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Corning Unveils 'Project Phire' Super Scratch-Resistant Glass

Friday February 6, 2015 2:13 pm PST by Juli Clover
Corning today unveiled a new material that it's been working on, which combines the strength of its existing Gorilla Glass with ultra scratch-resistance like that of sapphire, reports CNET. The material, which goes by the name "Project Phire," was shown off during an investor meeting by Corning Glass president James Clappin.
"We told you last year that sapphire was great for scratch performance but didn't fare well when dropped," Clappin, president of Corning Glass Technologies, told the crowd at the event. "So, we created a product that offers the same superior damage resistance and drop performance of Gorilla Glass 4 with scratch resistance that approaches sapphire."
Corning's existing Gorilla Glass product is used in a range of smartphone and tablet displays, from Samsung's Galaxy line to Apple's own iOS lineup. Apple planned to move away from Corning's Gorilla Glass with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, switching instead to sapphire produced by GT Advanced, but was unable to use the material due to production issues that later saw the dissolution of the partnership between the two companies.

gorilla-glass4
According to Corning, Gorilla Glass is superior to sapphire due to sapphire's brittleness and tendency to shatter when dropped. Corning has on several occasions pitted Gorilla Glass against sapphire to highlight the former's benefits -- lighter weight, greater strength, and lower pricing.

Gorilla Glass 4, Corning's most recent product, is even more resistant to shattering when it falls onto hard, rough surfaces than previous versions of Gorilla Glass, but it is unable to match the scratch resistant properties of sapphire crystal. Sapphire is second only to diamond when it comes to hardness, and Apple already uses the material to protect the iPhone's rear camera and Touch ID fingerprint sensor from scratches.

Apple's desire to produce iPhone displays with greater scratch resistance may make Corning's "Project Phire" material highly appealing to the company for use in next-generation devices, as it could potentially serve as a more affordable, easier to acquire replacement for sapphire.

Tags: Corning, Gorilla Glass, Project Phire
[ 134 comments ]


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

It's a baby gorilla who just dropped his phone. But he needn't worry because of the sheer strength of Gorilla Glass.


D'oh.
Rating: 67 Votes
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Skika
55 months ago
Why does scratch resistant glass/sapphire matter so much when in reality its the oleophobic coating that gets scratched and leaves marks the most?
Rating: 28 Votes
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gnasher729
55 months ago

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


It's a baby gorilla who just dropped his phone. But he needn't worry because of the sheer strength of Gorilla Glass.

That's a cute picture of the simian, but wouldn't you want a gigantic, tough Silverback 800lb gorilla for your picture of Gorilla Glass™ toughest baddest smartphone glass? Instead of cute / cuddly?


That cuddly gorilla won't be told off by his 800 pound dad because the phone isn't broken.
Rating: 13 Votes
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appleguy123
55 months ago

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

Sapphire is less transparent than glass at the same thickness.
Rating: 8 Votes
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thekeyring
55 months ago
I dropped my phone about two hours ago and smashed screen.

Anything that makes the screen stronger is good.
Rating: 8 Votes
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scottsjack
55 months ago
Nice to see another great product from an American company.
Rating: 7 Votes
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akm3
55 months ago
That's a cute picture of the simian, but wouldn't you want a gigantic, tough Silverback 800lb gorilla for your picture of Gorilla Glass™ toughest baddest smartphone glass? Instead of cute / cuddly?
Rating: 5 Votes
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retep42
55 months ago

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...
Rating: 5 Votes
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Renzatic
55 months ago

And what does Gorilla Glass 4 even mean ? Does that mean the glass is resistant to 4 meek gorillas ??!?!?!? What the hell is that in the real world ?? :(


It's roughly equivalent to 1.3 mildly annoyed gorillas, or 0.153 angry gorillas.

THIS IS WHY WE NEED TO SWITCH TO METRIC, PEOPLE!
Rating: 5 Votes
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Garrod
55 months ago

Nice to see another great product from an American company.


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

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This. My iPhone 6 is full of scratches and nicks. It's just embarrassing to have such a beautiful device full of deformities.


If you care for it so much you'd surely look after it better then? Why complain about your own carelessness? The 'deformities' aren't really deformities - they are scars from lack of care.
Rating: 4 Votes

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