Smartphone Manufacturers 'Lukewarm' on Sapphire, Call Material Impractical Due to Cost and Supply

[69Mustang]

We are talking about cell phone glass not what's used in the space shuttle

Very true. Gorilla Glass panels exhibit everything seen in that video... including the ability to flex and bend without breaking. I'm not sure what we're arguing about really.

 

[Toltepeceno]

Watch this video. They rub the same block of concrete on both the special sapphire and Gorilla Glass and only one comes out unscathed.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?annota...rBhyaluJbFH&src_vid=vsCER0uwiWI&v=AJ1WWRKKelY

Whats your point? Apparently the block has quartz sand in it? Did Brownlee rub a block, sandpaper or anything with saphire sand against the one in question?

It's no secret that quartz is harder on the scale than gorilla glass and softer than sapphire so it scratches gg and not sapphire, Point out to me where he used quartz on it to prove it is or is not sapphire. Sandpaper would have proved it either way. The keys, bending, etc. that he did DOES NOT eliminate gorilla glass. The video you posted only proves what is wide knowledge. It does not prove anything about brownlee's video since it was not used there.

 

[zipa]

I see people take knives and keys to these panes and can’t help but think that the metal in most of those is probably softer than the glass, rendering the test pointless. And they’re also quite dull in comparison to a chipped mineral.

I think the telling comparison is the Gorilla Glass 3 vs Sapphire demo they were doing at a trade show using a chunk of concrete from the parking lot. Scratched the glass pretty easily, did nothing to the sapphire. So if you’ve got sand in your pocket, one is clearly better. And for my personal use case, that’s probably the most useful feature a phone screen can have.

Exactly. Not that something being softer than something else would mean that it can't scratch or damage it, but in general a key or a knife will not leave any marks on basically any glass unless you are really going at it.

 

[osofast240sx]

Whats your point? Apparently the block has quartz sand in it? Did Brownlee rub a block, sandpaper or anything with saphire sand against the one in question?

It's no secret that quartz is harder on the scale than gorilla glass and softer than sapphire so it scratches gg and not sapphire, Point out to me where he used quartz on it to prove it is or is not sapphire. Sandpaper would have proved it either way. The keys, bending, etc. that he did DOES NOT eliminate gorilla glass. The video you posted only proves what is wide knowledge. It does not prove anything about brownlee's video since it was not used there.

I'm guessing about 100 million people watch the video by now. Everyone thinks is Sapphire! It's Sapphire! Only you guys on this forum will dispute that or anything else that Apple seems to have a one up on the industry.

 

[Toltepeceno]

No, that patent does exist. (Probably, I can't be bothered to look it up. I'll just assume that the article is correct.)

It is not a patent for "flexible sapphire" or "bendable sapphire screens", though. It's a patent for a very rigid and inflexible hollow sapphire cylinder that is lined with a flexible LCD display sheet.

OK, I won't argue that point since I have not gotten deep into it.

I stand by gorilla glass passing all of the tests in brownlee's video. If he had used quartz sandpaper on it there would be no argument.

 

[69Mustang]

Class action lawsuit against the 2006 iPod Nano.

I don't remember a class action regarding scratches on the Nano from 2006. I could be wrong since that was 8 years ago. I do remember there being an iPod class action from that time but it had nothing to do with scratches.

 

[Toltepeceno]

I'm guessing about 100 million people watch the video by now. Everyone thinks is Sapphire! It's Sapphire! Only you guys want this forum will dispute that or anything else that Apple seems to have a one up on the industry.

I have clearly stated I don't know if it's sapphire or GG, I do know GG will bend like that and the items he tried to scratch it with will not scratch gg. So leave the indignant fanboyism at the door, it seems to affect comprehension.

Everyone thinks it's sapphire? Are you referring to people that know anything at all about sapphire or high school dropouts. Be specific. I have no idea what it actually is.

 

[69Mustang]

Fine scratches contribute greatly to the likelihood of the screen cracking when dropped. If you've ever cut glass, you'd know that scoring it makes it snap very easily. I'm sure this will be brought up at the product unavailing. I have faith that if Apple is doing it there's a damn good reason.

A brand new phone when dropped will crack just as easily as a phone with scratches on the screen. Scoring glass to cut it is not analogous to dropping a phone.

 

[Renzatic]

Just sounds like sour grapes to me, which... from previous observation... does nothing to Apple.

If all things were equal, and the only difference was a mere 20% durability, then the advantages would be slight. One wouldn't necessarily be better than the other. But if Gorilla Glass is cheaper, and easier to produce as per Corning's claim, then what advantages does Sapphire have in comparison?

 

[ASavenko]

Gorilla Sapphire

How about "Gorilla Sapphire" in iPhone 6s?
It will add all "missing" qualities: improved light transmission, pressure handling, reflection reduction, antimicrobial protection, etc.
Corning should develop chemistry for sapphire and change their business model to threat external materials, not produce their own.

 

[Toltepeceno]

If all things were equal, and the only difference was a mere 20% durability, then the advantages would be slight. One wouldn't necessarily be better than the other. But if Gorilla Glass is cheaper, and easier to produce as per Corning's claim, then what advantages does Sapphire have in comparison?

Really the only big difference would be that sand in the pocket no longer would scratch it as it does gg.

 

[zipa]

A brand new phone when dropped will crack just as easily as a phone with scratches on the screen. Scoring glass to cut it is not analogous to dropping a phone.

And scoring is not the same as scratching, either. Most of the "scratches" on a phone will be in the coating, not the actual glass. Scratches in the glass can not only be seen, but they can be felt as well as proper indentations on the screen. You would also be able to file your fingernails with the display if it was scratched down to the glass.

 

[afsnyder]

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.

I meant sapphire glass... at least the one that Apple uses.

 

[mdelvecchio]

Because they use technologies that are more expensive for marketing, sales and "image" rather than what is actually best for the consumer and the device?

if you believe apple is more concerned w/ a product's image than the consumer, you dont know apple very well.

Unless GT AT and Apple have some secret manufacturing technique they're not sharing with anyone else in the world,

what? a tech company w/ TRADE SECRETS and/or PATENTS? unheard of!!

 

[osaga]

A brand new phone when dropped will crack just as easily as a phone with scratches on the screen. Scoring glass to cut it is not analogous to dropping a phone.

Want to make a wager?

 

[MrXiro]

Here's an interesting article and video that contradicts this article...

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/129...ould-smash-rocks-as-sapphire-glass-tests-show

 

[mdelvecchio]

At the end of the day, that image of the sapphire not being as strong as gorilla glass was from corning, and they clearly have an agenda here, so we have to take that with a grain of salt. The same goes for the video of the guy bending the screen.

er, how does a blogger publishing a stress test of a leaked part represent a commercial agenda of the sort Corning has?

it doesnt.

 

[Rogifan]

If all things were equal, and the only difference was a mere 20% durability, then the advantages would be slight. One wouldn't necessarily be better than the other. But if Gorilla Glass is cheaper, and easier to produce as per Corning's claim, then what advantages does Sapphire have in comparison?

So Apple is just spending all this money for nothing? Unless sapphire is being used for something else?

 

[69Mustang]

Do your issue is basic logic. I guess scratches aren't a concern and people all use screen protectors because... Muffins!

Not being funny but I have no idea what that first sentence means.

Maybe I should clarify my use of the word 'issue'. When I say issue I mean a wide ranging problem that has been brought up in the media. My original quote may not have conveyed that.

As for why people use screen protectors, the reasons are varied. Scratch protection one, preserving the oleophobic coating another, and habit because the original screens weren't as good as today's screen is just one more.

Also there's definitive proof that screen protectors provide a 98% bullet resistant layer when combined with a... muffin. So yes, some people use screen protectors because Muffins.

 

[zipa]

I meant sapphire glass... at least the one that Apple uses.

I do not know what this means, but I can assure you that sapphire glass does not bend no matter who is using it.

EDIT: Yes, a laminate of super-thin sapphire layers would probably bend and flex, especially if sapphire was only used on the outer layers. No, that could not be called "sapphire glass".

 

[69Mustang]

Want to make a wager?

Uhhhh... how about you just explain what you mean? That's typically how it's done.

 

[Eeko]

The video was made by the biggest android blogger on the planet.

I trust this guy more than I do some members of my own family.

 

[kas23]

I don't remember a class action regarding scratches on the Nano from 2006. I could be wrong since that was 8 years ago. I do remember there being an iPod class action from that time but it had nothing to do with scratches.

I think it was scuffing of the metal back, not the screen, if I remember correctly.

Anyways, sapphire only makes sense for a watch, since watch faces are going to be subjected to much more stressors than an iPhone screen. Plus, it financially makes more sense. Apple already has shrinking margins, they're not going to make them even smaller with a luxury like sapphire iPhone screens.

 

[macfacts]

...

Also; the comment in the article about Sapphire not being as clear? umm.. Sapphire is noted as being one of the purest substances on earth when it comes to allowing pure color and well known for it's near 0 opacity. Which is WHY they use it for the finger print scanner and camera lens cover! duh..

Two words: Purple Haze.

 

[bushman4]

Why didn't Apple use gorilla glass for its Touch ID ??? If gorilla Glass is so strong and flexible and has all the qualities. Of Sapphire
Possible that Apple needs the clarity that Sapphire offers