Corning’s new Apple-like ceramic glass might save your next phone from disaster

Gorilla Glass Ceramic will be appear on its first phone in the coming months.

See full article...

 

[Fred Duck]

Of the three smartphones I've owned (all caseless), I have broken the glass on zero of them. My trick is to imagine it's an expensive piece of kit that I can't replace, which I suppose isn't much of a stretch.

Why Corning does not use real asphalt for this test is unclear.

No one, not even testers, can bring themselves to willingly drop mobiles on actual asphalt.

Wilkins: Jenkins, where are those drop results?
Jenkins: ...I...I can't, sir!
Wilkins: You are hopeless.
Jenkins: Transfer me back to Infant Flinging, please!
Wilkins: Give me that. Just open your fingers like...like...
Jenkins: ...
Wilkins: Why don't we take a trip to R&D and see if they have any ideas?
Jenkins: Maybe a robot gripper claw?
Wilkins: Or a jetpack!

 

[CarrerCrytharis]

Inquiring minds want to know.

If you sit on your phone and break it, it's your asphalt.

 

[archtop]

Thirty years ago, if you told me that company that makes casserole dishes was going to be a tech giant, I would have said, you're crazy.

Although Corning has been making optical fiber since 1970.

Edit: Ninjaed, but I'll also add the Corning has produced more than 1 billion km of optical fiber -- whoa.

 

[Hadrian's Waller]

Inquiring minds want to know.

Lack of consistent results?

 

[Eurynom0s]

Fancy glassware is all good, but of course you could always get a phone case that provides adequate padding in corners and extends a bit above the rim so the only real way to smash the glass is to drop it face down on a pebble.

Bonus, it makes the phone much less slippery so there are less incidents of phone meeting the floor in general.

And with modern phones having essentially zero bezel, the case gives you something to hold onto that's not reactive to avoid accidental touch inputs. Although this was a problem even back with phones like the Galaxy S3, where without a case it was way too easy to hit the capacitive buttons by accident.

And for how I hold my phone the problem was doubled by Samsung's swapping of the standard Android key layout since I was way more likely to accidentally hit the back button than the menu button. It was a giant pain in the ass for losing your place in a news article, losing a reddit comment you'd started typing (this was back before BaconReader added an option to throw up a confirmation prompt if you tried to exit a comment after you'd started typing), etc.

 

[brainchasm]

Huygens Optics on YouTube just did a video on glass ceramics!


View: https://youtu.be/qi8jmEbWsxU?si=nhK8_peF6ro6z77L


I had no idea glass stove tops were actually glass ceramics, not just tempered glass. Quenching a red hot piece of glass in water and having nothing happen is strange to watch

Wait until you find out Corning has been doing this since at least the 80s...google VISION cookware (I have a bunch).

 

[nzod]

I am more than a meter tall, I probably hold a phone at about 1.4m when I'm standing and looking at it. How much more likely is it to break when you exceed the 1m test?

Also, when my phone inevitably slips out of my hand in the weirdest, physics-defying, Mr. Bean-approved ways possible, it usually follows a healthy arc upwards before even starting to fall.

 

[Drop table users;]

I often wonder why they don't make plastic screens with replaceable glass screen protectors. Scratch resistant and smooth to the fingers up top, and shatterproof on the actual expensive screen.
Maybe it doesn't work for some reason (visually less pretty?), or maybe fragile screens drive up profits?

Iphone screens haven't been fragile for years.

 

[norton_I]

I often wonder why they don't make plastic screens with replaceable glass screen protectors. Scratch resistant and smooth to the fingers up top, and shatterproof on the actual expensive screen.
Maybe it doesn't work for some reason (visually less pretty?), or maybe fragile screens drive up profits?

You can get tempered glass covers for your existing glass screen. They break much more easily than gorilla glass, but they will protect it from scratches and are easily replaceable.

 

[Wheels Of Confusion]

Wait until you find out Corning has been doing this since at least the 80s...google VISION cookware (I have a bunch).

Even earlier if you don't need transparency.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CorningWare

 

[docstryder]

Inquiring minds want to know.

I would guess it has to do with the consistency of hardness. It's probably hard to make asphalt of exactly consistent hardness but they probably use some other synthetic material to get to a uniform hardness across their different labs

 

[Negative Entropy]

Why Corning does not use real asphalt for this test is unclear.

