The iPhone 6 has generated plenty of buzz and a large chunk has been focused on its rumored sapphire crystal display, but what if that was a false rumor?

According to a new report from the Telegraph, Apple may not be able to use sapphire glass to cover their new handset's full display. Analysts with Trendforce's LEDinside told the newspaper Apple has not shipped the sapphire material to its manufacturing factories and mass production is expected to begin soon in order to meet a Sept. release.

Apple uses the ultra-tough sapphire glass on the Touch ID fingerprint sensor of the iPhone 5S, as well as for the camera lens. Apple has sapphire factories in Mass. and Ariz., but the handsets are mass-produced in China.

All signs still point to a mid-Sept. release of a 4.7-inch iPhone 6, while a 5.5-inch version could well come out months after. Keeping with tradition, Apple has will not comment on anything until they make an official announcement, which is not expected until later in the summer.

There have been previous reports from insiders and analysts suggesting the larger iPhone 6 is facing production issues and Apple could also be having trouble getting enough sapphire to cover their screens. The inclusion of a sapphire glass display has been one of the more popular features rumored to be used on the iPhone 6.

Steve Alford, Imperial College London's head of the materials department, has said in two separate reports from the Guardian that Apple is either using sapphire glass or a sapphire blend. More recently, he spoke with Forbes to discuss the nature of his consultancy with Apple and why the company was even interested in sapphire in the first place.

On consulting with Apple on the use of sapphire glass: "We chatted about the external side of iPhones and iPads including aluminum cases and the screen. Specifically we talked about alternatives for glass and my suggestion was sapphire because if its scratch resistance and wide use."

On sapphire glass' toughness: "It is very hard. On the Mohs scale of mineral hardness corundum is a 9 and the scale runs from 1 to 10. 1 is talc, quartz [the core mineral in glass] is 7, corundum is 9 and diamond is hardest at 10 (full table below)."

On making sapphire glass: The process for making sapphire is more expensive because the material has to be melted at a much higher temperature (2027 degrees C / 3761 degrees F) than Quartz (1670 degrees C / 3038 degrees F). For glass you just chuck it onto molten tin and it comes out flat, there is no worrying about crystallizing. When making sapphire the purity has to be pretty high and it is tougher to crystallize [key to strength and transparency].

"But if you can do this process on an economy of scale then the costs [of making sapphire] can be competitive. It is actually a commodity material. When people think of blue gemstones and natural sapphire that is rare, but commercial artificially made sapphire is not."

Hutch Hutchison, head designer at a British manufacturer called Vertu, told the Telegraph that making sapphire glass screens for a smartphone is time-consuming.

"Sapphire crystal is an incredibly tough, high quality material and this makes it perfect for luxury mobile phone screens. It is virtually impossible to damage and it will maintain a perfect, scratch free finish for many years," he said. "It can take two weeks to grow each boules and the yield from each is low. It is also very difficult to cut, grind and polish; diamond tools have to be used for all of these processes."

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