Apple invests an additional $45 million into precision glass maker Corning

[Shawn Knight]

Recap: Corning is a longtime partner of Apple’s. As the story goes, Corning developed a formula for hardened glass way back in the 60s but never found a market for it. In the mid-2000s, Apple CEO Steve Jobs got in contact with the company with regards to producing cover glass for the iPhone. It was a hit, and the two have been working together on the iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad ever since.

Apple has announced an additional $45 million investment into Corning Incorporated, the supplier best known for its Gorilla Glass line of strengthened glass for mobile devices.

The money will be used to expand Corning’s manufacturing capacity in the US and help bolster research and development efforts.

Corning has received $450 million from Apple’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund over the past four years. The infusions of cash have helped the company develop new products like Ceramic Shield, which was first introduced with the iPhone 12 family.

Ceramic Shield is made with nano-ceramic crystals that are harder than most metals. By controlling the types of crystals used and the degree of crystallinity, Corning was able to craft a formula that maximizes toughness while remaining optically clear.

According to Apple, Ceramic Shield is the toughest glass in any smartphone, delivering four times better drop performance compared to the previous-generation iPhone.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/89616-apple-invests-additional-45-million-precision-glass-maker.html

 

[BadThad]

More curious to know what Apple gets in return other than a better glass? That's a lot of money and there must be something that Corning is obligated to.

 

[MasterMace]

Working with Apple is risky business. They'll try to take over the majority of their production, as they did before, and leave them out to dry.

 

[Puiu]

More curious to know what Apple gets in return other than a better glass? That's a lot of money and there must be something that Corning is obligated to.

Corning has to design the glass based on Apple's proposed specs/future needs. Apple also has early access to prototypes which allows them to create phone prototypes (faster iterations, fewer delays).