Cracking the mystery: Why smartphone screens break

Beautiful displays call for protection, because you wouldn’t want your phone to lose its charm on a drop

We have seen a lot of smartphone launches from the big players of the tech industry this year. The focus is on the display technology this year, with the LG G6 showcasing its extremely thin-bezel display, followed by the jawdropping Samsung Galaxy S8’s “Infinity display”. Rumours have it that the next iPhone, slated to launch later this year, could be sporting an OLED display as well. Thus, display is the focus of the smartphone market this year and we could be looking at major innovations around screens in the coming years ahead.

However, beautiful displays call for major impact protection. Because you wouldn’t like to see your brand new curved display on your Galaxy S8 lose its charm to a simple drop on the pavement. We are witnessing an incremental investment in screen protection with the 5th generation of protective glass. Even after that, most of the phones easily give up to a drop on the floor or asphalt or stone pavements. LG had to eventually give up on a curved display yet again on this year’s G6 to reduce the chances of getting shattered in a drop impact. So, why does that happen, despite so much of research going behind protective glasses?

The consumer’s wish for a device that looks sleek and stylish is greater than his wish for a device that’s bulky but strong enough to survive daily abuse in real life. Let us look at a simple example — there are two phones available in India for almost the same price — the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the CAT S60. You wouldn’t know about the latter but would be more than happy to sacrifice an enormous amount of money for the first one.

With a phone that’s extremely sleek, the screens have to use thinner glass in order to be as close to a thin cardboard’s width to make it look more appealing. The frames are made lighter and sleeker as well to reduce the bulk. Due to that, the protective glass layer has to compromise its strength in the event of a drop and undergo most of the shockwaves directly, suffering the consequences of the drop.

Also, you have to keep in mind that a balance has to be achieved between scratch resistance and shatter-proofing. A screen that has superior scratch resistance is brittle and easily subject to cracking. Whereas, a shatter-proof display, like the one on a Moto X Force, has a plastic layer to prevent shattering but is immensely prone to scratches. To understand it easily, consider a steel utensil — it doesn’t break easily but is prone to scratches and smudges.

So, is there any solution to this grave problem? There’s no better way to say it but you have to keep your glass and metal beauties inside cases and covers for now to let them retain their appeal for as long as possible.