Smartphone OEMs Not Overly Enthused About Using Sapphire

We’ve seen metal used in the construction of phones, and if the rumors are to be believed, Apple could be introducing the use of sapphire for its display as well. This is apparently because sapphire is an extremely hard material that makes it extremely difficult to scratch, unless you use a diamond.

We’ve also heard rumors that Kyocera was considering the use of the material themselves, but what about other OEMs? Could we start seeing a sapphire revolution? Apparently not. According to the folks at Engadget, they recently got in touch with a bunch of OEMs and asked them on their thoughts about the material.

Most of them seemed to be against the idea, citing costs as a reason. For example, a pane of sapphire is said to cost around $30, versus Gorilla Glass which costs $3. Sapphire is also said to be brittle. According to one representative, “The sapphire is too hard to withstand bending. It’s easier to break during drop tests when the size of sapphire increases.”

Corning themselves have criticized the sapphire material, claiming that their product is a cheaper and even more environmentally friendly, due to the fact that it takes less energy to produce. We suppose at the end of the day, it could really just boil down to marketing and as a way for Apple to remain ahead of the competition in terms of luxury materials, but we guess we’ll have to wait and see if the sapphire rumors pan out.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones
Tags: corning, gorilla glass, iphone 6, Social Hit