Corning just unveiled its next-generation Gorilla Glass, developed specifically to be more resistant to drops and scratches. Corning says Gorilla Glass 6 is two times better than it's predecessor at surviving drops from 1 meter. It also performed better from higher distances than Gorilla Glass 5.
In a press event, the company announced the upgrade and explained the testing and performance process. Not only was the glass designed to better resist drops, but it was also put through the paces to resist scratches from rough surfaces.
Gorilla Glass 6 has higher compression, which makes it more resistant to cracks when dropped on stress points from 1-meter heights. It's getting better scratch resistance, too.
"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," said Dr. Jaymin Amin, vice president of technology and product development, Corning Gorilla Glass and Corning Specialty Materials. "Moreover, with breaks during drops being a probabilistic event, the added compression helps increase, on average, the likelihood of survival through multiple drop events."
What does this mean for the next-generation iPhone?
Apple has been using Gorilla Glass for most of its devices for years. The most recent line of iPhone devices, the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X all use a unique glass developed by Apple in collaboration with Corning.
The new glass in iPhone 8 is the result of a close partnership and collaboration between Apple and Corning. One that goes down to the engineering level. It allowed both companies to collaborate on an ion-exchange process that goes 50% deeper than before, and support it with an internal, laser-welded, steel and copper substructure.Thanks to Apple and Corning's partnership, iPhone 8 (and iPhone X) has exclusive access to this ultra-durable glass.
Gorilla Glass 6 is likely very similar to what we're already seeing in the current iPhone lineup.
Whether Apple uses Gorilla Glass 6 in the next generation of iPhone or the same unique collaboration is yet to be seen.
We'll find out for sure this fall when Apple's next iPhone is announced.
