A source of anxiety for many people is the fragility of their smartphone screens. For those who prefer their phone without impact-resistant screen protectors or a bulky protective case, Corning's Gorilla Glass has you covered. The latest version is designed to brush off falls onto hard surfaces from shoulder height.
Building on the strength of previous versions, Corning claims that devices fitted with Gorilla Glass 5 can survive a fall onto rough surfaces from 1.6 m (5.2 ft), up from the last iteration's maximum of 1 m (3.3 ft). Before you go testing that out too rigorously though, just remember that the company is careful to point out that it has an 80 percent success rate at that height.
Quoting a recent 11-country study, Corning says that over 85 percent of smartphone owners drop their phone at least once a year. The company therefore focused on increasing the drop height to cover the range where most of those occur: between the shoulder and the waist. Makes sense, considering that's where we use them.
Corning expects that Gorilla Glass 5 will be on product models later this year.
Source: Corning Gorilla Glass