Apple has been granted a new patent from the US Patents office for building devices with an all-glass casing. The new patent is titled Fused glass device housings and lists Apple's design chief, Jony Ive, as one of the lead applicants.
An extract from the patent explains that Apple now has the rights covering “An electronic device [which] may have a glass housing structures. The glass housing structures may be used to cover a display and other internal electronic device components. The glass housing structure may have multiple glass pieces that are joined using a glass fusing process.”
It continues: “Multiple planar glass members may be fused together to form a five-sided box in which electronic components may be mounted… Opaque masking material and colored glass may be used to create portions of the glass housing structures that hide internal device components from view.”
Considering the rumors circulating that the iPhone 6 may have a sapphire glass display and with the new patent, a new all glass iPhone seems plausible. Apple has also invested in unbreakable Sapphire glass technology and is planning to set up a plant in Arizona to make the gemstone less expensive to use in its iPhone. Sapphire glass is harder than Corning's Gorilla Glass and Apple has already used it for the Touch ID fingerprint scanner embedded inside the home button of the Apple iPhone 5s as well as the camera lens on the iPhone.
Recently gadget reviewer Marques Brownlee posted a video of the 4.7 inch iPhone 6 with sapphire glass, which shows that the glass is extremely flexible and unbreakable. According to rumors, iPhone 6, iPhone Air and the iWatch are all expected to have a sapphire glass display.
Source: Apple Insider