Apple will soon have everything it needs to put sapphire displays in the next generation of the iPhone, according to 9to5Mac. The company has reportedly ordered large quantities of furnaces and chambers used to make sapphire displays, along with tools for inspection. According to an analyst mentioned in the report, Apple will have enough materials for production parter GT Advanced Technologies to make anywhere from 100 million to 200 million sapphire iPhone displays, assuming a 5-inch screen size.
Last year, Apple and GT Advanced struck a deal to open and operate a manufacturing facility in Mesa, Arizona related to sapphire crystal components. Earlier this year, we learned that Apple is “aggressively” pushing to make the facility operational by February 2014 and that the building would produce a “critical” and “new” sub-component for future Apple devices. Due to the vagueness and secrecy surrounding Apple and GT Advanced’s plans, there has been little to no confirmation regarding what exactly the partnership will yield for future Apple products. But, thanks to new documents and information that we have uncovered with help of analyst Matt Margolis, we have a clearer picture of Apple’s plans…
