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Any previous estimates of iPhone 6 sales need to be tossed out.
Evidence that Apple Inc.'s (Nasdaq: AAPL) next-generation smartphone will include a virtually unbreakable sapphire screen will push sales far beyond earlier expectations, which means that Apple stock at below $100 is significantly undervalued.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant used sapphire covers for the camera and fingerprint-reading home button in the iPhone 5s, but a sapphire screen is a major upgrade. Not only is it almost perfectly transparent with no distortions or discolorations of any kind, it's also next-to-impossible to scratch or crack.
That's the sort of must-have feature that by itself could induce huge demand. How many people do you know that have had their smartphones' screens scratched by the keys in their pocket, or cracked after an accidental drop?
But when you combine this nearly indestructible screen with the other upgrades we know about (such as bigger screen sizes and new health and fitness monitoring capabilities), it's obvious the iPhone 6 will exceed the sales of any previous model by a large margin.
So how do we know about this remarkable sapphire screen?
Rumors like this often come from sketchy sources in AAPL's Asian supply chain, but in this case we actually have video evidence, one from blogger Marques Brownlee and another made in China.
Both were able to get a sample of the iPhone 6 screen, and both spared no effort in trying to inflict damage. The screen withstood the scratching of keys, severe bending, being struck with a hammer, exposure to flame, and repeated jabbing with a large, sharp knife. In every case, the iPhone 6 screen emerged without a scratch.
Only the folks who made the Chinese video were able to destroy the sapphire screen - by running over it with a car.
With the iPhone 6 virtually guaranteed to be a runaway hit, let's look at how it will affect AAPL stock.
About the Author
David Zeiler, Associate Editor for Money Morning at Money Map Press, has been a journalist for more than 35 years, including 18 spent at The Baltimore Sun. He has worked as a writer, editor, and page designer at different times in his career. He's interviewed a number of well-known personalities - ranging from punk rock icon Joey Ramone to Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Over the course of his journalistic career, Dave has covered many diverse subjects. Since arriving at Money Morning in 2011, he has focused primarily on technology. He's an expert on both Apple and cryptocurrencies. He started writing about Apple for The Sun in the mid-1990s, and had an Apple blog on The Sun's web site from 2007-2009. Dave's been writing about Bitcoin since 2011 - long before most people had even heard of it. He even mined it for a short time.
Dave has a BA in English and Mass Communications from Loyola University Maryland.
"How many people do you know that have had their smartphones' screens scratched by the keys in their pocket"
It's dirt in your pocket that scratches the screen, not keys. Metal is softer than glass. Silica, or sand, is the only thing hard enough to scratch it in normal use.