Inquiring minds want to know.

Just a guess: In a testing lab, it's important to have your test apparatus be repeatable and reproducible.

It may be hard to standardize asphalt in this manner (indoors, in small patches), so creating your own version, that you can make and remake (and perhaps test/verify to see if it still meets your internal standard, like a caliper, CMM or surface plate is tested using traceable "standards" all the way back to NIST) would make sense.

Edit: semi-ninja by @docstryder !

 

[Chris FOM]

A few years ago I got a scratch on my iPhone 13 Pro, and wanted to have the screen replaced by Apple Care.

They told me scratches aren't covered by broken glass is.

I spent hours trying to break the damn thing by dropping it from different heights. Eventually I hit it with a hammer.

I say that to say this, their screens have been absurdly strong for quite some time.

Username checks out.

 

[terrydactyl]

Thirty years ago, if you told me that company that makes casserole dishes was going to be a tech giant, I would have said, you're crazy.

Keep in mind, they cast the 200" Hale mirror blank in 1934.

 

[brainchasm]

Keep in mind, they cast the 200" Hale mirror blank in 1934.

Didn't that thing take like, multiple years just to cool ?

 

[terrydactyl]

Didn't that thing take like, multiple years just to cool ?

Yes, 2 years as I recall. And the local river flooded at one point, causing a power outage and the loss control of the annealing process for days. I recommend The Perfect Machine if you want to know more.

 

[Erbium68]

I remember back in the late 1960s visiting an R&D lab at a British university - Leeds? where they were experimenting with transparent glass/ceramics composite. The guy demonstrating took what looked like a standard lab pipette - and hammered it into a pine board.
The problem? Micro-cracking. Once micro-cracks developed they created high stress concentration points and very shortly after the things broke.
It looks to me as if the application field has gradually widened as the cracking is solved - stove tops get distributed loading and don't need to be transparent.

 

[esmIII]

surfaces that closely resemble asphalt. Why Corning does not use real asphalt for this test is unclear.

This is likely because it's hard to create an asphalt surface that is identical every time. So for testing, you will run into repeatability issues. If you look at the chart in the PDF they say they used 180 grit sandpaper.

 

[Erbium68]

Thirty years ago, if you told me that company that makes casserole dishes was going to be a tech giant, I would have said, you're crazy.

Thirty years ago I spent an interesting afternoon at the Kentucky Derby - not on the horses but talking to the engineer wife of a colleage who had just returned from a year spent in Japan for Corning, basically working on becoming a supplier of car windscreens (windshields).

By the sound of it she'd been a really good ambassador for the USA, but it does show the scope of Corning.

 

[ColdWetDog]

And then we all (well, nearly all? I have collected no data) immediately wrap the sides and back in protective, soft plastic covers...

We aren't the cool kids. Cool kids always have a naked phone in its minimalist splendor. And with cracked glass....

 

[Chuckstar]

Thirty years ago, if you told me that company that makes casserole dishes was going to be a tech giant, I would have said, you're crazy.

Thirty years ago Corning was already making most of its money from fiber optics and LCD glass.

 

[dooferorg]

The biggest issue I tend to have with phones is not that they're fragile so much as so darn slippery without a case on (which then makes testing the fragility all the more likely). Slick glass being strong is all well and good but I really do appreciate having a metal case with inner rubber padding.

Maybe I'm just clumsy, I dunno

 

[illegitimi carborundum]

The cement! Asphalt is technically a concrete. Technically anything that's a binder (cement) plus aggregate equals "concrete." Fun fact, asphalt is also the most recycled material in the world! Most asphalt you've laid eyes on in your life has been recycled many times.

<rant time>

Also fun fact, traditional plaster is also concrete! What we normally call plaster walls in homes is actually the same stuff sidewalks are made out of (Portland cement), but without the pebbles for aggregate (only some sand instead). It's also usually watered down more as it makes it easier to apply and stretches the material a bit, too. Interior walls don't need to be very strong so they'd typically thin it out and add some wood pulp as a binder, or occasionally horse hair. The latter has led to rate cases of people getting anthrax during home projects!

This is why, if you have plaster walls and have tried drilling into them, you dull your bits very quickly. It feels like you're drilling into rock, because you are! You need to use a masonry bit (or embrace the dullness).

