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.
Sapphire Displays to See Major Step Forward With Lower Reflectivity
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'd personally much rather scratch protection to shatter protection. My iPhone 6 has tons of hairline scratches (despite it always being alone in my pocket) that just ruin the look of it. I rarely, if ever, drop my phone, so I don't need harder glass
+1
I have never had a bad drop, therefore, my screen has never shattered. My phones, however, have always had little scratches here and there.
TIME reported in September that sapphire, in its current form, ...... less durable after exposure to normal wear and tear.
Are they talking about sapphire crystal? If so, this is a ridiculous statement and complete BS. I wouldnt trust anything else in the article.
Are they talking about sapphire crystal? If so, this is a ridiculous statement and complete BS. I wouldnt trust anything else in the article.
re: why Sapphire
I tend to agree. I think people liked the idea of offering something for the front of the phone that wasn't glass (and wasn't a type of plastic, which we pretty much universally agree is cheaper and inferior to real glass).
Especially for marketing and perception reasons, sapphire sounds pretty good. But it looks like at least right now, "Gorilla Glass" is about as good as it gets.
I tend to agree. I think people liked the idea of offering something for the front of the phone that wasn't glass (and wasn't a type of plastic, which we pretty much universally agree is cheaper and inferior to real glass).
Especially for marketing and perception reasons, sapphire sounds pretty good. But it looks like at least right now, "Gorilla Glass" is about as good as it gets.
iphones now are like computers to people in the early 2000s.
they're great, everyone thinks theyre great, everyone buys them, but the only ones still excited about them and their incremental updates are just the geeks.
on to the next one apple
they're great, everyone thinks theyre great, everyone buys them, but the only ones still excited about them and their incremental updates are just the geeks.
on to the next one apple
I just hope we see an iPhone 5/5s sized iPhone 7 "mini" this 6 is too damn big. Every time I pick up the 5s in my household I think "this is the perfect size phone!"
Bragging rights are crucial to Apple's happiness.
Keeping their ego satiated is job #1
sapphire has been on the iphone since the iphone 5. specifically as the cover to the camera. with the 5s and 6/6+, they added sapphire to the touchID home button. so folks need to stop saying that we wont see sapphire on an iphone until....
now as for the entire screen being sapphire - apple already hasa pattent that allows them to fuse a thin vaneer of saphire to glass. the entire theory was that apple was working on this as a way to get the benefit of both materials. using this new saphire technology only adds to the possibilities.
I have no idea when this will all come about, but I would not be surprised if they are already testing thing on the watch or even the home button TouchID.
My point is that Apple has the technology and pattents to get this done rigt, they just need a supplier that can give them a steady stream at reasonable costs.
I've wondered aloud before...... It looks like the best of both worlds could be an ultra-thin layer of sapphire on a substrate of Gorilla glass.
Apple Willingly Sabotaged GT?
Say you find out a technology you invested in doesn't work well enough, have a great legal team and a hedging contract, why not then instead of suffering poor results from an investment, hinder that company success?
So Apple invested in GT. Realized it wasn't going to scale in time for iPhone 6, and as we may have learned from this article, that the technology really wasn't good enough. Would that explain why they insisted on not investing in back up power which would have enabled production of sapphire balls to be sustained over power failure, thus forcing lengthy restart of the process, and ultimately their bankruptcy from a failed delivery on contracted goods? And with a hedging contract, they didn't suffered from the failure, but reaped some benefits.
And today Apple announced that the former GT factory will become a data center. Interesting. Did they get the building for less than it was worth while gathering patents from GT?
As with anything, this is probably half right and half ass. In any case, it shows that you should get a better legal team if you're to work with the mighty Apple.
Say you find out a technology you invested in doesn't work well enough, have a great legal team and a hedging contract, why not then instead of suffering poor results from an investment, hinder that company success?
So Apple invested in GT. Realized it wasn't going to scale in time for iPhone 6, and as we may have learned from this article, that the technology really wasn't good enough. Would that explain why they insisted on not investing in back up power which would have enabled production of sapphire balls to be sustained over power failure, thus forcing lengthy restart of the process, and ultimately their bankruptcy from a failed delivery on contracted goods? And with a hedging contract, they didn't suffered from the failure, but reaped some benefits.
And today Apple announced that the former GT factory will become a data center. Interesting. Did they get the building for less than it was worth while gathering patents from GT?
As with anything, this is probably half right and half ass. In any case, it shows that you should get a better legal team if you're to work with the mighty Apple.
apple is going to release iPhone Classic this year. iPhone 6 spec with 4s design but much thinner, just like the 6, front and back advanced sapphire glass. size is 4" like the 5s. you hear it first! lol. (i wish apple make that... sigh)
Attachments
Last edited:
That's really strange. I always thought iphone displays were very difficult to scratch. On my 4s I get hairline scratches on the back only, never on front. The front is as clean as it was when I got it 3 years ago. And I don't give it any special treatment beyond not keeping keys or change in the same pocket and not dropping it. And I also don't use a case or screen protector. Perplexing how people's experiences with the same product can be different. Unless there were different products. Maybe there were bad batches of iphone screens.
I don't get scratches or shatters since I don't really ever drop my phone. But I know it just takes one drop to shatter it, so personally I prefer shatter protection, if it comes down to those two factors only.
----------
I was in your boat until I read this article. For me, glare reduction is a pretty compelling benefit. I find myself bothered by glare frequently. If the reduction is significant enough, it will outweigh the brittle disadvantage. Not to toot my own horn, but I pretty much never drop my phone, so for me the benefit is worth the added risk.
Your comment is a little deflective when you know when people say sapphire on the iPhone they mean one thing and one thing only: a sapphire screen. The sapphire screen is the only thing anyone is talking about. The camera and home button, beyond pedanticism, are not even worth mentioning. The sapphire requirements for those two components are minuscule and tried and true tech.
Sapphire on the
watch doesn't require any new patents. Sapphire has been used in watches for decades. It's much much thicker and has tremendously smaller dimensions. Easy peasy, relatively speaking. If the technology and patents Apple has are courtesy of GTAT, then they don't have what it takes to get it done right. GTAT had more than a quantity problem. They had a quality problem as well trying to create super sized boules. Apple's lamination patent is also confusing. According to the patent MR posted, the 100% sapphire is the substrate with increasing quantities of glass topping out at 100% glass. If that's the case (IF I read it correctly) how would that help with scratch resistance?Apple may have something cooking. Heck, the sapphire tested by DisplayMate could be from Apple... or Corning, or Asahi Glass Co. (they make dragontail, an alternative to Gorilla Glass). I just think your optimism is a little outside of reality based on the known facts. Based on the unknown facts? You could be right on the money.
True that. Like flash, USB ports on a phone, SD card slots on a phone, removable battery, stylus and so on and on, things that all iOS devices have now
the advancement in creating lower reflectance sapphire is nice but if the other issues are still true of this new sapphire, "being thicker and heavier, more expensive, unable to transmit as much light and less durable after exposure to normal wear and tear" then still don't see it replacing the latest gorilla glass anytime soon. Especially that last issue of becoming less durable over time.
lol you feel inspired to post something and this is all you can come up with ??
Weak