Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Corning Pits Gorilla Glass 3 Against Sapphire, Plans Reflection Reduction and Antimicrobial Technology

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,481
30,715



Following Apple's adoption of sapphire crystal as a strong and durable covering for the rear cameras on the iPhone 5 and fifth-generation iPod touch late last year, rumors of expanded uses for the material have gained some traction. Back in March, we covered a report suggesting that sapphire could see wider adoption as coverings for displays on mobile devices, and just last week a sketchy rumor claimed that Apple is planning to use a sapphire-covered capacitive home button with integrated fingerprint sensor for the iPhone 5S.

corning_gorilla_glass_3.jpg
Amid these discussions of the potential of sapphire, Corning has published a feature outlining why its latest Gorilla Glass 3 is in fact already a better option than sapphire for mobile device displays, citing greater strength, lower weight, less energy cost in production, and significantly lower pricing. And with those features has come widespread adoption, with Corning reporting that over 1.5 billion devices have been made with Gorilla Glass.
Jeffrey W. Evenson, [Corning] senior vice president, remarked, "Discussion seems to center around sapphire as an obvious solution for a cover material. What would people say if someone invented a cover that was about half the weight, used 99 percent less energy to make, provided brighter displays, and cost less than a tenth of sapphire? I think they'd say that sapphire was in real trouble. It so happens that we at Corning already invented that cover - and it's called Gorilla Glass." Evenson added that the company's tests so far indicate Gorilla Glass requires about three times more force to break than sapphire after both materials have received similar wear and tear.
Click to expand...
​
Corning also discusses its latest work with Gorilla Glass, noting that the company has already trimmed the materials thickness to the point where it can be curved and shaped without losing strength. Earlier this year, The New York Times reported that Apple was working on a curved glass smart watch, a product that could potentially take advantage of Corning's latest Gorilla Glass advancements.

Going even further, Corning lays out its future plans for Gorilla Glass, sharing that the company is working hard on new versions that reduce reflections for better visibility in bright sunlight and which incorporate antimicrobial technology to minimize the germs which are prevalent on mobile devices.

Article Link: Corning Pits Gorilla Glass 3 Against Sapphire, Plans Reflection Reduction and Antimicrobial Technology
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/05/22/corning-pits-gorilla-glass-3-against-sapphire-plans-reflection-reduction-and-antimicrobial-technology/
A

anubis

macrumors 6502a
Feb 7, 2003
937
50
Sapphire is hard, but brittle. Meaning, you wouldn't get any scratches on it but would be prone to shattering from small drops. Also it's insanely expensive to make.
 
Chaszmyr

Chaszmyr

macrumors 601
Aug 9, 2002
4,267
86
This video seems to be missing the point. Sapphire is used because (in theory) it's harder to scratch, this video just shows it shatters more easily.
 
J

JDee

macrumors 6502a
Aug 31, 2008
535
11
Ireland
I dunno' about this whole Gorilla Glass thing to be honest. The iPhone 5 has 'Gorilla Glass 2' and I still see loads of the displays being broken. I know it's not invincible but it's not as hard as they make it out to be in these videos.
 
viewfly

viewfly

macrumors 65816
May 1, 2009
1,263
24
anubis said:
Sapphire is hard, but brittle. Meaning, you wouldn't get any scratches on it but would be prone to shattering from small drops. Also it's insanely expensive to make.
Click to expand...

That is correct. It depends what is more important to folks, hardness (scratch proof) or breakage (strength). Sapphire is great for the camera lens cover for scratch resistance. And could be for the entire phone if breakage from dropping is not the issue at hand.

There could be other downsides for Sapphire, like oleophobic coatings, higher reflections than gorilla glass
 
T

that user

macrumors member
Jan 4, 2011
49
4
I love the breaking noise sapphire made in the video. I want to hear what Gorilla sounds like.
 
tevion5

tevion5

macrumors 68000
Jul 12, 2011
1,966
1,600
Ireland
JDee said:
I dunno' about this whole Gorilla Glass thing to be honest. The iPhone 5 has 'Gorilla Glass 2' and I still see loads of the displays being broken. I know it's not invincible but it's not as hard as they make it out to be in these videos.
Click to expand...

iPhones are delicate surely but many of my friends have ugly cases for theirs and still manage to break them. My almost 2 year old 4s looks brand new and I never use a case. Just look after your phone and it will stay safe.

If you do regular mountain climbing or frequently find yourself under gunfire, then yeah, don't buy the phone partially contructed of glass.
 
B

bozzykid

macrumors 68020
Aug 11, 2009
2,430
492
JDee said:
I dunno' about this whole Gorilla Glass thing to be honest. The iPhone 5 has 'Gorilla Glass 2' and I still see loads of the displays being broken. I know it's not invincible but it's not as hard as they make it out to be in these videos.
Click to expand...

Gorilla glass is great for preventing scratches. The issue with shattering has little to do with the glass and more to do with shock absorption. Better shock absorption will help prevent glass shattering. The iPhone 4/4S was absolutely terrible in this regard because it was glass front and back so there was almost zero ability to absorb any of the force when dropped.
 
T

thepowerofnone

macrumors member
Apr 10, 2011
97
7
Hmmm... Sapphire - about a 9 on the Mohs scale; Gorilla Glass 3 - about a 6.

Glad to see that Corning know how to bias a test to make their produce seem much better than it is, Gorilla Glass is much more flexible, of course it is going to do better in a normal force pressure test. On the other hand, unlike sapphire its less hard than sand, and so scratches like a *****. Who do they think they are fooling? No industry expert is going to watch that and think "that Gorilla Glass 3 really is going to solve our durability problem". Breaking a phone by smashing its screen like they do in the test never ever ever happens. You never get an isolated layer like that which is allowed to deflect to failure. You get an impact on an edge which causes a fast fracture. Its down to phone companies to design smarter to protect the vulnerable edges which are a problem associated with all glasses and pick a material which keeps the surface nice and mirror-clean.
 
D

Daalseth

macrumors 6502a
Jun 16, 2012
599
306
Gorilla

The picture is a Gorilla carrying a bunch of Android devices.
Seems appropriate.
:p
:D
 
R

Ryth

macrumors 68000
Apr 21, 2011
1,591
157
OK, I'm not an engineer, but the two samples that break in the video...wouldn't the Sapphire one break more easily because it's much wider, giving it less support/coverage strength? The corning sample that breaks is like half the size.
 
4

4TheLoveOfTech

macrumors 6502
Feb 27, 2013
432
0
Samsung Galaxy S4 Already Uses It.

You would think the author of this article would have posted that the Samsung Galaxy S4 was the first mobile phone to use GG3.

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/464027/20130503/samsung-galaxy-s4-features-specs-release-date.htm#.UZ06zofVCTM

"The Only Smartphone with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 - Samsung Galaxy S4 is currently the only mainstream device to have the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection and it looks like this is something which is not going to change for at least a few months now. Just for the sake of comparison, the Corning Gorilla Glass 2 did fairly well in the hammer test for the Galaxy S3."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom