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Tim Cook Says Apple's Sapphire Facility Is for 'Secret Project'

JonneyGee said:
Can't blame him for not giving details - he's right about getting constantly ripped off. Galaxy S5 has a fingerprint sensor as its primary feature... wonder where they got that idea? :mad:
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Probably from way back in the early 2000's when biometrics technology was fresh.
Apple don't particularly innovate. They patent out the ass and overcharge.
 
JonneyGee said:
Can't blame him for not giving details - he's right about getting constantly ripped off. Galaxy S5 has a fingerprint sensor as its primary feature... wonder where they got that idea? :mad:
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GS5 has many important new features and fingerprint sensor is not one of them. Here are the more important features:

* dust and waterproof body (IP67 certified)
* phase detection autofocus (first for smart phones)
* new larger 16MP camera ISOCELL sensor (first for any camera?)
* heart rate monitor (first for smart phones)
* USB 3.0
 
One Bad Duck said:
Apple cannot complain about being ripped off. All the front runners in every major industry copy each other. Just look at the car industry. Its called competition..

Tim Cook needs to quite his whining

Heavy lies the crown Apple
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Who's whining? He's stating a fact and explaining why they keep everything so secretive.
 
Derpage said:
The iphone was not the first phone with a fingerprint sensor noob.
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Absolutely right.
The Iphone wasn't the first phone with a fingerprint sensor.
How many people can name the other 1?
Very few! Why? It sucked! That's why

The Kleenex wasn't the first tissue
The IPod wasn't the first portable music player
The Iphone wasn't the first smartphone
http://rs.gs/hMo
 
I find Cook's statement fascinating. I've never before heard him admit to a "secret" project; normally he'd just give the stock line, "We don't talk about future products." I can't believe it would be just an iPhone with a sapphire screen. He's said time and time again that Apple was going to upend more industries this year. Perhaps it's the iWatch, but why would they need so much sapphire for that? Something else must be brewing.

One way to find out -- send a message to Dalrymple: "Is the sapphire for the new iPhone." If he responds, "Nope," then ask if it's for the iWatch, and so on. He's always right. :D
 
My Guess

Something to do with frickin "lasers"

DR-evil.jpg
 
pgiguere1 said:
Read that again. He did not say Apple made the first phone with a fingerprint sensor. He said Samsung got that idea from Apple. The two are not necessarily related.
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And you have proof of this? Wow. Such erudite commentary. Very impressed.

Differentuser said:
Absolutely right.
The Iphone wasn't the first phone with a fingerprint sensor.
How many people can name the other 1?
Very few! Why? It sucked! That's why

The Kleenex wasn't the first tissue
The IPod wasn't the first portable music player
The Iphone wasn't the first smartphone
http://rs.gs/hMo
Click to expand...

So perhaps using security as a main feature of an electronic device isn't a novel idea created by Apple?
 
i'm sorry, but Cook's comment sounds a little fishy. this is coming when they have been vehemently stating over and over again that, "there are many products in the pipeline." (think "can't innovate, my ass") it sounds a little defensive to the all the pundits (and wall street and their money) who are questioning the future of Apple. the stock has taken a hit as a result. now, is this "secret project" a way of subtly (or not so subtly) suggesting that stock owners shouldn't lose faith? that what it sounds like to me. i would be happy to be proved wrong... i'm waiting for the *spark* to come from Apple for a while now.
 
d0nK said:
Probably from way back in the early 2000's when biometrics technology was fresh.
Apple don't particularly innovate. They patent out the ass and overcharge.
Click to expand...

What a ridiculous comment.

1. Samsung had 3 years since the Atrix 4G's debut to become "inspired" to use the fingerprint sensor. Instead, they (much like everyone else) held off from including it and only included it after the 5s.
2. They included it on the home button, much like Apple.
3. Apple purchased AuthenTec to improve their fingerprint sensors to the point that we have today. Get your ******** "innovation" moving target out of here. At least Apple's sensor is one of a kind rather than Samsung's swipe sensor.
 
Where's the mac mini? There's no secret there probably forgotten what a mac mini is with everything else going on either that or he's hoping we'll all forget about it. :)
 
Derpage said:
And you have proof of this? Wow. Such erudite commentary. Very impressed.
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I wasn't the one making the statement. I just pointed out the other guy's logic was invalid.

We'll probably never really know how much Touch ID really influenced Samsung. We can choose to give them the benefit of the doubt, but it's getting harder and harder considering to number of things we have to give them the benefit of the doubt for compared to other tech manufacturers.
 
Technically speaking wouldn't anything not released/announced yet (New iPhone) be considered a "secret project"? It might not mean a new category of device.
 
the next iphone will be 100% covered in polished sapphire crystal

"From the beginning, we at Apple realized that designing the new iPhone was all about creating magical new experiences. It wasn't just about beauty, but more about filling the absence of beauty with something truly astonishing. The result is beautifully, unapologetically, sapphire " - Jony Ive

*Jony pulls out his sapphire iphone and starts humping it*
 
It is a heck of a lot easier to enforce patent and disclosure rules in the U.S. than in a foreign country, especially one in Asia. Asian countries simply don't honor confidentiality, patent rights, or any other intellectual/proprietary rights. They never have and it is just part of their culture. Go to any Asian country and you will find cheap CDs, cassettes, watches, shoes, Guuci bags, etc....all fake knockoffs/ripoffs.

SamSung is actually the poster boy for knockoffs.....

I am glad to see Apple pulling back into the U.S. And yes, I AM willing to pay more for "made in the USA".
 
pgiguere1 said:
Considering GT Advanced will be producing $500M-700M worth of sapphire in 2H2014 alone, Apple seems very optimistic that this "secret project" will take off fast.

An iPhone-sized sapphire screen cover is estimated to cost between $9 and $12. That would mean 50 millions of those products would be made in those 6 months alone. Since Apple obviously starts producing their hardware before they go for sale, those 50M units would probably take only ~3 months to sell even though they take 6 months to make.

For reference, it took the original iPhone 74 days to sell 1M units, and it took the iPad 28 days.

Whatever that project is, Apple expects it to sell a lot. As much as I would love it to be a product from an entirely new category, I have a hard time believing it looking at those numbers.
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Funny how the rare gems of insight on these forums get almost no +1s. You are correct- this amount of sapphire is too much for a new product line. It will be going to the iPhone and/or iPad.

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d0nK said:
Probably from way back in the early 2000's when biometrics technology was fresh.
Apple don't particularly innovate. They patent out the ass and overcharge.
Click to expand...
Samsung had the answers in the early 2000s and waited until after Apple to sell it in a product someone would actually buy? LOL
 
d0nK said:
Probably from way back in the early 2000's when biometrics technology was fresh.
Apple don't particularly innovate. They patent out the ass and overcharge.
Click to expand...

How do they overcharge? Their profit margin on the iPhone is the same Samsung gets for its Galaxy phones...
 
Derpage said:
The iphone was not the first phone with a fingerprint sensor noob.
Click to expand...

No, just the first ones to put it on the front of the phone on the home button. Noob.

But it is fair to say that Samsung did not copy completely; Samsung's implementation is a CF.
 
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