A report published on Saturday reveals that Apple was originally planning to use sapphire glass displays on both the Apple iPhone 6 and the Apple iPhone 6 Plus. Sapphire glass was shipped from GT to the finishers in China, but there were problems producing the displays that would have been used on the handsets. The report, which cites supply chain sources, states that yields were just 25% or less.
The sources added that the fault lies with Biel and Lens Technologies, the company charged with turning the sapphire material into sapphire glass screens. The whole affair wasn't a total loss for Apple, as the sapphire glass that didn't pass QC were turned into screens for the Apple Watch. The report says that Apple will move the rest of the sapphire glass production for the Apple Watch back to Arizona, where sapphire will continue to be produced, possibly for later iPhone 6 units.
The good news here is that GT has shown that it can meet Apple's production requirements, which was a big concern. And according to the report, Biel and Lens' finishing yield issues can be resolved. Eventually, Apple will offer iPhone models using a sapphire glass screen. It all depends on getting the finishing yields up to a rate that makes using the sapphire glass less expensive for Apple to use.
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