Tim Cook Says Apple's Sapphire Facility Is for 'Secret Project'

Sapphire BouleWhen asked about Apple's U.S. manufacturing efforts during a question-and-answer session with Apple shareholders today, CEO Tim Cook said the company's new sapphire production facility was for a "secret project" that he couldn't talk about, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Cook did not give any more information, but did say separately that the company is working on "extensions of what we're already doing" and also "things you can't see". He reiterated that secrecy is important because Apple is "getting ripped off left, right and sideways" by competitors.

In response to a question about manufacturing in the U.S., Cook pointed to a plant a supplier recently opened in Arizona to produce sapphire exclusively for Apple. There’s been speculation that Apple may use the super-hard sapphire to produce scratch-resistant screens for future iPhones. Cook said the Arizona facility was a "secret project" that he couldn’t talk about.

But then, he said other Apple suppliers "already make" glass for iPhones in the U.S. An Apple spokeswoman declined additional comment.

Apple routinely denies having any particular new project in the works, so it's possible that a future iPhone model with an ultra-durable sapphire screen is the "secret project" to which Cook is referring, though there are a number of other possibilities for sapphire crystal including a potential smart watch product.

Cook previously confirmed that the plant would make sapphire, but the company has thus far refused to say anything more about it. He also said that investors should plan to hold Apple stock for the long term, saying to investors looking for a quick turnaround, "I encourage you not to invest in Apple."

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Apple Says These Vehicle Brands Plan to Offer All-New CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, customizable widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can also adjust...
vision pro video recording

WSJ: Some Apple Vision Pro Buyers 'Feel Total Regret'

Friday May 16, 2025 7:43 am PDT by
Apple's Vision Pro headset has left many early adopters expressing dissatisfaction over its weight, limited use cases, and sparse software ecosystem, according to a new article from The Wall Street Journal. In the year following the device's launch, user feedback suggests that it has failed to meet expectations for comfort, software support, and social acceptance. In interviews conducted by T...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Battery Capacity and Weight Allegedly Revealed

Monday May 19, 2025 2:22 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air later this year, and while there have been plenty of rumors about the camera's overall design and thinness, we haven't heard any details about the device's weight and battery capacity until now. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air has a weight ...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Could Debut Advanced Silicon Battery Tech

Friday May 16, 2025 8:00 am PDT by
The upcoming all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air could become the first Apple smartphone to adopt advanced battery technology, with Japanese supplier TDK preparing to ship its new generation of silicon-anode batteries by the end of June. According to DigiTimes, TDK CEO Noboru Saito revealed in a recent interview that the Apple supplier has accelerated its production timeline, moving shipments...

Top Rated Comments

JonneyGee Avatar
146 months ago
Can't blame him for not giving details - he's right about getting constantly ripped off. Galaxy S5 has a fingerprint sensor as its primary feature... wonder where they got that idea? :mad:
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nunyabinez Avatar
146 months ago
It's not polite to tell someone you have a secret.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
One Bad Duck Avatar
146 months ago
Copying?

Apple cannot complain about being ripped off. All the front runners in every major industry copy each other. Just look at the car industry. Its called competition..

Tim Cook needs to quite his whining

Heavy lies the crown Apple
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pgiguere1 Avatar
146 months ago
The iphone was not the first phone with a fingerprint sensor noob.
Read that again. He did not say Apple made the first phone with a fingerprint sensor. He said Samsung got that idea from Apple. The two are not necessarily related.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PlatinuM195 Avatar
146 months ago
The iphone was not the first phone with a fingerprint sensor noob.

Wait so it's just a coicidence that the Galaxy S5 introduces a fingerprint scanner in this generation, right after the 5s.

Even after the Motorola Atrix was introduced in 2011, then the fingerprint feature promptly discarded in the Atrix 2 and newer Droid models. In 2011 we had the iPhone 4S and the Galaxy S2. Samsung had years to introduce a swipe based scanner but they just add it now?

I'm not saying there's not copying all around, everyone does it; but Samsung's timing for many things is just hilarious.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pgiguere1 Avatar
146 months ago
Considering GT Advanced will be producing $500M-700M worth of sapphire in 2H2014 alone, Apple seems very optimistic that this "secret project" will take off fast.

An iPhone-sized sapphire screen cover is estimated to cost between $9 and $12. That would mean 50 millions of those products would be made in those 6 months alone. Since Apple obviously starts producing their hardware before they go for sale, those 50M units would probably take only ~3 months to sell even though they take 6 months to make.

For reference, it took the original iPhone 74 days to sell 1M units, and it took the iPad 28 days.

Whatever that project is, Apple expects it to sell a lot. As much as I would love it to be a product from an entirely new category, I have a hard time believing it looking at those numbers.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)