Corning, the company behind the famed Gorilla Glass that has been used on more than 6 billion devices to-date, has announced the sixth-generation of the glass, with a promise of enhanced durability against accidental drops.
According to the company, Gorilla Glass 6 can withstand an average of 15 drops from a height of 3.3 feet, before it literally cracks under the pressure. Those figures are around twice as good as the ones we saw for Gorilla Glass 5.
The company cited a worldwide consumer study conducted by Toluna, saying that the average person drops their phone about 7 times a year, with 50% of drops being from a 1-meter height or below. This makes it all the more important to make a much more durable glass-based material for smartphones.
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Competing options such as soda lime and aluminosilicate did not even make it past the first drop, according to its maker. This is because Gorilla Glass 6 was built from an entirely new composition with chemical strengthening.
As the emphasis on design as a differentiating point increases in the near future, Gorilla Glass 6 could be the ultimate life-saver on future flagships, especially the ones featuring glass panes on the front and back covering more than 85% of the surface area.
The glass is also said to bring improvements with its scratch-resistance, touch sensitivity, and wireless charging. Unfortunately, we don’t have the exact figures for improvements which were made in those departments.
With the improved glass already in production, it is a safe bet to see Gorilla Glass in the more high-end phones set to be released later this year and early 2019. Whether the new Note 9 and iPhone X are among them remains to be seen.
All things considered, people will still slap on a tempered glass protector on their phones. Whether we’ll see a shift in this trend with Gorilla Glass 6 or not remains to be seen.