Apple By Ryan Whitwam Jan. 24, 2014 2:27 pm
When the original iPhone came out, it seemed insane to have a giant piece of breakable glass on the front of a phone. Sure, plastic screens could get scratched and they didn’t look great, but they wouldn’t shatter at the earliest opportunity.
It turns out that Gorilla Glass was stronger than many of us feared, and while phone screens occasionally break, they survive many drops just fine. Not content with the status quo, Apple may be planning to expand the use of sapphire glass in an upcoming version of the iPhone to include the entire screen.
Apple already uses sapphire glass in the camera lens cover and Touch ID button on iPhones, but producing large quantities of clear sapphire for the screen will require new techniques, as detailed in a patent application. Sapphire’s low thermal expansion and rigidity could make it hard to bond to different materials, but Apple’s proposed process would create an aperture — a small divot — within the sapphire substrate, which could be filled with an attachment material like metal or plastic. This could be used to attach a glass or plastic laminate layer, which in turn acts as an attachment point for other materials.
Apple has been rumored to be experimenting with sapphire glass displays, but has so far found them unfeasible. It’s clear why they’d want to make it work, though. Sapphire is the second strongest naturally occurring material after diamond and it’s much cheaper and easier to make. Apple even invested in a sapphire manufacturing facility last year. That could be all about the cameras and Touch ID buttons, but the company would have access to all the sapphire glass it needs if it decides to give sapphire screens a try.
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It turns out that Gorilla Glass was stronger than many of us feared, and while phone screens occasionally break, they survive many drops just fine. Not content with the status quo, Apple may be planning to expand the use of sapphire glass in an upcoming version of the iPhone to include the entire screen.
Apple already uses sapphire glass in the camera lens cover and Touch ID button on iPhones, but producing large quantities of clear sapphire for the screen will require new techniques, as detailed in a patent application. Sapphire’s low thermal expansion and rigidity could make it hard to bond to different materials, but Apple’s proposed process would create an aperture — a small divot — within the sapphire substrate, which could be filled with an attachment material like metal or plastic. This could be used to attach a glass or plastic laminate layer, which in turn acts as an attachment point for other materials.
Apple has been rumored to be experimenting with sapphire glass displays, but has so far found them unfeasible. It’s clear why they’d want to make it work, though. Sapphire is the second strongest naturally occurring material after diamond and it’s much cheaper and easier to make. Apple even invested in a sapphire manufacturing facility last year. That could be all about the cameras and Touch ID buttons, but the company would have access to all the sapphire glass it needs if it decides to give sapphire screens a try.
More...
