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Apple iPhone 6: Missing sapphire glass screen FAIL explained

They just cannae do it in time, says analyst

Apple fanbois were left scratching their heads when Tim Cook unveiled the new iPhone 6 without the sapphire glass facelift many were expecting it to receive .

Now mobile analyst Matt Margolis has claimed that supply chain issues prevented Cupertino from rolling out phones equipped with the new wonder material.

He is one of many Apple observers who have spent the past few months speculating about whether Apple and its partner GT have managed to get a handle on the volume production of sapphire glass.

There is no doubt the Apple Watch will come with a sapphire glass face, but Apple won't have to prove that because it won't be released until the New Year. The iPhone 6 and its big-boned cousin the iPhone 6 Plus will come out in a matter of weeks, but this deadline appears to have been too harsh for GT and Apple.

Margolis claimed to have been in touch with the usual shadowy "supply chain sources" who told him GT had already shipped "large quantities" of sapphire to a Chinese firm called Lens and Biel, the "finishers" who finalise the glass ready for use in some iThing or other.

"The plan as of a “week ago” was to include a sapphire covered iPhone 6 in yesterday’s launch," Margolis wrote. "The issue that emerged is that the finishers were still having trouble creating the sapphire edges and yields were only at 25 per cent or less. I am under the impression that GT’s management knew about this last minute shift away from sapphire screens prior to the August 5th conference call and it may have resulted in lower guidance for 2014 by $100m."

He said that iPhone screens which did not pass quality checks were being converted into screens for the Apple Watch, while remaining finishing work has now moved back to the GT facility in Mesa.

Although Margolis remained confident that yield issues would be addressed, he said it "remains to be seen" whether a sapphire glass iPhone will be seen any time soon and also suggested there was some "edginess" about whether GT would hit its production goals.

"I believe GT and Apple still have very big plans for sapphire as a cover screen on mobile devices," he added. "Apple may pay continue to pay GT for sapphire bricks that they ship even though the iPhone is not covered up by a sapphire cover screen. Another option thrown on the table is that Apple could even push back the Apple prepayment requirements until the finishing yields are addressed. One item that remains clear is that GT will continue to push out as much sapphire as humanly possible from Mesa." ®

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