Reports from around the Internet continue to suggest that Apple will use sapphire glass for the premium version of its incoming iPhone 6 -- though the use of the term "glass" is either a misnomer or an indicator of the iPhone 6's true composition.
Sapphire is one of the hardest substances on earth and it would provide protection superior to that offered by Corning's Gorilla Glass cases. But sapphire is technically a crystal and the premium iPhone 6's sapphire screen may be a composite of the mineral, rather than pure aluminum oxide.
Marques Brownlee, an Internet personality, and Joe Rogan, UFC commentator and podcaster, both claimed they secured prototypes of the sapphire-based screens that Apple has been said to be preparing to incorporate into the design of its high-end iPhone 6 models.
While the alleged sapphire screens shrugged off more sandpaper damage than Gorilla Glass during Brownlee's test, it developed scratches from materials that pure sapphire should withstand. There should be no surprise that the screen fell to an arrow launched from a compound bow in Rogan's test.
The consensus from the tests of the alleged sapphire-based iPhone 6 screens was that Apple will use a composite of the mineral, cutting cost and delivering a lighter weight than pure sapphire.
As rumors of the iPhone 6's sapphire-based screen began to emerge, Corning took to its blog to promote it's Gorilla Glass and combat reports that a certain smartphone manufacturer was planning to use sapphire in mass production. Corning said anyone using sapphire on a wide scale would have to overcome a "high barrier for cost reduction."
"Forming sapphire takes over 4,000 times longer than glass, and sapphire's hardness, which provides its scratch resistance, makes it much more expensive and difficult to machine," stated Corning in its May 2014 blog post. "We estimated that billions of dollars would need to be invested to create sufficient sapphire capacity for even a small percentage of mobile phones."
While not delving into the true composition of Apple's sapphire screen, Brian Huh, a senior analyst at NPD DisplaySearch Korea, stated his belief that the tech company will slowly implement the material into many of its devices. Huh projected that the glass would eventually be used in MacBook displays, asserting that Apple's supplier has the capability to deliver sapphire for tens of millions of devices.
"Apple's sapphire material supplier, GT Advanced Technologies, appears capable of producing the glass for around 45 million smartphones," Huh said. "Still, only the iPhone 6's most premium models may adopt it due to its high cost and a possible supply (set aside) for the iWatch."
Here's a video of a test of how the screen holds up to sandpaper testing.
