I saw that good article. There are loads of reports on the web saying its not true sapphire, and believe me if it was it would cost a lot more, my Tag is 23 years old without a scratch or needing a firmware update, but Apple love to distort the truth and that erks me a bit, yes I agree its hard enough for most people, but I have seen a few with scratches where the lens protrude so far out now they seem more prone to getting scratched by detritus on tables etc, let alone down the beach where sand can enter pockets and almost everywhere.
What does worry me is internal plastic lens which will never be as good as glass ones if they were they would be used in high end gear surely? This sounds like Apple reducing cost but saying to us its all okay sleep soundly little consumers, we just saved millions with cheap lenses but you wont really know as this is not a professional camera like we pretend it to be. which I don't think pro camera gear ever use 'hybrid lens' but I could be wrong. I guess I'm cynical but my trust in Apple has gone down hill in the last few years, each iPhone looks great on the outside as they cut production costs on the inside, and probably to our detriment.