Apple devices 'could have sapphire glass screens'
Apple is planning to build a 700-employee facility to make sapphire glass, which could be used on future iPhones and iPads.
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It announced its plan to partner with mineral crystal firm GT Advanced Technologies, in a $578 million deal to open a plant in Arizona, US.
The partnership suggests Apple will use sapphire cover glass to protect the displays used in future iOS hardware.
Sapphire is already used in the Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the new iPhone 5S, which is likely to feature in future Apple products, although it was not used in the new iPad Air or retina iPad mini.
Apple also use sapphire, which is harder than rock, to protect iPhone camera lenses and it is increasingly being used as a screen material in prototypes and high-end phones.
Industrial sapphire is synthetically created and is so hard that it is shaped by diamond-tipped saws.
The material is much more expensive than normal screens, but an increased demand could lead to a decline in costs.
Sapphire use could replace current Gorilla Glass, supplied by Corning, and it could encourage other smartphone developers to embrace sapphire and improve its economies of scale.
Sapphire is thinner, stronger, and more scratch-resistant than current cover glass solutions such as Gorilla Glass, but is also much costlier.
"GT has accelerated the development of its next generation, large capacity ASF (advanced sapphire furnaces) to deliver low cost, high volume manufacturing of sapphire material," the company said in its statement announcing the deal.
"Although the agreement does not guarantee volumes, it does require GT to maintain a minimum level of capacity."
The plant will create at least 700 jobs in the first year, plus an additional 1,300 construction-related jobs. Apple will also be investing in new renewable energy projects to power the new facility.
An Apple spokesperson said: "We are proud to expand our domestic manufacturing initiative with a new facility in Arizona, creating more than 2,000 jobs in engineering, manufacturing and construction.
"This new plant will make components for Apple products and it will run on 100 per cent renewable energy from day one, as a result of the work we are doing with SRP to create green energy sources to power the facility."