Canonical CEO claims Apple bought a 3-year supply of sapphire displays

Speaking about past and future plans for its mobile Ubuntu platform, Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth dropped a hint about Apple’s big plans for sapphire in the coming years, reports GigaOM.According to Shuttleworth, Apple, in the past year, has bought up a three-year supply of sapphire displays. It affected Canonical in a negative way as the company hoped to use sapphire glass in its flagship Ubuntu Edge smartphone. “Apple just snapped up the entire 3-year supply of the same sapphire display we wanted for the Edge,” Shuttleworth said Without further clarification, it’s not know whether Shuttleworth’s comments can be interpreted to mean the iPhone 6 will ship with the Edge’s intended 4.5-inch display. This isn’t the first rumor that places a 4.5-inch display in the next generation iPhone. Earlier this year, a Wall Street Journal report claimed the next iPhone will ship with a screen that is at least 4.5-inches. Shuttleworth’s comments on sapphire echo a similar report that suggests Apple has bought enough sapphire manufacturing hardware and substrate materials to produce up to 200-million iPhone displays. Apple and materials manufacturer GT Advanced are working together to produce sapphire in a plan in Arizona. Apple currently uses sapphire in its Touch ID sensor and as a coating on its rear-facing camera. Because of its hardness, sapphire is an excellent material for scratch resistant displays. The cost of production and other manufacturing limitation have prohibited the use of sapphire in mobile devices, but that may change now that GT Advanced has partnered with Apple. Continue reading →

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