Apple recently started requiring case manufacturers in its Made for iPhone (MFi) licensing program follow new requirements that will ensure cases better protect Apple devices and cover glass from impact, according to sources with knowledge of the new guidelines.
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With Apple utilizing a new laser cut sapphire crystal in its redesigned home button that now includes a capacitive fingerprint touch sensor on the iPhone 5s, it’s not that surprising that rumors of a sapphire home button on future iPads are starting to pop up. We’re certainly not taking this one as fact, as it comes to us from the not-so-reliable DigiTimes, but a new report from the publication says new models of Apple’s full-sized iPad and iPad mini will also utilize the hard sapphire crystal material. The rumor apparently comes from “Taiwan-based sapphire makers.”
The report adds that Apple could also be looking to utilize the material for entire touch screen covers for new iPhones coming in 2014, but that price could be a factor, as sapphire crystal is reportedly still around 5 times more expensive than alternative materials.
In it’s latest promotional video for the new iPhone 5s home button and TouchID feature (below), Apple says the Sapphire crystal button protects the the new touch sensor and also “acts as a lens to precisely focus it on your finger.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJkmc8-eyvE
In January we told you about a class action lawsuit filed by a Los Angeles man who describes the iPhone 4’s glass back panel as a “design flaw” and claims Apple “refuses to warn consumers” about its susceptibility to cracked glass under normal usage . We already know the iPhone 4S hasn’t made many improvements in terms of the durability of its glass casing, but a new patent application shows exactly what Apple has been working on to better implement a drop-resistant all glass design.
Our friends over at PatentlyApple detail the patent which describes different embodiments of including a shock mount made of polymer, foam, gel, or similar material in a future iPhone or iPad’s cover glass (as usual Apple also mentions the majority of their other products including iMacs, MacBooks, iPods, displays, and televisions). In one solution, Apple describes a “mechanically actuated retractable”, which would essnetially allow the cover glass to withdraw “at least partially into the housing in response to sensing the drop event, thereby protecting for the cover glass.” The report explains:
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