The iPhone 6 should not have been sapphire

For a whole year the whole world was waiting for the appearance of a sapphire glass on the iPhone 6 to be disappointed at the last moment. From the huge flow of rumors and beliefs was gone - just as there is in displays and sapphire new smartphones Apple. How did it happen? Decided to work on the answer journalists portal Time, who analyzed all the information again and came to a simple conclusion: the new phones you should not even have been a sapphire glass. This is indicated by the following five reasons. 

design 

Smartphone makers every year trying to make the device even thinner - mainly due to increase in all the other dimensions of the shell. Not an easy task: it is necessary not only to reduce the physical size of the internal components, but also to do the same with the materials of the shell. Sapphire Glass for the iPhone would have been much thicker than usual, not to mention the production Corning, Gorilla Glass, which can be thinner than a sheet of paper. 

Rounded corners of the display, as on the iPhone 6, it would be very costly to recreate the sapphire glass. Add this to the increase in the thickness of the finished product - and get a good reason to give up the material at all. 

cost 

Item smoothly follows from the previous statement. Apple is known for very strict relation to their income: every year they need to grow, to appease investors and the public. According to the latest data, every iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus costs of costly than any of the previous line of smartphones. In the cost includes not only production, but also all the processes associated with its preparation and development. 

It is known that the production of sapphire worth 10 times more expensive than conventional power - that now stands in mobile devices Apple. According to the Times, in fact, the price would be even higher. All costs eventually would add $ 100 to the base price of each iPhone 6. These funds compensate consumers, and eventually sales would suffer in the long run due to the high cost of the gadgets. 

Battery life 

And here it is, if it is a piece of mineral? The fact that the usual glass transmits light much better than sapphire. This is not fiction journalists, and information from researchers in the organization of Bernstein Research. To achieve the same brightness with sapphire crystal, as it was before with the usual, Apple would have to establish a much more expensive, powerful lighting system. And they require more energy to operate. 

By the way, since we're talking about the properties of the material, it is worth mentioning another problem. Technology combining anti-reflective coating glass, which is now implemented in all new iPhone, already honed and give excellent results. Same with a sapphire crystal would require a coating on top, and with time - a year or two - it would inevitably be erased. 

Environmental Impact 

No, sapphire display does not exude harmful substances into the atmosphere. But Western companies live under the constant supervision of environmental organizations like Greenpeace, and who constantly "put a spoke in the wheel" to those who, in their opinion not enough care about the environment. Most recently, Apple appease all such transferring almost all outlets in the United States for renewable energy. All "green" initiatives of the company now quickly appear in a special section of the corporate website. 

Production of sapphire would impose on them a very large shadow, because would require 100 times more energy than ordinary glass. A Greenpeace tofu do not feed - just give to the tower pozalezat yes protests under the window to arrange. It is better not to run. 

Durability 

Strength of sapphire is often overrated - usually the same people that screamed with sofas on the lack of innovation in the iPhone 6 immediately after the presentation. Sapphire and sapphire crystal are incredibly resistant to scratches. This is a fact. You do not leave a trace on them with a knife and other household items. But it is necessary to drop the sapphire crystal on the hard floor - and it will shatter. Ordinary glass manufactured using modern technologies, already able to withstand much more powerful blows. 

As a result, the main advantage of the material would be greatly marred its disadvantage: dropping the iPhone, you would in nine cases out of ten raised to vhlam broken device. However, recent history with the first buyer of iPhone 6 clearly demonstrates Give us at least a cast-iron screen - we'll break it.