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back to article Huawei 'beats' Apple to bag sapphire smartie bragging rights

Huawei claims it has the world’s first smartphone with a tough sapphire glass screen – beating Apple to the all-important vaporware space. There isn’t actually a new phone under the glass – it’s apparently a sapphire-hardened version of Huawei’s P7 flagship (reviewed here) and Huawei wouldn’t say how much it will cost. Back …

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  1. J. R. Hartley

    How tough is it in real life?

    Call me old fashioned, but real world experience tends to not live up to marketing department hyperbollocks.

    0 1 Reply
    1. NumptyScrub
      Reply Icon

      Re: How tough is it in real life?

      Some people report sapphire "glass" on watches remaining blemish free for decades under robust use, although others have also had them scratch within years. The Mohs scale has corundum (sapphire and ruby) second only to diamond for hardness, so I'd be comfortable stating it should outperform any type of silicon oxide glass for "toughness" when used as a device screen covering, although some people do appear to have a knack for scratching pretty much anything.

      1 0 Reply
  2. P. Lee

    Is it just me?

    I'd rather have a bendy surface which deforms a little like a... laptop.

    0 0 Reply
  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So

    Has anyone bought one?

    0 0 Reply
  4. stucs201

    Neither of these are first.

    Vertu have been using saphire screens for years for both smart and dumb phones.

    0 0 Reply
  5. Ole Juul

    Designed with empathy

    So make sure you’re in a comfortable environment before attempting to watch this remarkable film.

    That's not funny. I should have been leaning over the toilet bowl.

    0 0 Reply
  6. Ian Michael Gumby

    Am I missing something?

    Didn't one of those vanity custom phone makers already use sapphire glass in their handsets?

    Vertu, I believe.

    And of course I believe a previous El Reg article pointed that out... so neither Apple or Huawei are first to the punch.

    So it must be a slow news day...

    Go Team Lohan!

    0 1 Reply
  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Huawei have really tried hard to make their phones not look at all like iPhones in any way at all, haven't they?

    0 3 Reply
    1. NumptyScrub
      Reply Icon

      Obligatory link to the Macdailynews story covering LG's issue with the original iPhone design. As long as Huawei have got the ok from LG for making a phone that is mostly screen, with rounded corners, they'll be fine :)

      0 0 Reply
  8. Charlie Boy

    Am I missing somethng, but don't Vertu already have a complete range of phones with Saphire Glass including 2 smart phones.

    0 0 Reply
  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Earliest Glass of Sapphire

    Since 1987

    The flavouring of the Gin comes from a recipe of ten ingredients almond, lemon peel, liquorice, juniper berries, orris root, angelica, coriander, cassia, cubeb, and grains of paradise.

    0 0 Reply

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