Corning has announced the next-generation Gorilla Glass 6 screen protection, which the company claims is a significant improvement over its predecessor. According to Corning, the latest Gorilla Glass 6 can help smartphones withstand drops from even greater heights than its previous iteration.
The US-based manufacturer even has a few numbers to share, claiming that a handset with Gorilla Glass 6 protection can survive a total of 15 consecutive drops from 1 meter. Corning suggests that this makes its latest-gen screen protection twice as strong compared to Gorilla Glass 5.
The company has even cited a study which indicates that users on an average accidentally drop their devices at least seven times a year – and in more than 50 percent of the cases, handsets are dropped from 1 meter.
“Gorilla Glass 6 is an entirely new glass composition that can be chemically strengthened to give it significantly higher levels of compression than is possible with Gorilla Glass 5. This enables Gorilla Glass 6 to be more resistant to damage. Moreover, with breaks during drops being a probabilistic event, the added compression helps increase, on average, the likelihood of survival through multiple drop events”, said Dr. Jaymin Amin, vice president of technology and product development, Corning Gorilla Glass and Corning Specialty Materials.
Corning further asserts that Gorilla Glass 6 is equipped to meet the requirements modern day phone designs that offer new features and applications for consumers. These include wireless charging, smaller bezels, bigger screen sizes, and glass backs. The company says that Gorilla Glass 6 is designed in a way that facilities these new design trends.
“In addition to addressing drop height and drop frequency, Gorilla Glass 6 was also developed to meet the requirements of modern designs that use glass for more than 85 percent of the enclosure. With both its aesthetic and performance advantages, glass is on the right side of the technology curve and will continue to be the material of choice for mobile consumer electronics,” said Scott Forester, division vice president, Marketing and Innovation Products, Corning Gorilla Glass in a press release.
The first handsets to feature Corning Gorilla Glass 6 are expected to launch this year. Sources also indicate that Apple has invested nearly $200 million in Corning, which has led to speculations that the 2018 iPhone line-up could be the first set of devices to get Corning’s next-generation screen protection.
