GTAT's dilemma stems from the failure of the iPhone 6 sapphire cover production plan
GTAT stated in the announcement that the main reason for filing for bankruptcy protection was that the company was unable to obtain benefits from the agreement with Apple. Because the order backlog is too long and started in 2015, the company is very likely to be unable to obtain expected revenue from Apple. In the worst case, it may even be unable to obtain any revenue, resulting in a significant reduction in the company's revenue, profits and cash flow. According to GTAT, as of September 29, 2014, the company held approximately $85 million in cash. The court will allow it to continue operating while it takes the latest steps to address current issues and develop a restructuring plan.
Many analysts and industry insiders pointed out that GTAT’s asset difficulties did stem from the failure of the iPhone 6 sapphire screen production plan. According to the US$578 million supply agreement previously signed with Apple, GTAT needsA certain amount of sapphire crystal ingots were required to be delivered to Apple, but because the crystal growth yield was not as good as expected, Apple was unwilling to continue to pay the remaining amount. In addition, GTAT lost the equipment dispute lawsuit with Xin Jing Zuan, a sapphire crystal growth factory in Taiwan, and needed to return US$24 million in equipment to Xin Jing Zuan, resulting in a tight financial situation.
Industry organizations affiliated with Trend Force said that this result is actually traceable. Although GTAT has a production capacity of nearly 2,000 crystal growth furnaces, which can provide 10 million sapphire protective panels based on the area of the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus. However, because GTAT's crystal growth yield is only maintained at 40%, and the back-end yield rate of processing the crystal ingots into sapphire protective panels cannot be overcome, the sapphire protective panels cannot be introduced into this year's two new iPhones. GTAT and Apple have also laid off many employees to be responsible for this project.
Peng Qi, an analyst at GF Securities, also pointed out in his latest opinion that GTAT's behavior was "the most extreme decision made by Apple in a hurry": "The company has conducted multiple rounds of negotiations with Apple, hoping that Apple willThis extreme measure was taken only after repeated negotiations failed to provide greater leniency in terms and time. The plan will be proposed by GTAT, which is given at least 18 months according to the bankruptcy law. Apple is obviously hurt. If it does not agree to the implementation of the plan, all the initial investment will be wasted, and it will also seriously affect the later shipment plans of iPhone and other products. Peng Qi pointed out.
The trend of attaching importance to sapphire remains unchanged, Apple may acquire GTAT through Foxconn
Industry insiders pointed out that GTAT's bankruptcy protection application actually puts Apple in a very passive situation. In the sapphire industry chain, GTAT is also Apple's biggest chess piece in sapphire materials. If GTAT's bankruptcy protection application is approved by the court, Apple will be in a very passive situation. At this time, Apple must make a rational decision. The move to acquire GTAT is one of the choices Apple is most likely to make.
Some analysts say that Apple is less likely to directly acquire GTAT, and is more likely to choose Foxconn.Or Lens, Born or other third parties will come forward: "First of all, Apple has no habit of acquiring heavy asset companies. Secondly, because Apple is mainly a design company and GTAT is a manufacturing company. If Apple directly acquires GTAT, it will need to do an asset divestiture. Apple's most likely way is to acquire through Foxconn or other companies, because Foxconn is also a manufacturing company, and it will save a lot of trouble."
The above-mentioned analysts pointed out that the biggest problem of GTAT is that it has always focused on equipment. It is not a company good at manufacturing: "When he encountered this problem at the time, of course it was Apple that put huge pressure on him. Originally, the Plus was going to use a sapphire cover, but it seems that it has not been completed so far. Apple is actually very annoyed. If the sapphire version of the iPhone is to be launched as scheduled next year, it currently looks like it can only be replaced by someone else. But Foxconn does not have the equipment or patents. If Foxconn acquires GTAT, we are all purely manufacturing companies, and the industry chain integration does not require asset divestiture, and Foxconn has the equipment and patents, so he will not be afraid.”
Industry insiders pointed out that from now onIt seems that if the iPhone 6 equipped with a sapphire screen version is to be launched as scheduled, Apple's processing of the sapphire industry chain must be accelerated. "If we don't seize the time to deal with it, Apple will still be in a very passive situation."
Previous reports showed that sapphire protective panels will be an important way to differentiate Apple from its competitors. Since Apple has invested a lot of money and applied for patents in the layout of sapphire protective panels, sapphire glass has been introduced one by one from the camera protection lens and home button on the iPhone to the cover of Apple Watch. Therefore, the introduction of sapphire protective panels into the iPhone is still a future trend.
The key to sapphire covers is still cost, and the impact of the GT incident on the A-share industry chain may be negligible
Analysts pointed out that the key to sapphire covers is still cost, and yield determines the cost.
It is understood that the current production cost of a 5.5-inch, 500um-thick sapphire panel is at least US$60. For a unit sold for US$For the 859 iPhone 6 Plus, the cost of the sapphire protective panel alone accounts for 7% of the phone’s price. Although GTAT claims to have laser cutting technology that can thin sapphire substrates and then process and fit them to traditional tempered glass, which can reduce the cost of sapphire protective panels, it seems that this technology is still some way away from mass production.
The emergence of sapphire protective panels is not only the responsibility of the crystal growth factory, but also includes cutting, polishing, coating, mimeographing and other processes in the later stages. Especially in the processing of cutting, grinding and polishing, since the sapphire substrate is hard and difficult to process, but at the same time it is fragile, the back-end processing manufacturers also need to find a mass-production processing method.
Analysts said that whether GTAT successfully applied for bankruptcy protection or was acquired by Apple's partners, the impact on the mainland's sapphire industry chain would be negligible: "This entire area is mainly an action related to Apple's large-screen mobile phones, while domestic companies mainly make small-size covers. In fact, it has nothing to do with the country and does not require too much interpretation."
At present, stocks involving the sapphire concept in the A-share market include Southwest Pharmaceuticals, Han's Laser, Roxiao Technology, Dongjing Electronics, Tiantong Co., Ltd., Crystal Optoelectronics, Tianlong Optoelectronics, Jingsheng Electromechanical, Tongfeng Electronics, etc.
PREVIOUS：Nationstar Optoelectronics Jiangxi Distributor Conference and New Product Launch Concluded Successfully
NEXT：AUO: The panel market will not be revised downwards, and plans to set up a factory in the United States will be finalized early next year
RELATED NEWS
- TCL Huaxing issued equipment purchase orders for its 8.6-generation printed OLED 2026-06-01
- Shanghai Huangpu District: Promote the replacement of LED energy-saving lamps 2026-06-01
- With sales of approximately 9.937 billion yuan, Signify released its first quart 2026-06-01
- Zhuzhou Keneng Science and Technology Innovation Board's IPO was accepted, layin 2026-06-01
- The board of directors of Hehui Optoelectronics was re-elected, and Tang Junjun 2026-06-01
CATEGORIES
PRODUCTS CATEGORIES
LATEST NEWS
CONTACT US
Contact: mack
Phone: +8613352972563
E-mail: mack@archled.net
Add: Building A2, Mingjinhai Second Industrial Zone, Shiyan Street, Baoan, Shenzhen,Guangdong,China
Anna
Anna