Also fun fact, interior walls are not structural. Older homes with plaster walls are not stronger than drywall homes. House strength comes from the frame and sheeting, for which older homes had inferior shiplap sheeting, compared to modern plywood or OSB. The large rectangular sheets we use now are way more rigid than old wood sheeting. Shiplap sheeting is weak and doesn't prevent racking movement of the frame very well. Older homes may feel more "solid" but make no mistake: should heavy winds or even a small earthquake pass them by, they'll topple.

Plaster is almost never used anymore because it's: more expensive, more labor intensive, more resource intensive to make than drywall. And if you're a homeowner: trust me, you don't want to bother repairing plaster. Drywall is waaaay easier.

The only kind of people who think, "oh yeah plaster repair sounds fun!" are the kind of unhinged people who read the word "asphalt" and then brain dump about all things cementuous materials

Edit: this rant is actually abridged

That was awesome. You should guest write an Ars article on the topic!

 

[FlightofFancy001]

Thirty years ago, if you told me that company that makes casserole dishes was going to be a tech giant, I would have said, you're crazy.

If you get a chance, go by the Corning Glass museum up in New York. Well woth the trip.

 

[julesverne]

I'm so sick of glass backs. They have zero functional benefits over plastic or polycarbonate. Wireless charging works without glass. Plastic is also signal transparent. It doesn't break as easily, is light and doesn't cause the "butter fingers" issue that glass does. Additionally, plastic backs would ease the ability of consumers replacing the battery.

The "premium" aesthetic argument can gtfo. I have no issue with aesthetics of plastic. Glass front, fine. Glass back, get lost.

 

[Rival Vector Plot]

Every new development in gorilla glass promises big jumps in scratch resistance and crack resistance.

Every new iPhone still ends up being plenty susceptible to scratches (I get these plenty from the phone being in my pocket with keys or wallet - already had a screen replacement on my 15 pro for a bad scratch), or cracks (I get these less frequently fortunately but still see it all the time).

Why would you place a piece of technology in with a bunch of implements that can scratch, gouge and damage it? I don’t pack my hammer or screwdrivers in my laptop bag.

 

[Rival Vector Plot]

The cement! Asphalt is technically a concrete. Technically anything that's a binder (cement) plus aggregate equals "concrete." Fun fact, asphalt is also the most recycled material in the world! Most asphalt you've laid eyes on in your life has been recycled many times.

<rant time>

Also fun fact, traditional plaster is also concrete! What we normally call plaster walls in homes is actually the same stuff sidewalks are made out of (Portland cement), but without the pebbles for aggregate (only some sand instead). It's also usually watered down more as it makes it easier to apply and stretches the material a bit, too. Interior walls don't need to be very strong so they'd typically thin it out and add some wood pulp as a binder, or occasionally horse hair. The latter has led to rate cases of people getting anthrax during home projects!

This is why, if you have plaster walls and have tried drilling into them, you dull your bits very quickly. It feels like you're drilling into rock, because you are! You need to use a masonry bit (or embrace the dullness).

Also fun fact, interior walls are not structural. Older homes with plaster walls are not stronger than drywall homes. House strength comes from the frame and sheeting, for which older homes had inferior shiplap sheeting, compared to modern plywood or OSB. The large rectangular sheets we use now are way more rigid than old wood sheeting. Shiplap sheeting is weak and doesn't prevent racking movement of the frame very well. Older homes may feel more "solid" but make no mistake: should heavy winds or even a small earthquake pass them by, they'll topple.

Plaster is almost never used anymore because it's: more expensive, more labor intensive, more resource intensive to make than drywall. And if you're a homeowner: trust me, you don't want to bother repairing plaster. Drywall is waaaay easier.

The only kind of people who think, "oh yeah plaster repair sounds fun!" are the kind of unhinged people who read the word "asphalt" and then brain dump about all things cementuous materials

Edit: this rant is actually abridged

OSB or plywood sheeting is now pretty standard on construction, whether it be to resist hurricanes or earthquakes. Modern structures are considerably stronger.

 

[sword_9mm]

I'm not that well-disciplined. Things go in the pocket on the side of the hand I pick em up with. Chaos rules over all.

Just reading that drives me insane.

 

[lasertekk]

Would be interesting to understand if the ceramic adds a wider bandwidth of light transmission vs gorilla glass?

