It’s not only the Apple iPhone 6 that will get a super-tough sapphire display – Huawei is also using the technology in its next Ascend smartphone.
Huawei’s device chairman Yu Chengdong told 21st Century Business Herald (Mandarin) the company is working on a sapphire display for the Ascend P7‘s successor.
Yu showed off a prototype of a P7 kitted out with a sapphire crystal display, according to Techie News.
This could mean the company is preparing to launch two devices, the report suggests: a new Ascend handset to succeed the P7 and a special edition of the latter device fitted with the new screen.
Apple sapphire supplier ready for volume production
It’s also looking increasingly likely that the Apple iPhone 6 will sport a sapphire or sapphire-composite display.
A statement by GT Advanced Technologies’ CEO Thomas Gutierrez earlier this month is the clearest indication yet that rumours of the super-tough display, which first appeared in July, are indeed true.
In an earnings call on 5 August, transcribed by Seeking Alpha, Gutierrez said: “The build-out of our Arizona facility, which has involved taking a 1.4 million square foot facility from a shell to a functional structure and the installation of over one million square feet of sapphire growth and fabrication equipment, is nearly complete and we are commencing the transition to volume production.”
The plant in question, located in Mesa, Arizona, is actually owned by Apple, which purchased the site in 2013, but is leased to GT. Apple also signed a $578 million (£350 million) deal with the manufacturer at that time, allegedly to kit out the facility with state-of-the-art sapphire furnaces.
The next iPhone is expected to be unveiled on 9 September and go on sale in October.
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