Corning Unveils 'Project Phire' Super Scratch-Resistant Glass

[nouveau-apple]

Gorillas iPhone just dropped. He'll be in a bad mood all week!

 

[grahamperrin]

Snap

Rumour has it …

… They also don't put "Intel inside" stickers on their Macs …

Various stickers of that type were prototyped with the forthcoming ultra thin MacBook Air with Retina display. Those prototypes were abandoned after the thickness of the Intel's sticker sometimes caused the Mac to snap when the clamshell was closed.

Allegedly.

Korea

… Samsonite gorillas. Remember them?

They made some pretty good phones and TVs but I don't recall a gorilla handset. To be honest I haven't kept up with the Korean market.

 

[Tech198]

Apple's gone all ape over this one......

I could see Project Phire a reality since phones are getting thinner.....

Of course, if users just treated them better, their wouldn't need to be any scratch resistant glass.

I've got nicks on mu phone already, not the glass bit, but the edges, the back too.. but it still works..

If Apple really wanted to protect the customer they would you thing all over, then it may be indestructible, including the edges, where we damage it the most.


If users can understand why Apple wouldn't to it to the entire phone, it should it easy to understand we should be more careful too... thus Apple shouldn't do it to the front..

I dunno why.

 

[ThinkDifferentX]

I have owned several iDevices and not one has ever been scratched. Cracked or shattered yes.

 

[nouveau-apple]

I'd like to see an iPhone Sapphire. Or an iPhone 6S with the S standing for Sapphire.

 

[brock2621]

Honest question: has Apple actually stated that they use Corning Gorilla glass for their devices? I'm not talking about that one book where it supposedly credits a supplier in Texas. I mean referring to Corning by name.

Corning has a factory in Kentucky, and Tim has said the glass for iPhones is made in KY.

 

[kdarling]

Honest question: has Apple actually stated that they use Corning Gorilla glass for their devices? I'm not talking about that one book where it supposedly credits a supplier in Texas. I mean referring to Corning by name.

Apple posted this a couple of years ago when they were talking about iOS creating US jobs:

"This figure also includes workers in Texas who manufacture processors for iOS products, Corning employees in Kentucky and New York who create the majority of the glass for iPhone, and FedEx and UPS employees."

No mention of GG by name, however.

But there was the whole thing in Jobs' biography about him going to Corning's CEO and convincing him to convert factories to making Gorilla Glass in quantity.

 

[dec.]

Who cares what image they are using. All that matters is the product.

I agree. They probably threw it together in a few seconds without any further thought.

 

[retep42]

Sapphire glass is also a type of "glass".

The difference is that the primary ingredient in traditional glass is an oxide of Silicon (silica), where as the primary ingredient in sapphire glass is an Oxide of Aluminium.

Well, no. Chemical composition is not the main point. Sapphire is a single crystal (which was the challenge in growing it...), while glass is amorphous. This is not just nit-picking here, because this is exactly the reason why sapphire shatters easily while being relatively scratch resistant, while glass can resist shattering more easily, but is more prone to scratching. I suspect that this is also the secret behind this new product, some clever marriage of the two...

 

[peterdevries]

I see your point in how a meek gorilla does not convey strength, but I believe that was intentional on the part of the marketing team. If you look at the phone's screen, it shows an image of an adult gorilla, looking at the baby gorilla. It is the gorilla on the screen that is trying to convey the feeling of strength because it is trying to comfort/care for it's scared child who just dropped it's phone on a street.

You are probably right, but that is far too complicated a message to convey.

 

[Max(IT)]

I dropped my phone about two hours ago and smashed screen.

Anything that makes the screen stronger is good.

Glass would smash if dropped, no matter how much marketing bs they are going to sell us

 

[Max(IT)]

Source?

His imagination

 

[grahamperrin]

His imagination

Without imagination, mankind cannot progress.

I want oompa loompa glass in a YotaPhone 3 delivered to me in a golden goose's egg.

 

[atlatnesiti]

I'd like to see an iPhone Sapphire. Or an iPhone 6S with the S standing for Sapphire.

Why..?! So it will shutter more easily on drop test..?!

 

[IGregory]

Nothing conveys the shear strength of Gorilla Glass quite like a slightly meek looking gorilla huddled on a crosswalk.

Look at the picture again. You're missing the message in the picture. See the phone. The gorilla pictured in the phone looks very menacing. In other words, don't mess with that dude. The meek looking gorilla is fearful on the gorilla pictured in the phone. Got it!

 

[macintoshi]

My big black friend asking how big dividends from this product to african gorillas?
Image

Ok that one looks like tim cook some million years ago...

 

[coolspot18]

isn't the point of sapphire not only for durability, but for the improved viewing experience too?

It's primarily for scratch resistance, the average user won't notice a difference between glass and sapphire. I mean most people have plastic eye glass lenses...

I always slap my phone in a tpu case and I'm not that concerned about glass shattering. I drop my phone all the time and never had a shattered or even a tiny cracked screen because the case.

I guess you're lucky; it really depends on the angle when dropped... if it hits a corner there is a very good chance the glass is shattering even with a case.

 

[Doomtomb]

iPhone 6S for Sapphire

 

[Technarchy]

I'll still use a glass screen protector.

 

[nozebleed]

"project phire"?

sounds phat

 

[eoblaed]

Give me either option. I've never owned a smartphone that didn't end up with hairline scratches.

Do you keep your phone in your pocket with sandpaper?

I don't get scratches on my glass. Then again, I never put anything in the same pocket as it, never set it on hard surfaces, and don't let go of it when I'm not intentionally setting it down.

 

[dampfnudel]

I think the slippery, large iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus will benefit greatly from Gorilla Glass 4, especially with those who don't want to protect their phone with a good case.

they need this on the apple watch. Too late i bet?

Not for the much improved, 2nd generation Apple Watch.

 

[farewelwilliams]

Sapphire is less transparent than glass at the same thickness.

well...since sapphire is stronger than typical glass, it can be thinner?

 

[Dargoth]

I like great products. I don't care where they come from.

This. Why does it matter if I'm supporting an American family, a French family, or a Chinese family? If the product is genuinely better, then it'll get my business. I understand wanting to be loyal to your country, but it isn't healthy when it comes to economics. Gotta work for it!

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

Corning has a factory in Kentucky, and Tim has said the glass for iPhones is made in KY.

I thought Kentucky was only famous for their:
Chicken
Jelly (think about it...)
Friendly people
Bluegrass (music and actual grass)
Basketball (added it by request!)
Politicians

And now, glass!

----------

This. Why does it matter if I'm supporting an American family, a French family, or a Chinese family? If the product is genuinely better, then it'll get my business. I understand wanting to be loyal to your country, but it isn't healthy when it comes to economics. Gotta work for it!

If you need an example, see American auto makers in the late 1960's and 70's.