Sapphire is harder, not necessarily stronger. Look at the scratch resistance of sapphire in this Aero-Gear video.Ĭorning will argue that sapphire may be more scratch resistant, but it’s also more likely to shatter when dropped. ![]() ![]() They get weakened by scratches and fractures and then break or shatter when dropped. We should note that most smartphone screens are not broken by applied force like this. GTAT claims that it’s around three times stronger, but it’s the scratch resistance that really matters.Ī few months after we got that sapphire demo, Corning dismissed sapphire screens and began to point out potential problems with its manufacture, posting an article that claimed “sapphire not seen as major threat” and showing a video test that highlighted the superiority of Gorilla Glass in terms of handling pressure. It’s the second hardest material in the world after diamond and the fact that it’s very hard to scratch means that it’s much less likely to break than competitors like Gorilla Glass or Dragontrail. We got a demo of sapphire at MWC in 2013 and it was impressive. It’s also engaged in polysilicon and photovoltaic businesses alongside the sapphire and it serves the solar, LED, and electronics industries, but it’s new to the smartphone market. Sapphire is widely used in watches because of its scratch resistance.įounded in 2006 with a current market cap of $2.3 billion, GTAT is an obvious underdog. It may produce more sapphire for a similar purpose in the iPhone 6, the next iPad, or perhaps in an iWatch. Much of the speculation has overlooked the fact that Apple already uses sapphire in the iPhone 5S for the camera lens and the Home button. This has naturally led to suggestions, such as this one at 9to5Mac, that sapphire glass will be used in iPhone 6 displays. Apple has stayed characteristically quiet on the subject, but we know a deal was penned with GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) to supply “sapphire materials” for component manufacturing at Apple’s new Arizona plant. There has been a lot of conjecture about the glass that will be used in the next iPhone. Gorilla Glass is currently used in the majority of smartphones and tablets, although many manufacturers, like Apple and Sony, refuse to reveal what they use (it’s believed that Sony’s Xperia Z uses Dragontrail, made by Asahi Glass). Since then, Gorilla Glass 2 reduced the thickness and then Gorilla Glass 3 refined the original formula, to introduce better scratch resistance, greater strength, and reduced scratch visibility. Image used with permission by copyright holder It has lead the field in toughened glass since the 1950s, but it was Steve Jobs’ insistence on using glass instead of plastic in the original iPhone that led to the first mass production of Gorilla Glass. ![]() ![]() With a history that stretches back to 1851 and a current market cap of more than $27 billion, Corning is a proud company. I think while it’s a scratch resistant product it still breaks…” Corning the market It transmits less light which … means either dimmer devices or shorter battery life. It takes about 100 times more energy to generate a Sapphire crystal than it does glass. “When we look at it, we see a lot of disadvantages of sapphire versus Gorilla Glass,” said Tripeny. Apple already uses sapphire in the iPhone 5S for the camera lens and the Home button.The idea that it may be used in the next iPhone screen elicited a strong response from Corning’s Senior VP, Tony Tripeny at a Morgan Stanley conference last week.
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