Corning has announced the release of their Gorilla Glass 4, the latest in durable screen technology that seeks to protect our phones, tablets and other devices from our big, dumb, clumsy hands.
I dropped my phone this morning. I drop my phone every morning, because for some reason my hands don’t properly work before 8 AM. Not that I don’t drop my phone at a myriad of other times of the day, when my stubby little fingers seem dead set on destroying all technology like the Hulk in a Best Buy.
This is a common problem for most people, I think. We all know that feeling of panic when a drop occurs, and we scramble to make sure nothing has cracked or malfunctioned. There wouldn’t be so many cases out there to help protect against damage if it wasn’t a regular occurrence.
Gorilla Glass is generally considered the best on the market for screen design. They are already incorporated into most high end models of popular brands, such as Samsung, Microsoft and LG. The newer the device, the newer the version of screen material it will feature.
According to Corning, Gorilla Glass 4 is the most protective yet. They show this off with a truly obnoxious commercial where two CGI gorilla cubs (are young gorilla’s cubs?) fight over a smartphone game and repeatedly throw the phone onto the ground like an SNL skit. But irritating though the commercial may be, it gets the point across. Gorilla Glass definitely speaks for itself, when it comes to quality.
Their research into creating Gorilla Glass 4 started with testing smartphones to see the optimal dropping distance where the glass cracked or shattered when hitting a hard surface. They then simulated this drop using 180 grit sandpaper as the surface, and 1 meter for the distance. Gorilla Glass 4 fared better than past versions or competitors, by surviving the drop 80% if the time without significant damage.
It is an interesting result, given the recent trend of using sapphire glass for new screens. That is the material that was used for the latest fashion tech accessory, MICA. You can;t argue with results, however, and an 80% success rate is quite a leap. It would appear that aluminosilicate glass has a definite edge.
If you are thinking of getting a new smartphone soon, Gorilla Glass 4 will start hitting the shelves on new devices in the new year. Just in time for those post-holiday sales.
Source: Corning
