6 ms·

Inside Apple’s Broken Sapphire Factory

20 points by domdip 12y ago

bensherman 12y ago
Got a non-paywall link?
- omonra 12y ago
  Google the headline in a Chrome anonymous window. First link should be full text of the article.
  - zzleeper 12y ago
    https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Finside-apples-broken-sapphire-factory-1416436043&ei=UTRtVKTjFbb9sATjvoKABQ&usg=AFQjCNElAvxoY2E0YPeMlrK2HKSkwjcqhw&bvm=bv.80120444,d.cWc https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&c...
    - pbhjpbhj 12y ago
      "To Read the Full Story, Subscribe or Log In "
    - cpayne 12y ago
      This link worked for me
Cookingboy 12y ago
Content behind pay-walls should not be allowed for submission on HackerNews.
- wmf 12y ago
  Also, complaints about paywalls should not be allowed on HN.
- melling 12y ago
  Why not? Plenty of people here can read it so there can be a discussion, which should convey most of the information that's in the article. In the end, everyone reading HN benefits.
- dang 12y ago
  It's not that simple. HN prefers accessible stories, but it also prefers original sources and demands substantive ones, and many of those are behind paywalls. Are we to ban the NYT, Economist, and New Yorker? That would be chopping off a foot to spite a hangnail. Not all paywalls are equally problematic, and most of this content is not truly inaccessible. There are standard workarounds that everybody already knows or can easily learn. It's not as if HN users are shy about pointing them out. The status quo isn't great, but the brokenness of online content models is not something we can just fix by decree in our little corner of the web.
- mullingitover 12y ago
  Google the article title. No paywall on articles linked directly from Google.
softdev12 12y ago
This is really incredible. To summarize for people who don't have access: 1) GT was a solar furnace maker that first offered to sell Apple 2300 furnaces so that Apple could produce sapphire screens for the iPhone 6. 2) Then Apple decided to lend GT $500 million and have GT own the furnaces and produce the sapphire (although it had no experience in producing high quality, production volume sapphire) for Apple. 3) GT became a captive supplier to Apple and had exclusivity arrangements - so it couldn't diversify its business. 4) GT hit production problems with almost 50 percent of the boules of sapphire being cracked and unusable. 5) GT had operational issues, where people were paid to just sweep the floor over and over. 6) GT eventually filed for Chapter 11 - surprising Apple. 7) The iphone 6 didn't have sapphire screens.
- ChuckMcM 12y ago
  Actually they said "more than half" were unacceptable, but still your summary is basically an accurate one of the article. I don't know if it is the same but in the semi-conductor business the reactor/furnace used to make the silicon boule had an oversized influence on the yield of the wafers produced. That lead to some folks timing their wafer starts to coincide with a specific lot of wafers.
idoh 12y ago
non-paywall link: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal/inside-apples-broken-sapphire-factory/story-fnay3ubk-1227129207294 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal...
- pbhjpbhj 12y ago
  For me I get: "You've reached a subscriber-only article.", ie it's paywalled there too.
- acveilleux 12y ago
  Funnily enough, that's a paywall link too. At least for me in Canadialand.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- fallinghawks 12y ago
  It's odd. I googled the article, got a link at theaustralian.com, went there, no paywall. But then copying and pasting the resulting link, it goes to the paywall.
pbhjpbhj 12y ago
Similar/realted (from what I can tell) stories: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/10/shattered_apples_jilted_glass_supplier_to_shut_down_sapphire_ops/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/10/shattered_apples_jil... (interesting info on Sniper weapons pod use of sapphire in comments). http://www.macrumors.com/2014/11/19/gt-advanced-sapphire-failures/ http://www.macrumors.com/2014/11/19/gt-advanced-sapphire-fai... (references the WSJ article) http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/19/us-gtadvanced-bankruptcy-apple-idUSKCN0J31W620141119 http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/19/us-gtadvanced-bank...
jmcguckin 12y ago
Typically, news sites with a paywall (e.g. WSJ) will give you access if the referrer is from Google. I simply google the headline and follow the link back to the story and am granted access. Always works for me.
mcphage 12y ago
I assume this article is Apple telling their version of what happened. Honestly, though, it's kinda what I expected—GT agreed to produce iPhone screens for Apple, which they were unable to do effectively enough.
wodenokoto 12y ago
For those too lazy to do a google search on the article, this link should get you there: http://www.google.co.jp/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCAQqQIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Finside-apples-broken-sapphire-factory-1416436043&ei=IqFtVKFYpbWbBbLjggg&usg=AFQjCNElAvxoY2E0YPeMlrK2HKSkwjcqhw&sig2=Is9YxV4Ymx13mwqXSbbRXA&bvm=bv.80185997,d.dGY http://www.google.co.jp/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&...

