over their Gorilla Glass. Sell your used device on eBay and I guarantee there is a comment needed about whether the screen is in perfect or scratched condition (and to what degree - with description of size of scratch and/ or number of).

There are far more phones that get scratched than there are that get shattered. I have had an iPhone (and iPad) since since their introductions. Never a broken screen. But yes to some scratches. And clearly, Gorilla Glass breaks when dropped, so if Gorilla or Sapphire are both going to break on a 4 foot drop to their edge, it comes out in the wash - give me at least the one that won't scratch when my watch accidentally lands on its screen when tossed into a TSA screening bin (how one of my phones got it's first gouge).
Click to expand...

I sometimes feel like I'm the only one who puts in a bit of effort to take care of his devices.
 
Corning knows if they will supply glass for iPhone6 or not.

Apple are not known for taking manufactoring risks with their high end stuff. Look at liquid metal: Apple have been using it for years in SIM Pins just to make the process perfect.

When Apple moved to 32nm, they started with an old A class chip. The A5 single core in AppleTV was the first one. Low risk. When manufacturing matures Apple moves to high volume products.

Looking back at Apples track record this means that we won't see a iphone6 with Sapphire. Apple needs to start with a lower volume product.

If Corning is a publicly traded company they have to report if they belive revenue will take a huge dip like Apple stop ordering 100+ million iphone screens.
 
Shaun said:
I think Apple may be pushing ahead with this because they want to do away with the need for iPhone owners to use a case, like they've done with the 5c.
Click to expand...

I would think the opposite as cases are a great aftermarket "sell."

They might want to laud their phone as the most "unbreakable" - but I really don't think it's an effort to kill the "case" market at all.

and iPhone 5c without cases? Seems Apple is very please to sell you one... http://www.apple.com/iphone/accessories/#iphone-5c-cases
 
Other use for Sapphire

Deep Blue Watches use sapphire not only on their crystals (which are dive rated up to 1,500 m / 5,000 ft (depending on model), but on their bezels, so that the lume they use for glow-in-the-dark doesn't get scratched off. So Apple could even have a plan to give scratch-resistance to non-screen aspects of future devices (as they do on the fingerprint sensor).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back