Although we know that Apple has spent a lot of money to team up with GT Advanced to created a sapphire glass manufacturing facility, we haven’t up until now had any direct confirmation on whether or not it that glass would be used for the screen of the iPhone 6. All we’ve heard are rumors, which right now say that sapphire glass will be limited to the most premium models of Apple’s latest smartphone.
But thanks to a rather loose-lipped former GT Advanced employee, we might have our first real confirmation that Apple and GT Advanced have been working to ship the iPhone 6 with a sapphire glass display.
According to a LinkedIn updated by former GT Product Manager Paul Matthews, he spent his time at the company helping “spearhead” Apple’s sapphire glass display for future iPhones:
Worked with GT Advanced Technology to help market and sell the idear [sic] of sapphire as a cover screen for mobile devices to Apple. […]
After marketing and selling the ASF [advanced sapphire furnace] into the LED market targeted mobile screen covers as a market for growth, conducted a focused marketing campaign and developed a cost model across the supply chain that has brought sapphire to Apple’s mobile display.
Matthews spent three years working for GT Advanced before leaving to join Applied Materials. It’s worth noting that Matthews doesn’t straightout say that sapphire glass displays will come to the iPhone 6, but instead just “Apple’s mobile displays,” which could mean the iPhone, iPad, and iWatch. Matthews has since deleted his LinkedIn profile.
Whether or not we’ll see such sapphire glass screens come preinstalled on the devices announced on Tuesday is still unknow, but luckily, we only have two days to wait to find out.
Via: MacRumors
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
4 responses to “Linkedin profile confirms sapphire glass screens coming to Apple mobile devices”
Sounds like a bad move to release company “secrets” to get attention. I wonder how many potential employers will feel the same way and not hire such an individual.
Sure he may now even have signed a confidentiality agreement but when you are releasing info that is vague during at time when you know the world is expecting confirmation, seems like a bold career move that may come back to bite you in the a$$
Brokering a deal with Apple far outweighs any minor slip of information. He’ll learn from this and probably be tighter lipped in future, but this deal will definitely help him further his career.
Unlikely.. blown out of proportion.. people reading between the lines.. it says nothing of when, in what model or how it’s used.. for all we know it’s referring to the mobile touch ID screen … Which was released last year and a well known feature.. which he could be responsible for..
Even then.. he’s not specific. Thats all that is required.. It’s sites like Cult of Mac, 9to5, etc that ‘insert’ their own reality distortion bubble on what they ‘think’ he’s referring too..
The Steve Job’s reality distortion bubble is strong with them!
Idear? Haha. Amazing.