Apple's reported iWatch, which is expected to be released in late 2014, will use sapphire watch covers, according to research firm LEDinside. If iWatch sales reach market estimations of 60 million in 2015, the device will make up 27% of overall sapphire usage volume during the year.
The Apple iWatch will be released at the end of 2014 and will introduce sapphire material that is hard and scratch resistant, the firm said. A special type of sapphire ingot must be manufactured to meet processing and design demands in later stages for the iWatch, however. As traditional production methods for sapphire will prove difficult to meet large demand due to conventional sapphire manufacturing methods that require a Verneuil process to grow sapphire crystals, Apple has established itself in the sapphire industry supply chain, said LEDinside.
LEDinside added that the first Apple iWatch will come in men's and women's models, and completely use sapphire watch covers. The male iWatch version display will be 1.66-inch, while the female model is expected to be 1.33-inch. If the iWatch released at the end of 2014 has a predicted five million unit demand volume, it will account for about 6% of the sapphire market demand volume during the year.
Moving into 2015, the iWatch shipment volume might reach the optimistic market forecast of 60 million, meaning that iWatch sapphire usage volume share could reach 27% of global sapphire usage, more than doubling sapphire market consumption in 2015 to 129%, added LEDinside.
