14 DAY TRIAL // It's been almost two weeks since the first supposedly iPhone 6 face plate was leaked. Everybody said it was tougher than Gorilla Glass. Now the makers of the latter want to show the opposite is actually true.
In the past few weeks, a few videos came out highlighting the power of the new sapphire iPhone 6 display. The 4.7 diagonal piece of glass that may cover the next-generation iDevice coming from Apple is actually more expensive than the current Gorilla Glass covering the iPhone 5s. However, videos posted online show that the sapphire glass display bends more and can actually resist a nail pushed down on it.
A video posted on Corning's website shows a stress and strength test for both types of glass. The Corning guys say their stuff is much stronger and they prove it with some convincing lab footage.
Both pieces of glass are 1 millimeter (0.03 inches) in thickness. The testers put them in a cylinder along with some nuts and bolts and everyday purse items like a hair brush, mirror, lipstick and hair accessories. They went through a typical wear and tear test by being rotated in that cylinder for 45 minutes.
After that, the samples are removed and loaded on Ring on Ring Strength test. The sapphire glass sample breaks at 161 pounds (73.02 kg), but the Corning Gorilla Glass can withstand two and a half as much force without breaking.
Apple is rumored to switch from Gorilla Glass to Sapphire for their next-generation iPhone 6. So far, we have seen different parts and components of this device, like the display, back cover, buttons and SIM Card Trays. The changes suggest that the Cupertino-based tech giant will not only adopt this new type of glass, but it will make it cheaper.
Currently, only phones like Vertu are using sapphire glass displays and these devices are sold for over $11,300 (8,300 Euro). Apple may get their hands on a sapphire glass factory so they would not have to depend on other manufacturers to create their displays.
Apple already uses sapphire glass for the iPhone 5s. The camera lens and the Touch ID / Home Button cover are made using that material. There are other makers that do the same. LG, for example, has the camera for their G2 phone covered with sapphire glass as well. However, besides luxury companies like Vertu, other phone manufacturers cannot afford to switch to a full sapphire display panel for their gadgets.