Xiaomi Copies Apple’s Launch of Limited Sapphire Glass Edition Phones

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In the Western hemisphere, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has earned a reputation of being an Apple wannabe. Whether it is in the phone’s exterior design or operation system interface, Xiaomi tends to mimic Apple’s every detail (TechCrunch even made a graphic comparison last week to deliver the point), so it probably is not too surprising that it now wants sapphire glass for its premium smartphones too.

Xiaomi has contacted Korean sapphire manufacturers to secure sapphire glass supplies for 50,000 premium smartphones, according to a South Korea Electronics report. A Reuters report citing the paper noted Xiaomi has declined to comment.

The Chinese manufacturer, who repeatedly comes up with similar designs to Apple, is known to brand itself as offering the same quality of phones but only a third in price.

Apple disappointed some last month, when it was confirmed low sapphire yield rates would limit sapphire application volumes in the new iPhone 6. Some analysts have speculated only a more expensive version iPhone 6 will come equipped with the high spec glass that is much more robust and scratch resistant than Corning Glass.