Nov 20, 2014 11:10 AM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

The one feature that was noticeably absent from Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus was the ultra-tough sapphire crystal screens.

Rumors began to swirl once Apple and GT Advanced Technologies made public their plan to build a massive plant to produce sapphire screens for their products. However, GT filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 6, which may have been the final straw in what was a troubled relationship.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple and GT had an open dialogue on ways to lighten the latter's financial load. Apple - and Steve Jobs in particular - has been known to demand extra effort from his staff and from suppliers, but the GT deal represents something the company is not used to: an alliance gone sour.

The Journal reported that GT Advanced had only produced one 578-pound cylinder of sapphire the day before they struck their deal with Apple, but even that was no good. GT also reportedly hired hundreds of workers who were paid overtime to perform menial tasks while others called out semi-frequently.

In Asia, another one of Apple's suppliers would have been able to advise GT on a deal with Apple.

"This is not easy money," an anonymous executive told the Journal.

The newspaper said it received permission from Apple to review their letter to GT's creditors, which they sent ahead of the company's bankruptcy.

Apple said the failure of the partnership was all on GT and that they "never wavered from our commitment to make the project successful." In court filings, Reuters reported, Apple accused GT of taking no responsibility and instead trying to "portray Apple as a coercive bully."

GT, on the other hand, said they were "bearing all of the risk and all of the cost" while it was impossible to turn a profit under Apple's intense oversight.

According to Bloomberg News, Apple still wants to make good on its promise to provide Mesa, Ariz. with jobs and manufacturing even without GT. Part of the benefit of the agreement was that Apple would have a key supplier in the U.S.

"They've indicated their commitment to us," Mesa City Manager Christopher Brady told Bloomberg News. "They want to repurpose that building and use it again."

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