There is nothing quite like owning a spanking new smartphone, unboxing it from the pristine packaging. The chills that go down your spine when it comes to peeling off the plastic layer that protects the handset's display as well as back (for some), not to mention the thrill of turning on the handset for the very first time after you have fully charged the battery. The next logical step that most people will take would be to purchase a protective case of sorts, or even a screen protector at the very least. Nevertheless, if you feel that you would want your smartphone to go all natural, then do try to pick one that has Corning's Gorilla Glass touch in it.
Gorilla Glass is synonymous with tough displays for mobile devices, especially when it comes to smartphones. Having gone through a fair number of iterations over the years, Corning's Gorilla Glass 5 has been announced. Needless to say, it has been touted to be far superior and stronger as opposed to any other glass before.
Corning claims that their latest Gorilla Glass 5 is able to survive up to 80% of the time when dropped from a height of 1.6 meters (which is slightly more than 5 feet, making it a scenario that happens when your phone slips from your hand while you're taking it out from your pocket or simply trying to train your Pokemon in Pokemon GO), face down, onto rough surfaces. In other words, it should be able to survive without missing a beat 4 out of 5 times, and woe to you if the display cracks right from the first drop.
As to whether such a claim is marketing fluff or not, we will not be able to tell as real world use always differs from lab tests and controlled conditions. One thing that I can be sure of is this -- even when you have newer generation smartphones that are fitted with Gorilla Glass 5, you will still hear and see (and hopefully not experience for yourself) cases of the display cracking or getting scratched from an accidental drop or knock, or simply through everyday use.
Some might say that this is but a ruse for the consumer cycle to continue, as getting stuck with Gorilla Glass 4 or its predecessors forever does not bode well for the company. However, if there is a truly indestructible piece of glass that is touchscreen capable as well, phone accessory manufacturers that churn out protective cases might as well close the shutters to their shop and wind up their respective business interests. Until we hear about Gorilla Glass 6, you can be sure that the newer generation of smartphones with Gorilla Glass 5 will tout its inclusion with much fanfare.
With Gorilla Glass having seen action on over 4.5 billion devices, this is an extremely impressive figure. Corning also claims that Gorilla Glass 5 can offer better protection against "sharp contact damage", and it will encompass protection against the likes of keys, blades, and other sharp objects. We look forward to seeing Gorilla Glass 5 in action across other upcoming flagship devices this year such as the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 and possibly the next generation iPhone.
