Another theory tries to explain why the iPhone 6 is sapphire glass free

The rumour mill was going crazy over the possibility of the iPhone 6 having sapphire glass displays, constantly contradicting itself with pieces of information that were being leaked, or made up, and released online. Then the iPhone 6 came along and didn’t have a sapphire glass display, and there are a number of theories as to why that was the case.

One of the most popular theories is, of course, the tale that Apple was unable to produce enough sapphire glass to meet the demand. But Time Magazine has a different one, rather than manufacturing troubles, TIME breaks down why Apple made the decision not to include it. To summarise, it’s because it’s not really ideal a material for a phone screen.

One of the prime concerns was that sapphire glass is far more expensive than something like Gorilla Glass, and considering how expensive the iPhone 6 is already including a full sapphire display would not have helped things cost-wise. But more importantly, it turns out that sapphire doesn’t actually perform better than ordinary glass in a drop test. The problem apparently is that sapphire glass is a lot more rigid, and whereas glass can bend slightly to absorb the impact of a fall sapphire glass is far more likely to crack. Considering a lot of people have had issues with cracked iPhone screens, including a material that is more likely to crack is a pretty stupid idea.

Obviously TIME goes into a lot more detail, but that’s a basic summary of what they say. You can read the whole thing right here.

Want to read more? Here’s our coverage of the recent Apple announcements, including everything you need to know about Apple’s ‘phablet’, the iPhone 6 Plus, and smartwatches buying guide, or if you’re sick of Apple completely, here’s our rundown of our 14 favourite dating apps, from Tinder to eHarmony.