GT Advanced | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Sat, 29 Nov 2014 05:49:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png GT Advanced | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Foxconn to produce sapphire crystal glass for next Apple products https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/anton-shilov/foxconn-to-produce-sapphire-crystal-glass-for-next-apple-products/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/anton-shilov/foxconn-to-produce-sapphire-crystal-glass-for-next-apple-products/#comments Sat, 29 Nov 2014 03:33:30 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=224080 After Apple has failed to get the right amount of right quality sapphire crystal glass from GT Advanced for its new smartphones, it has not dropped the idea of using the material, but turned to its partner that manages to always deliver what Apple wants: Foxconn Electronics. Apple has reached an agreement with Foxconn Electronics …

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After Apple has failed to get the right amount of right quality sapphire crystal glass from GT Advanced for its new smartphones, it has not dropped the idea of using the material, but turned to its partner that manages to always deliver what Apple wants: Foxconn Electronics.

Apple has reached an agreement with Foxconn Electronics over building of a factory near Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, China. The 300 acres (1.214 square kilometers) manufacturing facility will produce sapphire crystal glass substrates for Apple’s forthcoming products, reports Macx.cn citing Chinese Economic Weekly. The factory will be located not far away from Foxconn's production facilities where iPhone smartphones are assembled.

Apparently, Apple has not given up its plan to use sapphire crystal glass with its smartphones in a bid to get a competitive advantage over rivals. While GT Advanced could not deliver the glass to Apple, Foxconn is a company that has never let Apple down before, which is why Apple seems to be confident in its partner.

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Sapphire crystal glass is used on fine watches as well as on luxurious Vertu smartphones. While the material is expensive, it is produced in relatively high volumes nowadays. However, Apple seems to have certain specific requirements, which is why GT Advanced could not supply sapphire glass substrates to Apple.

Apple sells hundreds of millions of iPhone smartphones, iPad tablets and other gadgets every year. All Apple consumer electronics gadgets use similar applications processors, NAND flash memory, power ICs, displays, display cover glass and other components. There are very few companies in the world who can become Apple suppliers due to specific requirements for quality, price and quantity. For example, Apple clearly does not want to buy from Samsung, its arch-rival on the market of mobile phones and tablets, but it is the only company on the planet, which can produce advanced chips using leading-edge process technologies in quantities Apple demands and at price-points it is willing to pay.

Apple and Foxconn did not comment on the news-story.

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KitGuru Says: Looks like Apple clearly wants to use sapphire crystal glass instead of Corning Gorilla glass on its next iPhones. But why? Isn't Corning Gorilla 3 good enough?

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Apple could use sapphire glass for more expensive iPhone models https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/anton-shilov/apple-could-use-sapphire-glass-for-more-expensive-iphone-models/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/anton-shilov/apple-could-use-sapphire-glass-for-more-expensive-iphone-models/#respond Fri, 15 Aug 2014 23:00:19 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=207647 Earlier this year it was reported that GT Advanced Technologies, a company that produces sapphire crystal glass that has an exclusive supply agreement with Apple, had greatly expanded its manufacturing capacities (with the help of Apple). However, later on a rumour emerged that the iPhone 6 would use “traditional” Corning Gorilla glass, but not sapphire …

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Earlier this year it was reported that GT Advanced Technologies, a company that produces sapphire crystal glass that has an exclusive supply agreement with Apple, had greatly expanded its manufacturing capacities (with the help of Apple). However, later on a rumour emerged that the iPhone 6 would use “traditional” Corning Gorilla glass, but not sapphire crystal glass, as expected. According to a new report, sapphire glass will be used for next-gen iPhones, but only for expensive models.

