Gorilla Glass 5 for tougher screens

Dropping your smartphone mid-selfie may soon be less traumatic. New York glass maker Corning has unveiled the latest iteration of Gorilla Glass, which the company claims is four times as likely to survive a fall from waist or shoulder height as its competitors. The company’s Gorilla Glass products have been used in 4.5 billion devices since 2007, including products from Samsung, Apple, Motorola, LG, Hewlett-Packard and others, according to its website.

A global survey cited by Corning revealed that 85 per cent of smartphone users have dropped their mobile device at least once in the past year and that 55 per cent have dropped their mobile device three or more times in the past year. Thus, it’s no surprise that easily broken screens rank among the most frequent complaints from smartphone users.

In laboratory tests, Corning dropped phones face down on to “rough, unforgiving surfaces,” such as asphalt, from waist and shoulder height, presuming that many accidents happen while putting a phone in your pocket or taking a photo. Gorilla Glass 5 remains intact after falls from about five feet approximately 80 per cent of the time, the company asserts.

Here’s how Gorilla Glass is forged: Corning places glass into a “hot bath of molten salt” that heats up to 752 degrees Fahrenheit. The process causes sodium ions to leave the glass, and potassium ions from the salt bath replace them. Because potassium ions are larger, they produce a “layer of compressive stress” deep inside the glass that resists damage.