Video: Used on over four and a half billion devices around the world so far, Corning’s Gorilla Glass is the gold standard for smartphone and tablet screens because of its scratch and shatter resistance. The current generation of Gorilla Glass can resist a drop from a metre in height up to 80 per cent of the time, giving you a pretty good chance of keeping your smartphone alive if it slips out of your jeans pocket. The next generation of Gorilla Glass is even better, with clearer optical properties, better scratch-proofing and the ability to resist a drop from 1.6 metres.
Corning makes a pretty good point in the video — Gorilla Glass 4 already does a great job of dealing with drops from waist height, but people use their phones at chest height or higher, whether they’re flicking away at Pokemon Go or taking selfies with outstretched arms. Gorilla Glass 5 “raises the bar” with a four-fold improvement in drop failure height compared to competitors’ products. While it’s more drop resistant, it doesn’t impede image quality.
We’ll see what the first smartphone is with a Gorilla Glass 5 display. Our money’s on the new Samsung Galaxy Note 7. Apple would be the other natural choice, but the Cupertino company uses its own formulation of ion-strengthened glass rather than going to the guys at Corning — otherwise best known for its Pyrex heat-resistant glassware. [YouTube]