4.7-Inch iPhone 6 Front Panel Subjected to More Rigorous Scratch Tests, May Not Be Sapphire

[KieranDotW]

To those comments about sandpaper in one's pocket: I don't use screen protectors because I'm worried what's in my pocket. I worry about what's on the ground if I drop my phone, even from a short distance. No, I'm not expecting roads paved with emery or whatever was used in this video. But it still freaks me out.

 

[clumsythief83]

Nope it's

3Speed
4Siri
5Security
6Sapphire

7Shatterresistant

 

[CL4W]

If this is in fact true, then its a big disappointment. Here I thought Apple would do a pure sapphire screen, to avoid crappy screen protectors. The fact of the matter is sand paper is mostly sand, clamped together with an adhesive. Your clothing and bags trap that sort of stuff inside, so the screen is still going to scratch no matter how much you try to avoid it.

 

[class77]

If Apple makes the 4.7" phone the equivalent of the 5C and the 5.5" the 5S, they have missed the boat. The should be making the phone's specs identical with the only difference the physical size. Not everybody wants the larger 5.5" phone and I'm willing to pay for the smaller 4.7" phone

 

[MH01]

All their videos are made to reach the same conclusion: Apple sucks, android rules, google is awesome.

If you want to believe that, ok.

I call this BS, as the iPhone's mass production hasn't even started yet.

So you think Apple is going to put in a pure sapphire display on the iphone??? LOL!

 

[Toltepeceno]

Yep

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OK, I am curious as well.

 

[osaga]

I don't think that's a sapphire screen.

If Apple is going through the trouble of slicing pure sapphire with a particle accelerator into thin sheets to be laminated on top of a substrate, it's going to be pure sapphire or not at all for the iphone.

The notion that the screen in that video is a "sapphire composite" doesn't make much sense.

Either there won't be one on the iphone 6 or that's a mock up for production purposes. Perhaps using gorilla glass 3.

 

[ghost of jobs]

... and I'm willing to pay for the smaller 4.7" phone

Too right chief, they ain't gonna be giving these bad boys away now.are.they..

 

[damphoose]

I really wish he would stop calling this thing the iPhone 6 screen. Did he get it from Apple? He has no idea what this is.

 

[jlabute]

corning videos

GG3 is not remotely that flexible. GG3 would instantly shatter the moment you try to flex it.

Corning has interesting videos showing how flexible gg3 is.... Seems very close to what the posted video shows

 

[nickd3000]

Hardness of emery.

"Brownlee cites the Mohs scale of mineral hardness in his testing, which is a scale rating mineral hardness from 1-10. The iPhone 5s' Gorilla Glass display is rated at a 6.8, while sapphire crystal, which Apple uses for the iPhone 5s Touch ID home button, is rated at 9. The two sandpapers used for the test include garnet, which is rated at a 7 on the Mohs scale, and emery, rated slightly above an 8. "

The hardness rating of emery in the article is a bit misleading - Emery is a mixture of minerals including corundum (Same as sapphire) so there will very likely be grains of corundum on the sandpaper. The fact that emery could scratch the "glass" does not prove it is not sapphire.

"Two minerals with equal hardness will scratch each other." - http://www.minerals.net/resource/property/hardness.aspx

cheers,

Nick

sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emery_(mineral)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapphire

 

[Rogifan]

It's easy to be secretive when Apple is still searching for a solution as they stumble through the materials bin looking for an answer, after grabbing headline after headline bragging about sapphire.

The clock is ticking down, good thing the tyrants gone or there'd be hell to pay... Ha...Ha...Ha

Please provide an example of Apple bragging about sapphire.

 

[zourtney]

...sand paper is mostly sand, clamped together with an adhesive. Your clothing and bags trap that sort of stuff inside, so the screen is still going to scratch no matter how much you try to avoid it.

+1, clearly a lot of people live nowhere near sand.

I'm in Florida, so sand is utterly inescapable. I get little scratches all the time. One unfortunate day, I dropped my Lumia 920 on the floor at Walmart. I watched in sheer terror as it slid on its face for 6-8ft. Tile + sand was no match for that Gorilla glass. We all have similar stories.

 

[CL4W]

I think a lot of people posting here about rigidity dont realize the fact that majority of cell phone owners have a case. Cases absorb the damage, so the screen never comes into contact with anything hard.
If you drop a phone on a corner, which is its most vulnerable spot, it wouldnt matter if its sapphire or not. Why would you want to have a busted phone with a busted corner? It wouldn't matter to me if the glass didnt break, I would now have a damaged aluminum shell which is just as bad to me...

I am personally trying to avoid screen protectors. I would even go as far as to say Id pay more for a phone with a pure sapphire screen to not have to ever put a screen protector of any kind one it. Tampered glass already costs $35-$50 from third parties, so Id rather see apple charge that much for something already built in.

This is why I hate rumors surrounding apple products. So much hype is built up and then these types of videos come out. And the funny thing about rumors of this sort is that they are everywhere, its hard to avoid them seeing how every tech site posts something related to apple rumors.

