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.
No sapphire glass in future iphones?
- Thread starter puma1552
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Sapphire is costly to manufacture with low yields. Its not economically feasible for apple to use this material. Just look at what happened with GT Advanced when Apple signed them up for an exclusive supply.
right but they were clearly attempting to go sapphire with that partnership; presumably at the same time they were expecting the 6S would have 3D touch, so maybe they were only planning on sapphire being a 1 year deal to begin with? I presumed that sapphire would've been a "from here on out" situation that had yet to materialize due to the GT deal falling apart.
The stainless steel Apple Watch has sapphire glass and Force Touch.
It also has a LOT less than what a phone would require and most cost roughly the same price as the iPhone or more.
I honestly don't think it is a very important thing at this point. If someone shoves their finger through the glass on the screen they are doing something horribly wrong... like finger punching a phone screen.
Sapphire, while more scratch resistant is more susceptible to impact damage at larger sizes. Using it for the Lens or ID scanner is ok but If they used it for the screen, it work have a higher likely hoot to brake when dropped. It also has glare issues. Even with the apple watch reviews said the sport had the best screen for this reason. It could be more problematic at larger sizes.
I have the SS ML watch and it is definitely harder to see in direct sunlight. It has a fair bit of glare and a tint to it. I honestly don't think I would want it on a phone at all.
My take is Apple should just save the money and not use Sapphire in future screens. There are basically two camps on the issue of protectors.
The bottom line is the majority of people that use screen protectors now would more than likely use them, even with Sapphire and the majority that don't currently use them...well, still wouldn't use them.
The bottom line is the majority of people that use screen protectors now would more than likely use them, even with Sapphire and the majority that don't currently use them...well, still wouldn't use them.
As the above post said, sapphire has proven to shatter when dropped on the watch and that's just a 42mm high screen, I wouldn't like to see the results on a 5.5" screen. It would take all of about 5 minutes for "smashgate" to start appearing all over the internet.
I wouldn't say it's unrealistic to presume that Apple only ventured further in it to secure their supply for the watch, which was probably having a lot of the prototypes mocked up at the time, and the touchID/camera lens on the iPhone.
The glass on the 5S has been more than strong enough for me and survived it's fair share of scary drops over 2 years. If Apple seem to think they've made it even better since then then I'm all for it.
I wouldn't say it's unrealistic to presume that Apple only ventured further in it to secure their supply for the watch, which was probably having a lot of the prototypes mocked up at the time, and the touchID/camera lens on the iPhone.
The glass on the 5S has been more than strong enough for me and survived it's fair share of scary drops over 2 years. If Apple seem to think they've made it even better since then then I'm all for it.
I agree there are many issues with sapphire that conflict with the needs of a smartphone that has a large display, force touch, etc.:
Maybe Ive is cooking up another solution, like transparent aluminum
- Cost
- Reflectivity
- Brittleness
- Thickness
- Weight
Maybe Ive is cooking up another solution, like transparent aluminum