With Apple's use of sapphire glass no longer a rumor following comments by CEO Tim Cook earlier this year, new reports say that Apple will have two different plants providing the display material, which hints at greater use in iPhone 6 displays.
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GT Advanced Technologies is the company providing the iPhone sapphire glass via a new facility Apple built in Arizona, announcing last year that the electronics giant put in an investment worth $578 million. The material will seemingly replace Gorilla Glass in the iPhone 6, and rumors suggest it will be used in the impending iWatch, as well.
Original reports speculated that Apple wasn't ordering enough sapphire glass to make millions of displays, and that it would only be used in the camera lens and home button. However, the news from BGR notes that GT has transformed one of its facilities into a manufacturing plant, adding more production capabilities. They also point to analyst Matt Margolis, who said that Apple may produce more than 200 million sapphire display covers this year.
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Sapphire glass is used for its high quality and extreme scratch-resistance, as demonstrated in the video below. Corning, the company behind Gorilla Glass, has posted an article extolling the benefits of its technology over sapphire glass, concerned that public perception is shifting towards the alternative material.
Sapphire glass may be tougher, though Corning debates that claim, but is also more expensive and thicker. This makes it well-suited for use in high-end watches, but will be heavier and less responsive on mobile devices, according to Corning. Gorilla Glass will likely remain the standard for the time being, but it will be interesting to see what happens moving forward, and to what degree Apple is using the sapphire technology.
