With big smartphone manufacturers such as Apple and LG introducing sapphire substrate into smartphone camera lens protector caps and home buttons, the market predicts that in 2014 sapphire substrate will also be used to replace glass in smartphone screens. Glass substrate manufacturer Corning, however, maintains a guarded opinion towards the replacement as production costs for sapphire substrate are high and sapphire substrate, which is as thin as glass substrate Gorilla Glass has a higher damage rate.
The market has discussed the possibility of sapphire substrate being used in smartphone screens for a very long time. Market insiders believe that with the current price of sapphire substrate used in smartphone screens being 3-4 times lower than that of glass substrate, OEM and ODM companies are more willing to use sapphire substrate. It is estimated that by the second half of 2014, sapphire substrate might be used in smartphone screens, which is hoped to drive the next wave of sapphire substrate growth.
However, Corning, which has taken a huge market share in the smartphone market with glass substrates, maintains a conservative outlook on sapphire substrates. The company noted production time for sapphire substrate is 4,000 times that of glass substrate and physical properties of sapphire substrate make it difficult to lower costs.
Although, sapphire substrate is more scratch resilient than glass substrates, its transparency is lower than glass substrate by six percent which can lead to optical distortion, according to Corning. Also, a single sapphire substrate unit is 67 percent heavier than a same sized glass substrate, which is not beneficial to lowering costs. According to durability tests performed by Corning, when both sapphire substrate and Gorilla Glass are of the same thickness and applied in an average cellphone, sapphire substrate breaks more easily than Gorilla Glass.
Remarking on whether sapphire substrate will replace glass substrate for smartphone screens in the future, Corning said there is still a chance. However, looking at the characteristics and economic scale of sapphire substrate, phones with sapphire substrate screens are more likely to be seen in niche markets.
