Reasons Why Apple Chose Sapphire Glass for the iPhone 6 Display

While Apple ventures to find a more durable material than Gorilla Glass, the company is able to discover and utilize the scratch-resistant and crystal-clear sapphire glass, as presently used on iPhone 5s and which is supposed to be used also to cover the camera on the back and the Touch ID fingerprint scanner of the upcoming iPhone 6. A video shows how much strength the sapphire glass is.

In May 2013, the company that makes Gorilla Glass, Corning, bragged that Sapphire Glass has no chance to take over the smartphone market. According to James R. Steiner, Senior vice president and general manager of Corning's Specialty Materials segment, Sapphire's performance as a cover for high-end watches probably leads to the idea that they will also be the same on smartphones. However, in one of their commonly accepted strength tests, sapphire breaks more easily than Gorilla Glass after the same simulated use, costs more, and has huge environmental hit issues.

Steiner was right, but Apple would likely to have it their way with the release of iPhone 6. If the rumors are true, we can expect a merely indestructible iPhone screen. A Sapphire glass display will no longer require a scratch resistant screen since the screen itself cannot be scratched in general use scenarios.

What's more, Apple has its own plant in Arizona to manufacture sapphire glass. This way, they don't have to worry about purchasing parts from 3rd party manufacturers. The glass is made purely in America and then shipped to China to be aseembled along with the other parts. Another advantage Apple has compared to the rest of the smartphone makers is that they can produce its own glass with the lower cost. Now even if Apple will not be using this material as an iPhone display, having it incorporated in cameras, Touch ID sensors and iWatch displays can give a financial advantage to them.