Everyone was waiting for "sapphire" revolution from Apple, it is no wonder as the company invested heavily in GT Advanced
Technologies. But in the end got the iPhone 6 is quite traditional aluminosilicate glass, and GT Advanced filed for bankruptcy protection. What is the meaning of this story and why all this happened - no one knows exactly, although it is assumed that this is the Cupertino-based company has brought a partner into bankruptcy, which, incidentally, will not affect plans to bring to market Apple Watch. Sooner or later tidbits emerge, and some of them have even managed to leak to the press. In particular, there is information about the amount of the fine that Apple has appointed for the leak of information about the company's future products.
Among of submitted papers to the court regarding bankruptcy GT Advanced there are details of the contract with Apple, though they were not disclosed to the business and ethical reasons. Nevertheless, lawyers producer of synthetic sapphire insist to make this information public.
They say, is in the interests of creditors and shareholders, as if the contract really was "oppressive and burdensome," while the latter has a chance to knock out Apple some sort of compensation. On the other hand, why in this case the sign is so disadvantageous contract? But in any case, litigation and even more so of the bankruptcy case - an intricate and complex process, in which each party tries to put himself in the most favorable position.
At the moment emerged only one of the conditions of the contract relating to penalties applied in the event of leakage of information about future Apple products from the factory GT Advanced. It is about imposing the payment of $ 50 million. Business sector has long ply rumors that deal with Apple is not as rosy as it might seem at first glance. On the one hand a sweet looming multimillion-dollar orders, on the other - a very strict conditions in terms of quality of production, and in terms of fines, as we now know. Although, as practice shows - such severe measures do not help much against leaks, because of the design of iPhone 6 in two versions was known long before the announcement of the device.
Returning to the complex cooperation between technology companies, I recall that Apple has signed with GT Advanced 5-year contract for the manufacture and supply of sapphire glass, money for equipment for which the Cupertino-based company she herself and given, and it is not much - about $ 500 million . was expected that the iPhone 6 will be the first smartphone with a massive protective sapphire crystal and, in theory, GT Advanced waited cloudless and well-fed future.
An excellent example of successful cooperation in the related field is a company Corning, which began its triumphal march mobile market with the release of the original glass for iPhone. Even though it is not advertised, but it provides Apple with their protective panels of chemically strengthened glass to this day.
But in the case of sapphire that is not grown together. According to rumors and circumstantial evidence, GT Advanced just could not give Apple access panel sapphire required quality. Cheaper analog of Corning Gorilla Glass, though has a lower hardness, but still better by other parameters, including flexibility and thickness. As a result, when it became known that the iPhone 6 is no sapphire display protection, GT Advanced shares collapsed, after which the company and has made a declaration of bankruptcy. I'm sure this is not the end of the story, and we learn a lot about the relationship between Apple and its partners.
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