GTAT could supply sapphire displays for Apple's next funded iPhone

 

A new manufacturing agreement between Apple and GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) is reportedly nearing completion. It appears that a new growth solution using glass displays is in development, intended to be part of the new iPhone that Apple is expected to launch next year.

And it is anticipated that Apple will pay $578 million upfront to secure the supply of sapphires . GTAT is said to use the funds to establish additional sapphire production capacity ; that is, enough sapphire will be produced to cover the 33,79 to 50,56 million screens for the next 5 -inch iPhone next year.

Digitimes reported that the $578 million could be used to acquire 1,930 to 2,890 sapphire growth furnaces. This would allow for a monthly production of 5,28 to 7,90 million millimeters of sapphire ingots, equivalent to 2 inches of the material. This volume would cover 17.8 to 26.6% of the screens projected for 2014.

However, despite this estimate, analysts believe it is more likely that Apple will use sapphire crystal to cover the screen of a product like the iWatch , rather than the screen of an iOS device.