Puzzling statement. Transmission of light is simply dependent upon material used for the substrate and any external coatings. So it can be anything you want to get whatever job done.

 

[lasertekk]

If you get a chance, go by the Corning Glass museum up in New York. Well woth the trip.

I have a roll of vintage fiber optic cable from them from the early 1980s. They want it back for display. 10 micron core I believe.

 

[Thegs]

Every new development in gorilla glass promises big jumps in scratch resistance and crack resistance.

Every new iPhone still ends up being plenty susceptible to scratches (I get these plenty from the phone being in my pocket with keys or wallet - already had a screen replacement on my 15 pro for a bad scratch), or cracks (I get these less frequently fortunately but still see it all the time).

Someone correct me on this if I am wrong, but the last time I looked in to it (2022/2023) the phone glass Corning produces has a hardness of around 6.6. That's pretty hard, but the second most common silicate mineral out there is quartz, which has a typical hardness of 7. I'm positive that the incredibly smart people at Corning have a really good material sciencey reason why they have to make phone screens scratchable by common sand (off the top of my head, typically the harder your material the more brittle it is and that would reduce drop resistance). However, it's frustrating that if you get the wrong dust in your pocket, boom, scratched screen.

This is why having a screen protector is a good idea as they can make them harder than the screen itself. When it breaks because of how brittle this makes it, you can just take it off and reapply a new one.

 

[phuul]

I'm so sick of glass backs. They have zero functional benefits over plastic or polycarbonate. Wireless charging works without glass. Plastic is also signal transparent. It doesn't break as easily, is light and doesn't cause the "butter fingers" issue that glass does. Additionally, plastic backs would ease the ability of consumers replacing the battery.

The "premium" aesthetic argument can gtfo. I have no issue with aesthetics of plastic. Glass front, fine. Glass back, get lost.

While nice in theory it would reduce the stiffness of the phone. The "glass sandwich" construction needs glass on both sides to maintain rigidity. Having glass on one side and plastic on the other practically guarantees a cracked screen the first time any flex is put on the phone.

Edit to add:

I should have added that the glass is a structural component and not just there for looks.

 

[Andyvan]

In reference to the back of phones, I've never understood why Google didn't continue with the metal case it used for the Pixel 5. Only phone I've ever used without a case, and it still looks pristine. I would still be using it if it received security fixes.

From memory: the case was actually an aluminum/epoxy combination, with the wireless charging coil outside the case in a cavity, with it protected by epoxy. There was a small hole to connect the coil to the insides.

 

[YetAnotherPoster]

And people will end up buying a plastic/silicon cover anyway so the phone doesn't slide out your hand/off the table. It might as well just have a plastic back anyway.

 

[black_box]

A matte screen and a body that isn't a slip and slide challenge would be great.

 

[KingAZAZ]

Fancy glassware is all good, but of course you could always get a phone case that provides adequate padding in corners and extends a bit above the rim so the only real way to smash the glass is to drop it face down on a pebble.

Bonus, it makes the phone much less slippery so there are less incidents of phone meeting the floor in general.

The main reason I use a case is because all glass is so dang slippery. I can maybe count on both hands the number of times I've dropped my phone on a hard surface, so I don't really want a case, but started using them as all glass became the standard. I guess that's all my phones after the Note 4, I think.

 

[Frodo Douchebaggins]

Why would you place a piece of technology in with a bunch of implements that can scratch, gouge and damage it?

Because they're pocket-sized, I generally have at most two pockets that are useful for holding those objects, and I'm a human being who doesn't always do the thing that is ideal?

I don’t pack my hammer or screwdrivers in my laptop bag.

False equivalence.

 

[osvenskan]

Mmmm. Glass sandwich

Let me guess, that's from an AI-generated recipe?

 

[Drop table users;]

Username checks out.

To be fair, can we really Trust are for tech news if they dont sanitize their inputs?

 

[Frodo Douchebaggins]

A matte screen and a body that isn't a slip and slide challenge would be great.

my sit/stand desk surface is eeeeeevvvveeerrrr so slightly off level (tilted forward) probably from me leaning on it. I just poured a small amount of water on it and it's advancing at roughly 1 inch per 12 seconds, as a test.

My iPhone 15 Pro will sometimes work its way off the desk and fall to the floor. It's fucking insane.