Everyone seems to have an iPhone 6 front panel these days, and the latest sport is seeing if you can damage it. A recent video (embedded below) posted by a Hong Kong website tried burning it, breaking it, pounding a nail through it, and more. Nothing would mar the surface. Until they finally ran over it with a 1.6-ton car. Again, there's no way of knowing whether Apple is actually going to use sapphire crystal for the front panel of the iPhone 6. But if they do, it's going to be awesome. And the evidence continues to mount.
An interesting article on MacRumors points out that if Apple does indeed go with a sapphire crystal display, there's no way Apple's competitors will be able to match the quality. For one thing, it's simply more expensive: $30 for a sapphire panel compared to $3 for a Gorilla Glass panel. Apple has been able to lower costs due to their partnership with GT Advanced Technologies. Other manufacturers simply don't have the capacity to make the same sort of investment. The article says that other manufacturers have looked into the use of sapphire but decided it was too expensive. It also mentions some of the disadvantages of sapphire crystal: it's heavier, more brittle, less environmentally friendly, and transmits less light (unless specially treated). But no doubt Apple has figured out how to deal with these downsides.
A gorgeous new video rendering of the iPhone 6 based on alleged official specs and rumors has been posted by ConceptsiPhone.
The video not only gives a sense for the different appearance of the phone but also renders a redesigned home screen. And it shows the phone in multiple colors, which seems to go beyond the rumors.