The sapphire-crystal class has been used for decades for various kinds of consumer and industrial devices, including watches, luxurious mobile phones, plane windows and multiple other types of products. Sapphire glass is considerably more rugged than traditional glass and is even tougher than Corning’s Gorilla Glass substrates. Unfortunately, up to recently sapphire glass was much more expensive too. Earlier this year an analyst said that GT Advanced had managed to reduce the cost of their sapphire cover screens from $13 – $18 each to around $3 – $5 per screen (Gorilla Glass costs around $3), which was, generally, a speculation.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Apple is “considering using sapphire screens in more expensive models of the two new larger iPhones” set to debut later this year. Since no additional details are revealed, it is possible that the sapphire crystal glass will be used only on 128GB or 64GB versions of the forthcoming smartphones. Such smartphones are sold in lower quantities than entry-level models (and cost significantly more, too), so Apple could get enough material to support a high-volume product launch.

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Since it is unknown for sure how much do sapphire cover screens cost Apple, it is hard to say whether the plan to use them for only high-end iPhone models was conditioned by the price or supply volumes.

Given the fact that Google Android mobile platform is gaining popularity, whereas Apple’s iOS is losing smartphone market share, Apple needs to somehow increase its iPhone revenues without increasing their volumes significantly. As reported, Apple does not want to compete with high-volume models from Samsung and others to gain share. Adding a premium feature to expensive models could boost their sales and thus average selling price of iPhones in general, which will increase Apple’s revenues and profitability.

Keeping in mind that Apple usually tries to unify designs of its products as much as possible, it is imaginable that the report is wrong and sapphire crystal glass will be used on all iPhone 6 4.7” and 5.5” handsets. Apple and GT Advanced have invested a lot to make sapphire crystal glass in mass quantities, hence, it will not make a lot of sense to keep the material away from mass products.

“Before the Apple investment, I would have said sapphire is a great material with great potential but it is a few years out from becoming a market reality,” said Vinita Jakhanwal, director of mobile and emerging display technologies at research firm IHS Technology. “But Apple has invested a significant amount, so it would be fair to say that the company probably expects a return on its investment pretty quickly.”

Apple and GT Advanced did not comment on the news-story.

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KitGuru Says: Usage of sapphire crystal glass would significantly improve attractiveness of Apple’s iPhone smartphones among people who prefer advanced materials and among those, who like durability, just like in case of fine watches. While this would clearly improve Apple’s revenues and profitability, it would also mean that Apple does not want to fight for market share. While it might be okay for the short-term future, it represents a lot of risks for the company in the long-term.

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Jonathan Ive: next-gen Apple products will use all-new materials https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/anton-shilov/jonathan-ive-next-gen-apple-products-will-use-all-new-materials/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/anton-shilov/jonathan-ive-next-gen-apple-products-will-use-all-new-materials/#respond Wed, 18 Jun 2014 21:42:12 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=198891 Apple has always been a pioneer when it comes to materials. The company was among the first to use titanium to make its notebooks and was one of the first makers to use aluminium bodies for its laptops. The company continuously experiments with new materials to further improve its devices. Recently Jonathan Ive, the head …

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Apple has always been a pioneer when it comes to materials. The company was among the first to use titanium to make its notebooks and was one of the first makers to use aluminium bodies for its laptops. The company continuously experiments with new materials to further improve its devices. Recently Jonathan Ive, the head of design at Apple, reaffirmed that certain future products from the company will be made of something else than Corning’s Gorilla Glass or aluminium.

“I would love to talk about future stuff – they are materials we have not worked in before,” said Jonathan Ive, senior vice president of design at Apple, in an interview with the New York Times. “I have been working on this stuff for a few years now. Tim is fundamentally involved in pushing into these new areas and into these materials.”

For a number of years rumours about Apple’s plan to use the LiquidMetal alloy as well as sapphire glass have been circulating. However, at present the company does not use the Liquidmetal at all and only uses sapphire crystal glass for lenses and “home” buttons on the iPhone 5s.

