Apple in bid to turn MORE and MORE humans into iPhone-stroking fanbois

Apple's new sapphire glass production facility in Arizona will contain enough machinery to make 100 million iPhone screens, it has been claimed. It was estimated back in October last year that over 421 million iPhones have been sold since the product was launched in 2007. If the estimate about the new Arizona factory is …

[Anonymous Coward]

What does sapphire have to do with this stupid headline?

Apple is going to make and sell as many iPhones as they can, regardless of what type of screen it uses - sapphire, Gorilla Glass, or transparent aluminum. Same as Samsung, Nokia, HTC and every other phone maker.

[stu 4]

Re: What does sapphire have to do with this stupid headline?

Sapphire IS transparent aluminium

[Richard 81]

Hope

Maybe this means they'll finally lower their prices! Right? Maybe?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Hope

When they start knocking them out and selling them for 15 to 20 quid each I might be interested enough in trying one - not before.

[Captain Queeg]

Half a job...

100 million screens, ok, over how long?

A year? 100 million years?

[Admiral Grace Hopper]

Re: Half a job...

Or is it 100 million screens before the plant is worn out and decommissioned? That would make for some expensive screens.

[Colin Millar]

Re: Half a job...

No fair question

It doesn't have that information in the press release - do you expect the poor hack to do, like, research and stuff?

[Chris Evans]

Re: Half a job...

Yes a common failing by journalists to give half the info. Experience shows El Reg is just as bad as the tabloids in this respect.

[Steve Davies 3]

Doh!

The facility in AZ is going to make ONE component of a Phone/Tablet/whatever. The headline gives the impression (I guess deliberately done to anger the Anti Apple brigade) that Apple were going to make more iDevices. Having the capacity to make more of one component of a device does not and cannot imply that they are gonig to make more devices in total.

The facility in AZ is unproven. We have no idea of its yield yet. What it 40% of what it produces is unusable? That may make the facility perfectly matched to the actual device output.

Another step in the race to the bottom that pretty well all IT Journos are engaged in these days.

Please go and sit on the naughty step and recite 1,000 times, I need to research my posts a lot better in future and not just replicate a bad article posted on 9to5mac.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sapphire ??

That will be £1000 for 8 gb model. and £1500 for a 16 gb model. (8gb Microsim is £2.99 near my local - retail)

Because it is sapphire. Did you want them in Diamond? OR transparent platinum?

[Steve Todd]

Re: Sapphire ??

Erm, the whole point of mass-producing synthetic sapphire is to bring the cost down. You can already buy watches with sapphire faces for less than £50, the idea here is to get the cost down to not much more than gorilla glass.

Oh, and you're conveniently ignoring performance and reliability in your £2.99 microSD card. You honestly think that it will last 3 or more years and perform as well as the internal components used by not just Apple?

[MrXavia]

Re: Sapphire ??

2.99 Micro SD? are you mad using that?

I only buy known reliable brands, but even then SanDisk Fail...

Samsung currently seem to be the winner for MicroSD's that last, not one has failed (yet...), but I have 3 failed Sandisks...

Sure Samsung cost £5-£10 more for 64gig but tis worth it!

[Aitor 1]

Perfect

I might even buy an IPhone.. it won't scratch or crack.

Gorilla glass is OK... but compared with saphire .. it is really bad.

[returnmyjedi]

Re: Perfect

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to why certain screens scratch/crack/survive. My wife has had an iPhone 4 for over three years and there's not a mark on it, despite it living without a case and being subjected to the innards of ger handbag. My last phone had Gorilla Glass 2 and it also didn't have a mark on it, even after bouncing down three flights of concrete stairs.

I'm typing this on a Lumia 1020 with a Gorilla Glass 3 screen which has a handful of tiny scratches on it. Next to it is an iphone 5S which already has a scuffed screen and - coming back on topic - an thick scratch across the camera cover. Which is made of sapphire.

[Adam T]

These aren't for phones

They're for the next generation of snow-proof shop front glass. Just you watch and see.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: These aren't for phones

Snow proof? Are you claiming sapphire has some magic quality that allows it to melt any snow that lands on it?

Though it would be funny to see the analyst backpedaling that would result if the sapphire was for the glass in their stores, and not for the phones.

[Heisenberg]

Bombproof

I heard that the new iPhone with sapphire glass will be able to survive a 1400 mega-tonne nuclear detonation. Now show me an Android phone that could do that!

[Ted Treen]

Re: Bombproof

@Heisenberg...

You're fomenting uncertainty again.

[nanchatte]

Call this an article?

Was this written by a full-time member of staff?

Enough equipment to make a 100 million screens? What does that mean, exactly... And also, 'inspection tools' which 'can be used to make high quality glass?'

Pardon?