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Corning’s new Gorilla Glass 5 is meant to survive epic smartphone drops

No matter how many gorillas crafted those phone’s screens, it always seems the tiniest drop will send shards flying, tears running, and wallets whimpering.

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Earlier today, Corning announced the impending arrival of Gorilla Glass 5, a more resilient and sturdier version of the glass displays that have graced every incarnation of the iPhone since the very beginning. This means, when you whip your Gorilla Glass 5-featuring smartphone out of your pocket and it falls onto the ground, 4 out of 5 times it should survive. According to Corning, Gorilla Glass 5 survives up to 80% of the time when dropped facedown from 1.6 meters (a little over 5ft.) in the air onto rough surfaces.

Corning has unveiled a new toughened glass model.

Although empirical testing by our collective Mark I eyeballs says “everybody drops their phones”, Corning backs up its claim with an internal study. Gorilla Glass is commonly used in smartphones, tablets, and other electronic devices and is a popular choice due to its ability to stand up to shattering and scratches.

Older versions of Gorilla Glass. Hopefully, the upcoming Lumias and Surface devices will come with Gorilla Glass 5. Corning says its material has been used in 4.5 billion devices worldwide across all major mobile device manufacturers.

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“With each successive generation of Corning Gorilla Glass, we have taken cover glass technology to new levels”, John Bayne of Corning said in a press release. Additionally, more than 60% of smartphone owners reported dropping their devices between shoulder and waist height.

Corning Gorilla Glass 5 is designed to survive drops over 5 feet (most of the time)