Apple will most likely introduce sapphire screens to protect a more precious jewel – your iPhone! Apple has been granted a new patent that allows the company to transform sapphire to materials that can be embedded into consumer electronics products. For tech pundits, there are no lingering doubts, the next iPhone will undergo a sweeping “cosmetic” change.
It seems that the Gorilla Glass screen of iPhones has had its day. Foxconn, Apple’s contract manufacturer, is reportedly producing new iPhones’ prototypes with sapphire screens.
Apple has not made any official statement regarding the future use of the patent recently received but details published by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), are reinforcing sapphire screens rumours;
“Methods for creating sapphire windows are provided herein. In particular, one embodiment may take the form of a method of manufacturing sapphire windows. The method includes obtaining a polished sapphire wafer and applying decoration to the sapphire wafer. The method also includes cutting the sapphire wafer into discrete windows. In some embodiments, the cutting step comprises laser ablation of the sapphire.”
Sapphire is highly praised for its durability and its resistance to scratches; making it perfect for smartphone screens. However, the price tag of sapphires is a major downside. If rumours turn out to be true, sapphire screens might only be embedded into premium iPhones.
It should be noted that the Cupertino-based company is already using sapphire in its iPhone 5S as a shielding glass, protecting the fingerprint TouchID sensor.
Image (via www.extremetech.com): The pieces of sapphire glass featured here are manufactured by GT Advanced Technologies.
Source: International Business Times
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