GT
Advanced has started production of sapphire in its joint manufacturing
operation with Apple. Small quantities of the material is reportedly
leaving the Arizona facility for a manufacturing partner in China, which
is using the deliverable to make sapphire covers, claims a report from
analysts at UBS Research.Sapphire production reportedly began in March, with the plant still in the early stages of startup. GT Advanced is not operating the facility yet at full capacity and has managed to produce only 2,200 kg of sapphire using approximately 100 furnaces.
Apple partnered with GT Advanced to produce mass quantities of sapphire at a lower price point than what it currently is paying third-party companies for a sapphire supply sufficient for its iOS devices. Sapphire now is used in the Touch ID sensor of the iPhone 5s and as covering for camera modules in the recent iPhone models, including the 5s and the 5c.We estimate GT’s shipment to China was only about $1M worth of sapphire last month. We believe this Apple partner needs to be receiving sapphire totaling about $50M+ per month to confirm that the GT Arizona fab is running at close to full utilization.
Rumors suggests Apple may use sapphire in the display for the upcoming iPhone 6, transitioning away from its usage of Gorilla galls. Though sapphire still shatters, its durability and scratch resistance makes it an attractive material for a display. Production is still in low volume and may not meet the demand Apple needs to produces its iPhone 6 in high volume quantities. As a result, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has suggested Apple may only include sapphire in select high-end models of the iPhone 6.
Sapphire also is commonly used as a watch face and may land in Apple’s rumored iWatch smart watch. GT Advanced is rumored to have purchased enough sapphire furnaces to produce between 100 and 200 million sapphire displays, which is sufficient to outfit one product line for a year.
[Via MacRumors]
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