Wearable Devices to Spur Sapphire Market Demands in 2015, Analyzes TrendForce

Apple’s iWatch to be released in late 2014 will be using sapphire watch covers, according to the latest report “2014 Global Sapphire Market Report”by LEDinside, a research division of TrendForce. iWatch sapphire watch covers are expected to account for six percent of global sapphire market demands, the research organization projected.

If iWatch sales reach the market’s optimistic forecast of 60 million in 2015, it will make up 27 percent of sapphire usage volume. Overall sapphire market consumption will double in 2015 to reach 129%.

Graph 1: Sapphire market demand percentage analysis

Sapphire watch covers can be applied in Apple wearable devices

The Apple iWatch to be released at the end of 2014 will be introducing sapphire material, according to LEDinside surveys. Sapphire is hard and scratch resistant, and has been used as watch covers in traditional luxury watches for many years. However, the large handheld device market demands strongly contrasts with luxury watches small market demand of 1 million watches. Therefore, conventional sapphire manufacturing method, which requires Verneuil process to grow sapphire crystals, will be unable to meet handheld devices large market demands. According to iWatch specs, a special type of sapphire ingot must be manufactured to meet processing and design demands in later stages, which explains Apple’s establishment in the sapphire industry supply chain.

iWatch sales to determine sapphire industry demands in 2015

The first Apple iWatch will come in men and women models, and completely use sapphire watch covers. The male iWatch version display will be 1.66 inch, while the female model is 1.33 inch. If the iWatch released at the end of 2014 has a 5 million sets demand volume, it will account for about 6 percent of the sapphire market demand volume. Industry insiders have different opinions on iWatch total shipment volume in 2015. According to LEDinside understanding the device’s stockup volume for 1Q15 has reached 13 million units. If sales exceed expectations, shipment volume might reach the optimistic market forecast of 60 million in 2015. Thus, iWatch sapphire usage volume would reach 27 percent of global sapphire usage volume, more than doubling sapphire market consumption in 2015 to 129%. Therefore, iWatch’s market acceptance will become a key factor in determining whether the sapphire industry will encounter a supply shortage in 2015.