GT Advanced Technologies, Apple's supplier of ultra-strong sapphire glass, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today and will begin a period of restructuring after months of operating at a loss.
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When news hit that the iPhone 6 would not be using sapphire glass for its screens, GT Advanced Technologies stock dropped 35 percent, according to Forbes. Today, that same stock dropped a massive 87 percent following the bankruptcy announcement.
Apple has been experimenting with use of the ultra-strong sapphire glass for long enough for consumers to wonder when they were going to release a phone with an entire screen made of the durable material. The iPhone 6 still uses Gorilla Glass for its screen, though the tougher sapphire glass is still used in smaller places where tiny cracks would cause more noticeable damage: the Touch ID button and the phone's camera lens. The Apple Watch that is set to debut next year, however, is said to heavily utilize sapphire glass. What these bankruptcy proceedings mean for Apple device production is still unclear.
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GT Advanced Technologies doesn't seem too concerned about these developments in their official statements, viewing it rather as a necessary step that sometimes needs to be taken in the business world.
"GT has a strong and fundamentally sound underlying business," said GT President and CEO Tom Gutierrez in a press release. "Today's filing does not mean we are going out of business; rather, it provides us with the opportunity to continue to execute our business plan on a stronger footing, maintain operations of our diversified business, and improve our balance sheet."
