Apple Inc.’s much-anticipated iPhone 6 does not actually use sapphire as its screen protection glass? The video shown by well-known technology blogger Marques Brownlee last Friday (July 18) seems to have this sign.
Brownlee just showed off a 4.7-inch screen rumored to be an iPhone 6 in a YouTube video posted on July 7, and proved that no matter whether it was scraped vigorously with a knife or a key, or bent hard, the screen remained unscathed in the end and was much stronger than previous generations of iPhone screens.
However, the video shown by Brownlee on the 18th showed that the iPhone 6 screen was obviously scratched when it encountered garnet powder sandpaper (hardness 7) and emery paper (hardness 8) that are lower than sapphire (Mohs hardness 9). In comparison, the sapphire protective cover of the iPhone 5s fingerprint recognition button "Touch ID" showed no scratches at all when it encountered the above two types of sandpaper.
Brownlee’s video on July 7 used a steel knife (hardness 5.5) to conduct a scratch resistance test, but this hardness actually cannot even leave a mark on Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 (hardness 6.8).
The above results show that the iPhone 6 screen protection glass may not be made of pure sapphire. However, this may be the safest approach after considering cost and flexibility. In fact, according to a report from Cult of Mac on the 19th, Apple applied for a hybrid sapphire laminate patent as early as March 2013, which describes how to bond glass and sapphire to make a sapphire splint, which may be the material used to make the iPhone 6 screen.
MarketWatch and TheFlyOnTheWall.com reported that Canaccord Genuity analyst Jonathan Dorsheimer issued a research report on July 7 stating that the securities do not believe that the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch versions of iPhone 6 will use a large number of sapphire screens when they are initially launched. On the contrary, there should only be a limited number of luxury versions for the public to purchase. In addition, UBS analyst Stephen Chin also issued a research report on the 7th, pointing out that a survey showed that the sapphire shipments of Apple's sapphire partner GT Advanced Technologies' Arizona factory in May were far lower than he originally expected, and the shipment growth also slowed down significantly compared with April.
The Korea Herald also reported on July 17 that Brian Huh, a senior analyst at the Korean branch of NPD DisplaySearch, said that the sapphire produced by Jitex seems to be only enough for 45 million smartphones; due to the high cost and iWatch material preparation requirements, perhaps only the highest-end iPhone 6 will be equipped with a sapphire screen. He said that iPhone 6 is divided into 5.5-inch and 4.7-inch versions, and the 64GB version of one of the sizes may use a sapphire screen. It is rumored that iPhone 6 is available in 64GB and 32GB versions, with initial combined shipments approaching 70 million units.
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