[Merged] iPhone 4 Glass Body, Durability, and Drop Test Results

[ogdogg]

I read that the glass is 30x stronger than plastic (or something along those lines). Is that new or is this the same glass as the 3gs? It almost made it sound like a new glass type, but they didn't really say much about it.

 

[kryten3000]

It's probably some space age material that was based on some of the newer ceramics/glass developed by NASA.

 

[tasandkrs]

The video on Apple's website states it is new for the iPhone 4. They show a demo of it bending and not breaking.

 

[Hellishness]

The video on Apple's website states it is new for the iPhone 4. They show a demo of it bending and not breaking.

that doesn't necessarily mean that it will be any better in a drop, right?

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I read that the glass is 30x stronger than plastic (or something along those lines). Is that new or is this the same glass as the 3gs? It almost made it sound like a new glass type, but they didn't really say much about it.

There are grade of glass just like there are grade of plastic. Some glass is stronger than plastic, some plastic is stronger than glass. There is no "30x rule." For example Lexan is 200x time stronger than glass of the same thickness.

Most industrial glass, like safety glass and Gorilla glass is actually glass fortified with plastic. It's not pure glass.

 

[guru_ck]

It's on the back too.

 

[vizkiz]

It says on Apple's iPhone website that the new glass is the same glass used on the windshields of helicopters and high-speed trains.

 

[Diode]

It says on Apple's iPhone website that the new glass is the same glass used on the windshields of helicopters and high-speed trains.

Yea but I wonder if it can still take a drop to concrete at waist height .....

 

[Applejuiced]

Or, will it blend?

 

[TRAG]

Or, will it blend?

Of course it'll blend! I just know he'll blend it on launch day.

 

[i-John]

It says on Apple's iPhone website that the new glass is the same glass used on the windshields of helicopters and high-speed trains.

iPhone 5 will be able to fly and travel at 200mph then.

 

[neiltc13]

Stronger can have so many meanings. The Apple demo appears to illustrate its strength when subjected to forces that cause it to bend. However, that's entirely different to the force of hitting it head on with a stone or dropping it (and causing only maybe a corner) to hit the ground.

In the end, it's still glass. It will chip and break - I'd love to see how these raised glass edges hold up to impact.

 

[doubleatheman]

The glass is STRONGER, and more FLEXIBLE...

neither of those words excite me...

I want "SHOCK PROOF" "SHATTER RESISTANT"

 

[gravityfall]

I hope it is stronger as I cracked the screen on my 3Gs one week after I got it.

 

[-aggie-]

that doesn't necessarily mean that it will be any better in a drop, right?

Tensile strength has nothing to do with hardness, so no, it means nothing.

 

[Gamst]

Tensile strength has nothing to do with hardness, so no, it means nothing.

Tensile strength is linked in with hardness though, well it is in metals. They are different properties though, but something that is harder will generally have a higher tensile strength, but softer will have more give. Harder isn't always better(oo-er!) as it is generally more brittle.

More flexible, would surely mean that is less fragile, including dropping? I imagine it'll take absorb more force?

I'm guessing we'll see plenty of videos of drop tests soon

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I don't know if the iPhone 4 uses the Gorilla Glass brand but surely it's similar if not. Here is a demo

 

[itsjared]

I'd love to see how these raised glass edges hold up to impact.

Where's your $29 "Bumper"??

 

[ogdogg]

It says on Apple's iPhone website that the new glass is the same glass used on the windshields of helicopters and high-speed trains.

Awesome. I've always been a bit paranoid about my phone although it has survived a few drops. Perhaps now with the new bumper and glass, I'll stop seeing shattered iPhones in my nightmares.

 

[malnar]

I'd love to see how these raised glass edges hold up to impact.

What makes you think it has "raised glass edges"? It clearly has some kind of plastic or who knows what edging around the glass.

 

[allonym]

I don't know if the iPhone 4 uses the Gorilla Glass brand but surely it's similar if not. Here is a demo

Yep. The first test there looks a lot like the one in the Apple video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHngLJ0RlNg

(glass bit is at ~5:20)

 

[ct2k7]

Zeolite glass

Right this glass:

Aluminosilicate Glass
A small, but important type of glass, aluminosilicate, contains 20% aluminium oxide (alumina-Al2O3) often including calcium oxide, magnesium oxide and boric oxide in relatively small amounts, but with only very small amounts of soda or potash. It is able to withstand high temperatures and thermal shock and is typically used in combustion tubes, gauge glasses for high-pressure steam boilers, and in halogen-tungsten lamps capable of operating at temperature as high as 750oC.

Aluminosilicate glass has aluminum oxide in its composition. It is similar to borosilicate glass but it has greater chemical durability and can withstand higher operating temperatures. Compared to borosilicate, aluminosilicates are more difficult to fabricate. When coated with an electrically conductive film, aluminosilicate glass is used as resistors for electronic circuitry

Someone give me the tensile stress and strain values, so I can work out the Young's modulus.

 

[neiltc13]

What makes you think it has "raised glass edges"? It clearly has some kind of plastic or who knows what edging around the glass.

The front and back are covered by single pieces of glass. The edges of these pieces are exposed above the metal rim around the device.

 

[thelatinist]

The front and back are covered by single pieces of glass. The edges of these pieces are exposed above the metal rim around the device.

Those edges appear to be enclosed in some sort of elastomeric material, just like they are on the iPad and unibody MacBook.

 

[cowsrus]

It says on Apple's iPhone website that the new glass is the same glass used on the windshields of helicopters and high-speed trains.

it's also recyclable