20 points by domdip 12y ago

bensherman 12y ago

Got a non-paywall link?

omonra 12y ago
Google the headline in a Chrome anonymous window. First link should be full text of the article.
- zzleeper 12y ago
  https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Finside-apples-broken-sapphire-factory-1416436043&ei=UTRtVKTjFbb9sATjvoKABQ&usg=AFQjCNElAvxoY2E0YPeMlrK2HKSkwjcqhw&bvm=bv.80120444,d.cWc https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&c...
  - pbhjpbhj 12y ago
    "To Read the Full Story, Subscribe or Log In "
  - cpayne 12y ago
    This link worked for me

Cookingboy 12y ago

Content behind pay-walls should not be allowed for submission on HackerNews.

wmf 12y ago
Also, complaints about paywalls should not be allowed on HN.
melling 12y ago
Why not? Plenty of people here can read it so there can be a discussion, which should convey most of the information that's in the article. In the end, everyone reading HN benefits.
dang 12y ago
It's not that simple. HN prefers accessible stories, but it also prefers original sources and demands substantive ones, and many of those are behind paywalls. Are we to ban the NYT, Economist, and New Yorker? That would be chopping off a foot to spite a hangnail. Not all paywalls are equally problematic, and most of this content is not truly inaccessible. There are standard workarounds that everybody already knows or can easily learn. It's not as if HN users are shy about pointing them out. The status quo isn't great, but the brokenness of online content models is not something we can just fix by decree in our little corner of the web.
mullingitover 12y ago
Google the article title. No paywall on articles linked directly from Google.

softdev12 12y ago

This is really incredible. To summarize for people who don't have access: 1) GT was a solar furnace maker that first offered to sell Apple 2300 furnaces so that Apple could produce sapphire screens for the iPhone 6. 2) Then Apple decided to lend GT $500 million and have GT own the furnaces and produce the sapphire (although it had no experience in producing high quality, production volume sapphire) for Apple. 3) GT became a captive supplier to Apple and had exclusivity arrangements - so it couldn't diversify its business. 4) GT hit production problems with almost 50 percent of the boules of sapphire being cracked and unusable. 5) GT had operational issues, where people were paid to just sweep the floor over and over. 6) GT eventually filed for Chapter 11 - surprising Apple. 7) The iphone 6 didn't have sapphire screens.

ChuckMcM 12y ago
Actually they said "more than half" were unacceptable, but still your summary is basically an accurate one of the article. I don't know if it is the same but in the semi-conductor business the reactor/furnace used to make the silicon boule had an oversized influence on the yield of the wafers produced. That lead to some folks timing their wafer starts to coincide with a specific lot of wafers.

idoh 12y ago

non-paywall link: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal/inside-apples-broken-sapphire-factory/story-fnay3ubk-1227129207294 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal...

pbhjpbhj 12y ago
For me I get: "You've reached a subscriber-only article.", ie it's paywalled there too.
acveilleux 12y ago
Funnily enough, that's a paywall link too. At least for me in Canadialand.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
fallinghawks 12y ago
It's odd. I googled the article, got a link at theaustralian.com, went there, no paywall. But then copying and pasting the resulting link, it goes to the paywall.

pbhjpbhj 12y ago

Similar/realted (from what I can tell) stories: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/10/shattered_apples_jilted_glass_supplier_to_shut_down_sapphire_ops/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/10/shattered_apples_jil... (interesting info on Sniper weapons pod use of sapphire in comments). http://www.macrumors.com/2014/11/19/gt-advanced-sapphire-failures/ http://www.macrumors.com/2014/11/19/gt-advanced-sapphire-fai... (references the WSJ article) http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/19/us-gtadvanced-bankruptcy-apple-idUSKCN0J31W620141119 http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/19/us-gtadvanced-bank...

jmcguckin 12y ago

Typically, news sites with a paywall (e.g. WSJ) will give you access if the referrer is from Google. I simply google the headline and follow the link back to the story and am granted access. Always works for me.

mcphage 12y ago

I assume this article is Apple telling their version of what happened. Honestly, though, it's kinda what I expected—GT agreed to produce iPhone screens for Apple, which they were unable to do effectively enough.

wodenokoto 12y ago

For those too lazy to do a google search on the article, this link should get you there: http://www.google.co.jp/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCAQqQIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Finside-apples-broken-sapphire-factory-1416436043&ei=IqFtVKFYpbWbBbLjggg&usg=AFQjCNElAvxoY2E0YPeMlrK2HKSkwjcqhw&sig2=Is9YxV4Ymx13mwqXSbbRXA&bvm=bv.80185997,d.dGY http://www.google.co.jp/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&...