Apple dipped its iPhone 5s in a gold finish so shiny it almost looked real. Their next move will be even fancier with the introduction of sapphire glass.

On Monday, Apple made a $578 million deal with GT Advanced Technologies, CNBC reports. The company specializes in producing sapphire substrate, also known as sapphire glass.

It has yet to be determined what Apple will do with sapphire glass. Bloggers are crying "iPhone 6!" but this might be unreasonable.

According to various analysts, an iPhone, or any other large smartphone, enhanced with a sapphire glass screen would be too expensive for anyone to be interested. The glass, however, could be used for smaller screens.

Analysts say that the iWatch is a good guess as to where the sapphire glass will be used. Richard Son, HIS senior analyst, says that the sapphire glass could also be used for camera lens covers and home buttons on various Apple products. Sapphire glass is already used for the home button and camera of the iPhone 5s. LG's G2 and ZTE's Nubia 5 have sapphire glass camera lenses as well.

The good ol' iPod also seems like a good place for sapphire glass. The glass would give the mp3 players new appeal and possibly catch the attention of those who have abandonned iPods in favor of a smartphone. In addition, the iPod mini and iPod shuffle could be small enough for the sapphire to be cost-effective.

Sapphire glass has a hardness second only to the diamond and is almost completely resistant to shatter. Most smartphone screens are made of Corning's Gorilla Glass, which is seven times cheaper than sapphire glass.

The Vertu smartphone is currently the only smartphone on the market with a sapphire glass touchscreen. It costs over $3,000.

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