Trying to avoid Selfie disasters? Gorilla Glass 5 to the rescue!

Nothing is quite as daunting as the task of finding the perfect angle for a selfie… the struggle is real for Americans everywhere. However, the struggle becomes even more real when you drop your phone and break the screen. Does that hit a little too close to home? According to a study released by Corning, Inc., 85 percent of smartphone users have dropped their mobile phone in the past year, so needless to say this is more common than you might think! ¹ But never fear selfie takers and mobile users, the future may have just gotten a little brighter or in this case safer!

Last week, there was a major announcement regarding the future of glass screen technology for mobile devices. Corning Inc. has made public its intentions of releasing a brand new version of their Gorilla Glass products. The Gorilla Glass 5 is set to become the strongest mobile device glass yet to hit the market. In addition to the stronger composition of the Gorilla Glass 5, Corning is also decreasing the width of the glass from 0.4mm to 0.3mm. So you won't need to worry about a more bulky product.

It's rumored that this new glass will improve the survival rate of your phone, due to a fall, by 4 times! In a test conducted by Corning, the Gorilla Glass 5 survived falls from 5.25 ft. around 80 percent of the time. All of these reports are definitely great news for mobile users! The glass is developed by placing the glass into a "hot bath of molten salt", which can heat up to 400 degrees Celsius. This causes sodium ions to leave the glass and potassium ions from the salt bath to then replace them. Since potassium ions are larger, they produce a "layer of compressive stress" deep inside the glass that resists damage. ²

At this point there's no word on whether or not the Gorilla Glass 5 will make its smartphone debut with the iPhone 7 or iPhone 8, but the first time we might see this product in action is actually on the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 in 2017. If all the rumors are true, once the Surface Pro is released, it will become the most durable mobile device on the market! Given that the Gorilla Glass 5 can withstand falls of roughly 5.25 ft.; this will be a vast improvement on its predecessor, the Gorilla Glass 4, which could withstand falls up to 3.3 ft.

Take a look at the below video regarding the release of the new Gorilla Glass 5.

So take a deep breath selfie-enthusiasts, help is on the way! Stay tuned for more information on when the Gorilla Glass 5 will make its debut to mobile phones.