Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, Apple has used Biel Crystal materials for its cover glass which earned them the position of being the 'King of touchscreens' on a global level. Biel is owned by Yeung Kin-man and his wife and they've become billionaires because of Apple's iPhone success.

Yeung entered the manufacturing business almost three decades ago by supplying glass covers for watches before shifting his business to mobile phones like the Motorola Razr and then the iPhone. LG who's a display supplier for Apple uses the protective glass from Biel. We reported back in March that Apple was going to use sapphire cover glass from both Biel and Lens Technology.

According to the BloombergBusiness report, Biel takes sheets of raw material supplied by glass manufacturers such as Corning Inc. (the world's largest supplier of raw materials for smartphone glass) and fashions them into protective covers for touch displays.

To stay ahead, Yeung said in the Economic Journal interview that he's always trying to innovate with new technology to make his glass covers fingerprint-proof and scratch-resistant. Yeung stated that "We always try to create something new. For instance, fingerprints often get caught all over the touchscreen. That's why we invented a technology that is fingerprint-proof."

Although Apple's latest iPhones and iPads are described as using fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating, most would say that's really misleading as touchscreens are still plagued by user fingerprints. Has Biel really developed a new fingerprint-proof cover glass this time around or is just more marketing babble? Here's to hoping, but only time will tell.

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