 

[flatfoot99]

"Brownlee cites the Mohs scale of mineral hardness in his testing, which is a scale rating mineral hardness from 1-10. The iPhone 5s' Gorilla Glass display is rated at a 6.8, while sapphire crystal, which Apple uses for the iPhone 5s Touch ID home button, is rated at 9. The two sandpapers used for the test include garnet, which is rated at a 7 on the Mohs scale, and emery, rated slightly above an 8. "

The hardness rating of emery in the article is a bit misleading - Emery is a mixture of minerals including corundum (Same as sapphire) so there will very likely be grains of corundum on the sandpaper. The fact that emery could scratch the "glass" does not prove it is not sapphire.

"Two minerals with equal hardness will scratch each other." - http://www.minerals.net/resource/property/hardness.aspx

cheers,

Nick

sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emery_(mineral)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapphire

thats interesting info... which would make sense why it was not as scratched as the iphone 5. Almost like only certain particles were doing the scratching. Maybe sandpaper wasnt a great choice for the test?

 

[NovemberWhiskey]

Out of curiosity why do you put AAPL, it's not the name of the firm you are talking about?

(I know what it means, just can't understand why you would use it)

I do a lot of trading and it is just a habit. I don't know what you mean by firm. AAPL is Apple Inc's stock symbol.

 

[osofast240sx]

I think a lot of people posting here about rigidity dont realize the fact that majority of cell phone owners have a case. Cases absorb the damage, so the screen never comes into contact with anything hard.

I would like to get away from cases and screen protectors. I'm sure a lot of other people feel the same way I do.

 

[pika2000]

I don't understand why people even use screen protectors. I never put any screen protectors on my iPhone (since the 3GS), only using a regular case (basic silicone/TPU), and every one of them still have a perfect screen at the time of resell. Same thing with all my Android phones. People that use screen protectors remind me of those people that still have the plastic wrappers around their TVs, appliances, and covers for their sofas.

All I want for Apple is to move away from shiny chrome and/or plastic. Those are the ones that are highly scratchable the minute your phone left the box (heck the iPhone 5 can even sell scuff).

 

[341328]

they will wait for the 6S after introducing and pointing out the advantages of sapphire in details with the iWatch in the fall

I agree. Or they will just use it in the larger phone that has the $100 premium.

 

[damphoose]

This is why I hate rumors surrounding apple products. So much hype is built up and then these types of videos come out. And the funny thing about rumors of this sort is that they are everywhere, its hard to avoid them seeing how every tech site posts something related to apple rumors.

We'll why don't you stay off a site with RUMORS in the title if you don't like rumors. Too obvious?

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why is sapphire screen expensive about 3 times than gorilla???

Because the material it is made is 3 times the cost.

 

[ocogreen]

Hybrid panel

I think the part is legit-Sonny Dickson has been reliable in the past. What makes this potentially a game changer is the improved flexibility that we saw in the last video. Generally, more flexible screens are less likely to shatter on impact when dropped (less brittle). Whatever this is-sapphire hybrid or not-will be a huge selling point for Apple if it is "shatter-proof", and Apple knows it. I think this was the plan all along

 

[krewger]

It would be great if this ended up being a GooPhone part as well as the rest of the "iphone 6" leaked components.

 

[jlabute]

LoL

Well, I guess I'll have to stop carrying sandpaper around. Like I usually do.

That's right. Stay away from cheap garnet and quartz jewelry and don't wear the iwatch while carrying the iphone6.

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why is sapphire screen expensive about 3 times than gorilla???

It takes a month to get a sapphire boule from the furnace... Then it needs to be inspected and cut... It is quite hard as you know. A lot more time is required to process sapphire... The materials are cheap

 

[kdarling]

why is sapphire screen expensive about 3 times than gorilla???

It's kind of surprising that it doesn't cost far more than that.

According to Corning, it takes about 4,000 times as long to grow a sapphire smartphone screen than creating a Gorilla Glass screen. ( Sapphire takes over a month to grow from a seed crystal, vs. less than an hour to make a sheet of glass.)

Because of that, sapphire takes 100 times as much energy to make. (Which is why GTAT moved production from the Northeast to the Southwest in the first place. Much cheaper electricity and the ability to use solar farms.)

Plus sapphire is easier to shatter while being handled, so more production output would have to be recycled to help make the next batch.

 

[blankspace]

Guys sandpaper is is rated a 9 on the MOHs scale. As is sapphire crystal.

This means that sand paper WOULD scratch sapphire crystal regardless if that panel is real or not. The fact that is does indeed scratch less actually enforces the fact that the panel is real.

The test they should of done is put sand on brick and rub the glass on it. If it scratches it's not real sapphire, if it doesn't that means it's real.

Sandpaper is a horrible test because it will scratch EVERYTHING but real diamond.....

Don't jump to conclusions guys. This means nothing.