Apple has exclusive rights to make consumer electronics products, such as computers, smartphones, tablets, smart-watches and other devices of the Liquidmetal alloy. The company first signed an exclusive agreement in 2010, then extended it in 2012 and recently it prolonged it further till February, 2015. Apple has secured exclusive supply of synthetic sapphire crystal glass from GT Advanced (which is probably one of the world’s largest makers of this material) and even invested into additional production capacities for the company early in 2013 – 2014.

The alloy developed by Liquidmetal can be cast in different forms and will retain a good look, remarkable strength, scratch and corrosion resistance as well as other advantages, such as light weight, elasticity and so on. At present the material is used in various medical, military, industrial, sports and technical applications. Synthetic sapphire crystal glass is much more rugged and scratch-resistant than the Corning Gorilla Glass used today.

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While it is possible to use almost any materials for limited edition products, when it comes to Apple, it is necessary to manufacture tens of millions of units. In order to do that with brand-new materials, all-new supply chains (which consist of multiple new partners) have to be created. Tim Cook, which used to be the chief operating officer of Apple, is one of the world’s best supply chain specialists.

“I remember clearly a time when we made plastic portable computers, and Steve and Tim and I sat down and said we wanted to build an incredibly thin and light portable computer,” said Mr. Ive. “There was a whole range of challenges from an engineering point of view: How it worked in a new material, titanium. That meant we had to completely redesign and discover new partners to work with, hire a whole new organization.”

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KitGuru Says: It remains to be seen what materials and what “new stuff” Jonathan Ive talked about in the interview. While the liquid metal alloy remains an interesting candidate for adoption, it is likely that initially it will be used only for the iWatch devices, not smartphones, tablets or notebooks.

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Canonical CEO: Apple ‘snapped up’ all the sapphire screens! https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/anton-shilov/canonical-ceo-apple-snapped-up-all-the-sapphire-screens/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/anton-shilov/canonical-ceo-apple-snapped-up-all-the-sapphire-screens/#comments Thu, 20 Feb 2014 23:55:17 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=178331 Chief executive officer of Canonical, the maker of Ubuntu operating system, confirmed at a meeting that Apple had acquired boat load of sapphire glass made by GT Advanced. He complained that last year Canonical intended to use sapphire glass for one of the first premium Ubuntu-based smartphones called Edge, but now it is impossible. “Apple …

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Chief executive officer of Canonical, the maker of Ubuntu operating system, confirmed at a meeting that Apple had acquired boat load of sapphire glass made by GT Advanced. He complained that last year Canonical intended to use sapphire glass for one of the first premium Ubuntu-based smartphones called Edge, but now it is impossible.

“Apple just snapped up three years’ worth of the supply of sapphire screens from the company that we had engaged to make the screens for the Edge,” said Mark Shuttleworth, chief executive of Canonical, during a conference call, reports Cnet News.

In general, Mr. Shuttleworth confirmed Apple’s plans to widely use the sapphire crystal glass produced by GT Advanced later this year.

Earlier this month it was reported that GT advanced Technologies, a Mesa, Arizona-based company producing advanced materials and innovative crystal growth equipment for electronics, solar and LED industries, has either ordered or acquired a significant amount of equipment used to manufacture sapphire-crystal glass. The tools that are already installed and which will be installed later this year are expected to be capable of producing s many as 187 million to 210 million 5” display covers a year.

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It was also reported that Apple last year signed a deal with GT Advanced under which the latter will be unable to produce sapphire crystal glass for other makers of consumer electronics (CE). As a result, Apple will get an exclusive advantage over other makers of smartphones, provided that it uses the sapphire covers for its iPhone devices. As a consequence, Canonical will be unable to use the crystal glass for the Edge smartphone.

At present Apple uses artificial sapphire-crystal glass for its touch ID fingerprint scanners and iSight cameras on its iPhone smartphones. The sapphire-crystal class has been used for decades for various consumer and industrial devices, including watches, luxurious mobile phones and multiple other types of products. Sapphire glass is considerably more rugged than traditional glass and is even tougher than Corning’s Gorilla Glass substrates. Regrettably, up to recently sapphire glass was much more expensive. According to analyst Matt Margolis, GT Advanced has managed to reduce the cost of their sapphire cover screens from $13 – $18 each to around $3 – $5 per screen (Gorilla Glass costs around $3).

