As others have said, Apple wouldn't introduce a new manufacturing method unless it really was an improvement on the previous one, so I wouldn't call it marketing only. As always, we shall find out if all this pays off when the time is right.
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Smartphone Manufacturers 'Lukewarm' on Sapphire, Call Material Impractical Due to Cost and Supply
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As others have said, Apple wouldn't introduce a new manufacturing method unless it really was an improvement on the previous one, so I wouldn't call it marketing only. As always, we shall find out if all this pays off when the time is right.
Isn't this kinda like when someone at Qualcomm called Apple's introduction of a 64-bit processor a stupid idea?
If there was only one formula for glass you might be right. But glass isn't just silica and soda lime alone. The current Gorilla Glass on the iP5 can be bent. Fiber optic cable can be bent. I'm sure a quick google search would turn up other glass formulations that can be bent.
Hey the consumer didn't know what to do with the iPad when it first came out. People laughed at Apple for creating something that didn't seem to have any use other than being a luxury item. Now look at the tablet market. When the B&W G3 came out (Yosemite) it only had USB ports and Firewire ports (and one ADB port). People were calling Apple crazy for not including serial ports or SCSI ports. USB is the standard port you'll find on most computers these days. Getting rid of the DVD/CD drives and not including any blu-ray drives on the recent Macs made people scratch their heads and say the same comments you're saying.
Apple does what's best for the consumer or what THEY THINK is best for the consumer. In many cases they've been right . As for the sapphire let's see what happens with it IF these rumours are true.
Deja vu...?
This reminds me of the whole 64-bit chip debate from last year..."64-Bit chips have no use in the mobile industry" and a couple months later here comes all the other chip makers saying they will be adding it to their product line ASAP.
Sapphire may have no practical purpose and may just be a gimmick right now, but give it a year of manufactures being forced to innovate and you'll have a sapphire product that blows Corning's products out of the water.
This reminds me of the whole 64-bit chip debate from last year..."64-Bit chips have no use in the mobile industry" and a couple months later here comes all the other chip makers saying they will be adding it to their product line ASAP.
Sapphire may have no practical purpose and may just be a gimmick right now, but give it a year of manufactures being forced to innovate and you'll have a sapphire product that blows Corning's products out of the water.
I used to make sure always that I don't put my car key and the iPhone in the same pocket to avoid iPhone screen getting scratched. If I buy the iPhone 6 I will always have to make sure that I don't put my diamonds and the iPhone in the same pocket to avoid the iPhone screen getting damaged!
Repair Cost
One big drawback I see is that WHEN a sapphire screen cracks, it will be a lot more expensive to replace than the Gorilla Glass versions.
That said, I have purchased 9 iPhones so far, and none have cracked, but all have scratched. Even at the higher cost, I look forward to a scratch-proof screen.
One big drawback I see is that WHEN a sapphire screen cracks, it will be a lot more expensive to replace than the Gorilla Glass versions.
That said, I have purchased 9 iPhones so far, and none have cracked, but all have scratched. Even at the higher cost, I look forward to a scratch-proof screen.
Just like oem's brushed off 64 bit. This might surely ruffle a few feathers once Apple shows a more practical usage of Sapphire.
Gorilla glass bends and quite a bit, look at this video. This is GG2. The things that brownlee did gg would pass. I'm not saying it's NOT saphire, but GG bends and does not scratch with the items he used.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4j4wqA2Mko
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Gorilla Glass isn't used in phones?
Try a $100 increase. Minimum. More likely even more. If what you are saying was true, the iPhone would cost ~$200. Off contract.
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Ding ding ding, we have a winner!
After thousands of years of production, thin, shaped glass was not a problem.
In fact, in 2004 Motorola switched to glass for their Razr V3, and other manufacturers were expected to follow.
That is why Corning was developing Gorilla Glass. They wanted to be the supplier of choice for the coming set of phones with glass screens.
Jobs talked Corning into finishing up and starting mass production quicker than planned.
Corning has made sapphire parts for the military for years.
However, you're right. They don't see it as practical for the mass consumer market.
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Except that it obviously isn't sapphire, since it is physically impossible for sapphire to bend like that. Just as it is impossible to manufacture water that remains solid at room temperature.
Back when Apple announced the iPhone in 2007, all the competitors lined up to express their doubt that it would succeed. Same with the iPad. Same with the 64-bit A7 CPU.
Sounds like that all over again.
Apple would not go forward with sapphire unless it was a better product across the board. I will grab my popcorn now and see how this plays out.
Sounds like that all over again.
Apple would not go forward with sapphire unless it was a better product across the board. I will grab my popcorn now and see how this plays out.
Amazing. Really? You can't even scratch plain old regular window or kitchen-ware glass with keys or the majority of knives. CroMoVa or similar super-hard alloys that are usually associated with japanese knives do scratch glass, however.
Which is why I will never buy another phone on contract. Pay cash, go month to month, and you save a h*** of a lot of money.
well fits the new mobile Apple mentality. Use something with a key word that they can market and charge a premium - regardless if it is better or not.
All they need to do now is make a Beats headset with sapphire crystals somewhere - the dumbing down of Apple continues.
All they need to do now is make a Beats headset with sapphire crystals somewhere - the dumbing down of Apple continues.
at 161lbs I could stand on it and carry a CRT monitor.
For a smartphone to be useful it needs to withstand being dropped from shoulder height (about 5'-6') and hitting a corner. I can tell you the existing iPad models, let alone iPhone can survive this. How many times, I don't know.
However I have seen damaged/cracked iphones/ipads that people have, and they're clearly a result of things being dropped onto the face of the device, particularly the iPad. So 161lbs distributed over the surface area of less than a grain of sand, yeah that's probably an issue.
Take a look at how long the ipad's lasts compared to the Galaxy 7 and Amazon Fire on WillItBlend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MMmLQlrBws
Look at how much effort is required just to break device in half just to stick it in the blender.
Having worked somewhere where I had to do warranty exchange on those terrible things, the most common exchange reason was that the screen was broken (Because it broke from sitting on it.)
Corning is the only one saying Gorilla Glass is more drop resistant.
The leaked sapphire display is not only scratch proof but also insanely flexible. Does this look like something that will shatter easily?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R0_FJ4r73s
