iPhone Repair and iPad Repair and the future of the screen repair industry

Whatever happened to Sapphire Glass iPhone and iPad Screens?

Back in mid 2014 all the rage was discussion amongst folks on the impact of the presumed-immenent  release of iPhones with Sapphire glass screens.  This was supposed to revolutionize the repair industry as the newest model iPhones and iPads would rarely need repairs.

Now that it's mid 2015, many people are asking, what happened to this prediction?  Is Apple still planning to produce future iPhones with Sapphire Glass screens?

The answer seems to be no.  The Apple plan to "grow" sapphire and produce iPhone screens at a plant in Mesa Arizona fizzled.  Now Apple and their former partner GT Advanced Technologies are in a legal feud after GT declared bankruptcy in the midst of starting up the plant.  No usable iPhone sapphire screens were ever produced at the doomed plant.

According to +timbajarin in his article Why Apple didn't use Sapphire screens, it's not just because of the cost or the problems with GT Advanced Materials.  While cost was indeed a major factor in the decision to stick with glass screens and even Gorilla Glass, the decision involved many other factors as well.  These included design constraints, device battery life, durability, and environmental impact.

The environmental impact of Sapphire glass was especially interesting.  It's not that the materials are toxic.  The environmental impact comes from the issue that =Sapphire requires 100 times more energy to produce than glass. The energy requirements alone make sapphire problematic as a viable material to use on a smartphone. And unfortunately, there are no easy solutions for this issue.

So, expect to see good old breakable screens on your iPhones in the near future.  And plan on using companies like RepairZoom and others for iPhone repair services until some new material's science comes along to change the game in a major way.