KitGuru Says: We can now be completely confident that Apple will use the sapphire glass in large quantities. The only thing that remains to be unconfirmed is whether the glass will be used for the iPhone or something else.

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Apple’s partner expands manufacturing of sapphire glass https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/anton-shilov/apples-partner-expands-manufacturing-of-sapphire-glass/ https://www.kitguru.net/lifestyle/mobile/apple/anton-shilov/apples-partner-expands-manufacturing-of-sapphire-glass/#respond Mon, 10 Feb 2014 20:44:13 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=176907 At present Apple uses artificial sapphire-crystal glass for its touch ID fingerprint scanners and iSight cameras on its iPhone smartphones. But it looks like Apple is preparing to expand usage of the advanced material as the company’s manufacturing partner has acquired equipment to substantially boost output of sapphire-crystal glass. In the past few months, GT …

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At present Apple uses artificial sapphire-crystal glass for its touch ID fingerprint scanners and iSight cameras on its iPhone smartphones. But it looks like Apple is preparing to expand usage of the advanced material as the company’s manufacturing partner has acquired equipment to substantially boost output of sapphire-crystal glass.

In the past few months, GT Advanced Technologies, a Mesa, Arizona-based company producing advanced materials and innovative crystal growth equipment for electronics, solar and LED industries, has either ordered or acquired a significant amount of equipment used to manufacture sapphire-crystal glass, reports 9to5Mac. In particular, the company ordered hundreds of furnaces and chambers that produce high-quality, large-area sapphire substrates for applications that demand the highest grade sapphire material. In addition, the GT Advanced acquired automated sapphire inspection tool needed for testing display-grade components.

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According to analyst Matt Margolis, with the tools that GT Advanced already has installed, it could build between 103 million and 116 million ~5” displays per year. The upcoming machines would nearly double that annual output with an additional 84 million to 94 million screen covers. To sum up, GT Advanced could produce as many as 187 million to 210 million 5” display covers a year.

The sapphire-crystal class has been used for decades for various consumer and industrial devices, including watches, luxurious mobile phones and multiple other types of products. Sapphire glass is considerably more rugged than traditional glass and is even tougher than Corning’s Gorilla Glass substrates. Unfortunately, up to recently sapphire glass was much more expensive. According to analyst Matt Margolis, GT Advanced has managed to reduce the cost of their sapphire cover screens from $13 – $18 each to around $3 – $5 per screen (Gorilla Glass costs around $3).

Apple last year signed a deal with GT Advanced under which the latter will be unable to produce sapphire crystal glass for other makers of consumer electronics (CE). As a result, Apple will get an exclusive advantage over other makers of smartphones, provided that it uses the sapphire covers for its iPhone devices.

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Last month a report revealed that Foxconn Electronics, the main manufacturing partner of Apple, has assembled the first one hundred of test smartphones with sapphire-crystal glass. It is reported that manufacturing complexity significantly increased due to usage of the new cover glass.

It is necessary to note that in case Apple adopts sapphire-crystal glass from GT Advanced, it will have to again transport the glass from the U.S. to China, where iPhones are assembled. This will prolong manufacturing cycle and will also make it more expensive. At present it is unclear how the company plans to confront both challenges.

Apple could use sapphire crystal-glass not only smartphones, but also for smart-watch devices and other wearable products.

Apple and GT Advanced did not comment on the news-story.

KitGuru Says: Apple traditionally tests technology, then uses it on one product, then expands usage of it to other products to drive down costs. It looks like in the coming years Apple plans to create nearly unbreakable displays for virtually all of its products, including smartphones, media tablets and notebooks. If this is the case, then Apple’s electronics will get even more competitive in the future. 

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