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Apple's been slowly introducing sapphire glass into its products in recent years, and used the super-durable material to protect the camera and fingerprint sensor on its latest iPhone. A number of rumors have suggested Apple could go all in this year with a sapphire display for the upcoming iPhone 6, and a new report from Korean site ETNews claims Samsung and LG may be racing to jump on the sapphire glass bandwagon as well.

Both companies have reportedly contacted sapphire glass-makers in the recent past to order sample units, though for now the price is apparently too high to move forward with large scale adoption. Apple may have overcome the cost issue already, giving it a head start over the competition. The Cupertino company currently operates a sapphire glass processing plant in Arizona, and plans to expand operations ahead of a future product release.

If Apple does announce a sapphire glass iPhone 6 it could force Samsung and LG to make major investments just to catch up. Of course there's no guarantee Cupertino's sapphire is meant for an upcoming smartphone, but it's starting to look like the resilient material could be the next big thing for the mobile industry. If the rumors do turn out to be true it could mean less cracked smartphone screens, but also more expensive devices across the board.