We’re one step closer to having indestructible phones! While we have very robust and elements-proof shells with impressive IP ratings, any phone’s main Achilles’ Heel is the screen. Corning‘s Gorilla Glass has been at the forefront in addressing this weak spot.
Last year’s Gorilla Glass 3 has been proven to be quite effective in resisting everyday wear and tear due to what Corning dubbed as “native damage resistance”. But while it can go toe to toe against things like car keys, pocket knives, sonic screwdriver, and other items battling for pocket space (short of using sapphire screens, that’s an amazing feat), it won’t do as well when it goes head to head with a concrete floor on a high enough drop.
Today, Corning announced the latest version of their award-winning Gorilla Glass product that is one step closer to solving that. According to the company, the Gorilla Glass 4 is able to survived sharp drop impacts of 1 meter high “up to” 80 percent of the time and showed “up to” two times improvement over Gorilla Glass 3 and other hardened, aluminosilicate glasses. If you are wondering why we’re giddy on the 80% and not 100:,remember that we’re still talking about glass here. Also, this new robustness is achieved without any downsides, so its optical clarity is just as good as previous versions.
Corning isn’t resting on their laurels, however. They’re already working on improvements for their glass’ next version such as higher survivability percentage, sunlight legibility, curved glass displays, etc.
Corning says it’s already shipping out the Gorilla Glass 4 to partners, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing this equipped on devices soon.
[Source: The Verge]