Iphone 6

The iPhone 6 will not feature a sapphire crystal display after all, according to analysts who say they can find no sign of the material in Apple's supply chain.

Persistent leaks and rumours have suggested that the screen of the iPhone 6 will be coated with the super-strong man-made glass, which is second only to diamond in hardness.

Apple is expected to unveil the new handset in mid-September, and new reports suggest that a 4.7-inch model will go on sale a month later. MacRumors quotes an anonymous source who said that Apple has told its retail store managers to expect an "immense" day on 14 October.

According to TechRadar, "the report has raised eyebrows in many circles, considering every Apple iPhone launch since the first-generation handset in 2007 has taken place on a Friday" – but 14 October falls on a Tuesday.

According to MacRumors' source, the switch of days will allow Apple to cope with "high customer demand", enabling stores to restock for the weekend. After previous iPhone launches, analysts have suggested that Apple is happy to let demand outstrip supply, as long queues fuel the hype surrounding a new product.

Other commentators have cast doubt on the report, suggesting that the 14 October event may be unrelated to the iPhone 6. Apple is also expected to launch the iWatch – a wrist-mounted smart device – this autumn, as well as new iPads and Macs.

Nor is there any word on when the larger, 5.5-inch iPhone 6 predicted by many Apple-watchers may be released. Recent reports have suggested that it may not appear until next year after problems encountered with manufacturing components slim enough to meet Apple's specification.

Unlike many Apple rumours, including those relating to the launch date, reports that the iPhone 6 would be fitted with a sapphire crystal screen seemed to be grounded in solid, on-on-the-record detail. The company is known to have invested millions of dollars in a company that manufactures the material.

But now analysts say that Apple has been forced into a rethink.

"Disappointingly low yield rates of sapphire glass mean that while the material may be used for the display of later versions of the handset, the launch model will use another reinforced form of glass," reports the Daily Telegraph.

It will still be used in smaller iPhone 6 components, such as the camera lens and fingerprint scanner – which are already fashioned from sapphire crystal.

The report is based on research by TrendForce LEDInside, which says that Apple was struggling to produce enough sapphire crystal to keep pace with expected demand. "Analysts say the new smartphone won't come with the new screen glass because they can't make it quick enough to meet deadlines," reports the Daily Mirror.

A video released earlier this month (see below) showed what many believed to be a sapphire crystal display from an iPhone 6 emerging unscathed from a battery of bending, scratching and stabbing with knives.

But the Telegraph quotes one expert who suggests that the very quality which made sapphire crystal Apple's first choice – its hardness – also contributed to the production problems that have supposedly ruled it out. 

As well as being slow and expensive to grow, "it is also very difficult to cut, grind and polish", says Hutch Hutchison, head of design at phone-maker Vertu, which uses the material in its high-end handsets. "Diamond tools have to be used for all of these processes."

Read more: http://www.theweek.co.uk/technology/iphone-6/58548/iphone-6-apple-drops-sapphire-glass-for-october-launch#ixzz39FTK2iUC