In the run-up to the iPhone 6 announcement, the rumor-mill had basically decided that we were getting a strengthened sapphire screen — something that ultimately proved to be completely false. TIME has an excellent breakdown of why Apple didn’t go the sapphire path.
http://time.com/3377972/why-apple-didnt-use-sapphire-iphone-screens/
According to the author, the likely reason that Apple didn’t go for sapphire wasn’t the rumored supply issues — rather, sapphire doesn’t really make sense for a phone screen. There are the obvious issues, like the added cost of sapphire over Gorilla Glass; but there’s a myriad of less-evident reasons, like the battery life issues sapphire would incur. Most surprisingly, sapphire apparently isn’t any better in a drop-test scenario — the added rigidity means the sapphire is more liable to crack than glass, which bends to absorb the impact.
The full piece is worth a read in detail — but basically, there’s no end in sight for the millions of people suffering from Cracked-iPhone-itis. [TIME]
