There had been several rumors surrounding the new iPhones having a sapphire display. In fact, most were shocked that the devices didn’t ship with a sapphire display. Monday morning Apple’s biggest sapphire supplier, GT Advanced has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Filing for bankruptcy protection allows the company to continue to operate while reorganizing the business and finding new financial arrangements with its creditors.
On September 29 2014, the company currently has $85 million in cash. In the Mesa facility the company, holds and owns furnaces and other equipment on behalf of Apple. The iPhone maker prepaid $578 million earlier this year for the equipment. GT agreed to reimburse the amount within five years beginning in 2015.
On Monday, the GT stated in a media release that the court is expected to allow the company to continue “conduct business as usual” until they fix their issues and creates a reorganization plan.
Apple currently uses sapphire crystal to protect the Touch ID and iSight camera sensors in its current iOS devices, and the Apple Watch’s screen. Though the current iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus do not use this crystal due to low supply.
Here is the Mesa facility:
The 700-worker facility should create 4,000 new jobs in Arizona.
Even though the Apple deal is fair to both parties, GT is subject to “certain exclusivity terms” and as a result it said it expected “substantially lower” gross margins.
What would’ve happened if Apple had decided to go with Sapphire displays on the new iPhones?
Leave a Reply