Samsung and LG Reportedly Exploring Sapphire Crystal Displays

Apple is leading the way in the adoption of sapphire, with the company producing the material in limited quantities in its new Arizona plant. A portion of this material is expected to land in the iPhone 6 and possibly the iWatch as a scratch-resistant display material. According to Korean media reports (via GforGames), both Samsung and LG are showing renewed interest in sapphire following Apple's early success in manufacturing the material.

sapphire_furnaces

Furnaces for sapphire glass production

LG and Samsung allegedly explored the feasibility of using sapphire in their phones last year, but rejected the material due to the high cost of production. Now that Apple is moving forward with the material, Samsung and LG are reevaluating their earlier decisions, reaching out to sapphire glass manufacturers and requesting product samples for examination.

This year however, the aforementioned Korean tech giants might be forced by the industry to reconsider their decision. With numerous other gadget manufacturers putting a lot of thought into making sapphire glass feasible, and with Apple already operating the sapphire glass processing plant in US, Arizona, LG and Samsung are supposedly going to jump on the sapphire display bandwagon sooner rather than later.

Sapphire may be a critical component of Apple's rumored iWatch, providing an outer scratch-resistant layer to the wrist-worn device. Recent rumors also suggest Apple may incorporate a sapphire crystal display into its upcoming iPhone 6. A recent research note from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests the initial supply of sapphire displays could be limited, forcing Apple to use the material only in select high-end models of the upcoming handset.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch Series 9
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
New MacBook Pros Launching Tomorrow With These 4 New Features 2

M5 MacBook Models to Use New Compact Camera Module in 2025

Wednesday July 17, 2024 2:58 am PDT by
Apple in 2025 will take on a new compact camera module (CCM) supplier for future MacBook models powered by its next-generation M5 chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Writing in his latest investor note on unny-opticals-2025-business-momentum-to-benefit-509819818c2a">Medium, Kuo said Apple will turn to Sunny Optical for the CCM in its M5 MacBooks. The Chinese optical lens company...

Top Rated Comments

SilverL Avatar
133 months ago
Filed under: Copying. Apple. See previous attempts.

At least someone acknowledges Apple is an innovator.
Score: 53 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cyborg21 Avatar
133 months ago
I must congratulate Samsung for their business strategy. 1) Copy 2) Bash company you copied 3) Pay money to all media to get rid of ''Samsung is a copycat'' news 4) Make people believe you are best and original 5) When you sued, bash company again 6) Make lawsuit happen as late as possible 7) Counter-sue 8) Repeat the cycle

Isn't it right? It's pretty obvious Samsung copies Apple and some other companies and there are still some people believing Samsung is original and Apple's lawsuit is baloney.


edit:

"Apple is leading the way in the adoption of sapphire"
Are you for real ?? Apple is NOT LEADING NOTHING !
The ONLY thing Apple are leading is it's own OS : iOS.. Nothing else..
See?
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
moetownslick Avatar
133 months ago
Isn't this getting a bit ridiculous, Samsung?
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
furi0usbee Avatar
133 months ago
Samsung? No way. I don't believe it. Samsung is a pioneer in the tech industry and I'm sure they are looking at skipping sapphire and moving straight to diamond screens. I'm sure of it. It's diamond clear to me.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
D.T. Avatar
133 months ago
Samsung and LG exploring idea of developing ultra-thin, solid state storage, aluminum notebook computers running new operating system called OSZ.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gnasher729 Avatar
133 months ago
Apple isn't really "leading the way" until they produce a product with it, right?

Wrong. It's called "leading the way", not "arriving first". For "being the first to use sapphire crystal displays in a phone", they'd have to produce a product. "Leading the way" means "being followed". If some luxury phone maker built some thousand phones with sapphire crystal before Apple, they would be first, but if they are not followed then it would still be Apple "leading the way".
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)