Gorilla Glass Maker Corning Gets $200 Million From Apple's US Manufacturing Investment Fund (techcrunch.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Apple made news and scored some positive PR earlier this month when the company announced a $1 billion fund aimed at investing in U.S.-based manufacturing. Now it's ready to announce the first big investment from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund. New York-based Corning Incorporated will be receiving $200 million from the tech giant's coffers, money that will go toward its Harrodsburg, Kentucky R&D facility. Corning is a logical first choice for Apple. The two companies have worked closely for roughly a decade, when Apple first pushed Corning to create a chemically strengthened glass for the iPhone. The resulting product, Gorilla Glass, has since become the standard for nearly every smartphone maker out there. As Apple helpfully adds in a news release touting the funding, the relationship thus far "has created and sustained nearly 1,000 U.S. jobs across Corning's R&D, manufacturing and commercial functions, including over 400 in Harrodsburg." And indeed, aside from a brief dalliance with synthetic sapphire crystal a couple of years back, it's been a pretty fruitful partnership.

Comments

it's clearly...

[bugs2squash]

time for transparent aluminum to be invented

Re:it's clearly...

[Ecuador]

Eh, what do you mean? Transparent aluminum has already been invented: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Back to the topic, I was under the impression that Apple had made it a big deal a while ago that unlike other manufacturers who used Gorilla Glass, they were going to use something better - sapphire glass or something like that?

Re:it's clearly...

[AvitarX]

Sounds very scratchable

Re:it's clearly...

[Frosty Piss]

...they were going to use something better - sapphire glass or something like that?

Here's an interesting article: https://www.recode.net/2016/7/28/12305062/apple-iphone-gorilla-glass-sapphire-screens

From the article:

But about nine months before GT Advanced was to deliver, the supplier ran into major difficulties in creating these sapphire screens â" or "surface covers," as they are called in the industry â" and the deal imploded.

...

While sapphire is a very hard material and very scratchproof, there is one major problem with it that makes it questionable for use as a smartphone screen: It is much more breakable than Corningâ(TM)s Gorilla Glass and even some soda lime glass that has special composites to make it tougher.

Even worse, if there is even the tiniest flaw in a sapphire screen, it becomes even more fragile when it comes to being dropped or accidentally hit by any solid surface or object.

Re:Careful!

[Anonymous Coward]

This is Corning. They're a huge company that makes all kinds of stuff. They'll be fine without Apple.

Corning has been there, done that for 165 years

[raymorris]

Corning has already had a short period in which Apple tried a different supplier. They've also has similar deals come and go over their 165 year history. Corning is a major supplier and leading innovator in speciality glass and ceramic products, and optics, used in many different industries.

Apple is an important customer, for sure, but far from their only customer. Corning was a leader in their industry long before Apple even existed. They wouldn't be going out of business without Apple, just R&Ding their next big thing. Just like Corningware was great for Corning for a while, then that levelled off.

Re:Corning has been there, done that for 165 years

[AvitarX]

They're really smart too, still innovating (part of why we know the name gorilla glass at all, and we're many versions in and nobody can compete).

My girlfriend supplies them with rheology machines and says they're one of the smartest clients she has. Is always delighted to visit and talk to the purchasers.

My biggest concern is they make an apple only innovation and I don't get it on my phone, I'm not worried about then losing out though, they aren't a start up with all the eggs in the apple basket.

Re:Corning has been there, done that for 165 years

[Uberbah]

Apple is an important customer, for sure, but far from their only customer. They wouldn't be going out of business without Apple, just R&Ding their next big thing.

Who said they were?

Re:Corning has been there, done that for 165 years

[tlhIngan]

Apple is an important customer, for sure, but far from their only customer. Corning was a leader in their industry long before Apple even existed. They wouldn't be going out of business without Apple, just R&Ding their next big thing. Just like Corningware was great for Corning for a while, then that levelled off.

Apple isn't an important customer to Corning. It's obvious since Apple never really published the fact they used Gorilla Glass since the original iPhone. There are lots of rumors and everyone inside knows it's Gorilla Glass, but Apple has never publicly stated they use Gorilla Glass. Granted, when Apple was glass shopping, Corning actually didn't have anything to show them - they had to dig out their Gorilla Glass prototypes they shelved decades earlier.

Everyone else made noise about using Gorilla Glass, Apple never did. The closest they got was they use ion-implanted glass

Re:Is Corning actually manufacturing in the US?

[AvitarX]

they currently make in in the US, Japan, and Taiwan.

I can get point to put delivery of a single pair of sunglasses from China for $1.60 (glasses and shipping) , I'm pretty sure a 100,000 screens would approach free (per piece) to ship.

Gorilla glass just needed a market

[Anonymous Coward]

Wired has a better article on how gorilla glass came to be
https://www.wired.com/2012/09/ff-corning-gorilla-glass/all/

Re:About time

[AvitarX]

Gorilla glass is one of the strongest glasses, and what do you think apple is paying for?

FYI, I'm impressed by your children, my phones last 10 months top since the switch away from plastic for phones.

I buy Much cheaper phones for that reason though, I'm glad that the low end market ($180) gets me a very capable phone now (currently BLU life one X2 MINI).

Re:Careful!

[thesupraman]

Yes, and this 'investment in american manufacturing' is quite obviously not that at all.

1. Corning have no need for the money, so it is obviously not a growth investment, it is purchasing something.
2. Gorilla glass is a well understood and developed product.
3. Apple turned their back on Gorilla Glass generations ago, after a fight with Corning over pricing (Apple wanted their usual below cost pricing it seems..).
4. Apple would not even be the largest client for this particular product of Corning.

I would say it is MUCH more likely that this is Apples way of buying themselves back in to the gorilla glass game, after the long and unhappy breakup since the first iphone.
It often amazes me the number of iphone users I see using phones with cracked screens because a) they break damn easily, and b) they cost so much to repair.

All in all, most certainly NOT the kind of thing the koolaid slurpers were crowing about with this fund, not even close.
Corning already make some of the product in the Us, however most of it is made in Taiwan..

Why Apple didn't use Sapphire

[MrL0G1C]

Article: http://time.com/3377972/why-ap...

TLDR:
10x more expensive, perhaps $100 per screen, thicker, heavier, harder to manufacture, harder to customize, uses 100x more energy to produce. Still shatters just as easy - only more scratch-proof.