Apple's CEO confirmed for the first time that a new manufacturing plant in Mesa, Ariz., will be used for producing sapphire glass.
"We also announced a huge investment in Arizona. We haven't said what it's for," CEO Tim Cook said during an interview with ABC, referring to an announcement made in November 2013. When asked directly by reporter David Muir whether it was for sapphire glass, he confirmed: "It's the sapphire announcement and it's sort of all I'll say about it."
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Shortly before Apple announced plans to open up the Arizona plant, news broke that the company had paid $578 million to enter into a multi-year agreement with GT Advanced Technologies to provide sapphire materials from an "Apple facility in Arizona."
Muir attempted to press Cook for more details about how the sapphire glass, known for its resistance to scratches and cracks, may be used. Cook declined to comment whether the glass would be used for bigger iPhone screens or an iWatch — "I can't tell you that" — though he did joke it would be used for a "ring."
The exchange was excerpted from a longer interview with Cook and two other Apple execs timed with the 30th anniversary of the Mac computer. In the excerpt, the Apple executives touch on other topics, including the company's famous culture of secrecy, confirming that "black drapes" cover unreleased products and a policy prevents employees from telling anyone, even their spouses, what they're working on.
Cook also confessed to being a "workaholic," noting that he wakes up at 3:30 a.m. each day and receives 700 to 800 emails from customers per day.
ABC World News will air the full interview on Friday night. You can watch the excerpt from the interview below:

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