Purported 'iPhone 6' sapphire display undergoes extreme torture test in video
Hours after a video purportedly revealed Apple's rumored sapphire crystal "iPhone 6" display on Monday, another short film hit the Web, this time putting the supposed part through a battery of torture tests that included knives, keys and extreme bending.
Uploaded to YouTube by tech vlogger Marques Brownlee, the video mirrors today's earlier post by taking a close-up look at the purported iPhone 6 display, but goes further by attempting to scratch, bend and break the part. The display performed surprisingly well and came out of testing unscathed.
Brownlee said the component is made of sapphire crystal and came straight off Apple's assembly line in Asia, but provided little evidence to support his claims. A number of manufactured materials offer similar properties to those shown off in the video, including Corning's Gorilla Glass which Apple currently uses in its portable products. The glass maker said its next-generation Gorilla Glass 3 is more resistant to scratches, flexing and shattering than certain sapphire formulas.
Whatever it is made of, the rumored iPhone 6 component looks to be both extremely hard and adequately pliable, possibly to the point of negating the need for a screen protector.
Apple first used sapphire as a rear camera lens cover in the iPhone 5, then expanded deployment to the Touch ID fingerprint reader found in the iPhone 5s. With its superior scratch protection and clarity, sapphire is a preferred, yet more expensive, alternative to aluminosilicate glass.
After inking a $578 million deal with sapphire manufacturer GT Advanced Technologies in November, Apple has been widely rumored to be preparing larger installations -- like front panels -- in future iOS devices, starting with the next iPhone.
AppleInsider was first to report on Apple's sapphire-related patents, many of which suggest the company has been investigating sapphire covered displays for years. In regard to today's video, a particular property involving laminate construction comes to mind. The IP describes a method of laying up sapphire sheets with varying physical properties to increase surface hardness, while at the same time enhancing flexibility.
Uploaded to YouTube by tech vlogger Marques Brownlee, the video mirrors today's earlier post by taking a close-up look at the purported iPhone 6 display, but goes further by attempting to scratch, bend and break the part. The display performed surprisingly well and came out of testing unscathed.
Brownlee said the component is made of sapphire crystal and came straight off Apple's assembly line in Asia, but provided little evidence to support his claims. A number of manufactured materials offer similar properties to those shown off in the video, including Corning's Gorilla Glass which Apple currently uses in its portable products. The glass maker said its next-generation Gorilla Glass 3 is more resistant to scratches, flexing and shattering than certain sapphire formulas.
Whatever it is made of, the rumored iPhone 6 component looks to be both extremely hard and adequately pliable, possibly to the point of negating the need for a screen protector.
Apple first used sapphire as a rear camera lens cover in the iPhone 5, then expanded deployment to the Touch ID fingerprint reader found in the iPhone 5s. With its superior scratch protection and clarity, sapphire is a preferred, yet more expensive, alternative to aluminosilicate glass.
After inking a $578 million deal with sapphire manufacturer GT Advanced Technologies in November, Apple has been widely rumored to be preparing larger installations -- like front panels -- in future iOS devices, starting with the next iPhone.
AppleInsider was first to report on Apple's sapphire-related patents, many of which suggest the company has been investigating sapphire covered displays for years. In regard to today's video, a particular property involving laminate construction comes to mind. The IP describes a method of laying up sapphire sheets with varying physical properties to increase surface hardness, while at the same time enhancing flexibility.
Comments
The kid sounds like a pro. Sounds like he is ready for a prime time job with a TV network. The Verge or anyone that produces a lot of tech videos should snap him up with a job.
I think he is way too good for those gearheads at the Verge. He should have his own site, which maybe he does.
The bend test was pretty cool. I wish we could see a side-by-side comparison with gorilla glass. You might be surprised how flexible glass is when it's thin.
One thing is for sure, if Apple uses a sapphire display, it will be better than gorilla glass. Apple doesn't use gimmicks. If the material doesn't have a real world benefit, they wouldn't use it.
The bend test was pretty cool. I wish we could see a side-by-side comparison with gorilla glass. You might be surprised how flexible glass is when it's thin.
One thing is for sure, if Apple uses a sapphire display, it will be better than gorilla glass. Apple doesn't use gimmicks. If the material doesn't have a real world benefit, they wouldn't use it.
Yep, I agree with everything you said.
Your first point, what looks real to me is the material's stiffness, its resistance to bending. I would expect GG to bend more at that thinness.
Your second point is true and worth pointing out. Also, they don't get credit in the stupid tech meme sphere for pushing the boundaries on materials over and over again.
Well, it could be they're in Asia for assembly; might be easier to snag a sample from there than anywhere else? Who knows? I'm just guessing, obviously.
If this thing truly is a sample from the next iPhone model, Wow!
The kid sounds like a pro. Sounds like he is ready for a prime time job with a TV network. The Verge or anyone that produces a lot of tech videos should snap him up with a job.
Leo Laporte from the TWiT Network has tried to hire him. He's doing very well on his own.
So Marques Brownlee is an Apple Fanboy now??? Coz his G+ Post is so ridiculous of hating iPhone.
This is the real deal. Marques has gotten other solid inside info before.
I thought these were coming out of Apple's sapphire plant in Arizona??? Why are these so-called sapphire panel leaks coming from Apple's assembly line in Asia?
Made in Arizona, assembled in Asia.
I can't wait to see the new stuff in a couple months... the iOS8 with some games and other programs implementing Metal and Swift along with the App Extensions ought to be like the iDevices were totally reinvented! Life will really suck for Apple-haters. 8-)
This dude needs to do a moss hardness test. Scratching a key and knife to it tells us this display is harder than the key and the knife... and nothing else. The iphone 5 would also pass that.
What about that extreme flexing of the glass panel?
Fixed that for ya...
Now back to topic that one is fake, phablet and ugly design that doesn't sound like apple at all, Apple is more interested to make us the perfect gadget made from diamond (sapphire) and titanium 2 (liquid metal) by AI (foxbot) easy to handle instead of uncomfortable mini tablet phone
Shamesung was the one who started those fake rumors about iPhone 6 phablet to advertise is phablets