Hands On with Corning's 3D Gorilla Glass
Jan 7, 2014, 12:54 AM by Rich Brome @richbrome
Corning has made a name for itself in phone display parts with its Gorilla Glass product, currently the gold standard in durable displays. A new process allows Corning to bend the glass into almost any shape, allowing Gorilla Glass to be used in phones with exotic designs.
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Most phones today have glass fronts that suit their capacitive touch screens. The standard design is a perfectly flat sheet of black glass, which is a large part of what makes all smartphones look so similar these days. The glass is therefore a major limitation for phone designers trying to make their phone stand out.
Some phones have added a slight curve to the edge of the glass. Examples include Samsung's Galaxy S III and the HTC One X. But they've achieved that effect by starting with a flat sheet of glass and just shaving it down a tad. It's an effect that's nice to touch, but does little to change the look and overall design of the phone.
Corning's new 3D Gorilla Glass gives manufacturers freedom to bend the glass completely around the edges of the phone, permitted dramatic new designs. The process maintains all of Gorilla Glass' durable properties.
Just handling the prototype glass made me pine for the gorgeous phones it begs to grace. If you thought unibody metal phones were sexy, wait until you touch that kind of design in glass. We can't wait to see this in some sexy new phones in 2014.
About the author, Rich Brome:Editor in Chief Rich became fascinated with cell phones in 1999, creating mobile web sites for phones with tiny black-and-white displays and obsessing over new phone models. Realizing a need for better info about phones, he started Phone Scoop in 2001, and has been helming the site ever since. Rich has spent two decades researching and covering every detail of the phone industry, traveling the world to tour factories, interview CEOs, and get every last spec and photo Phone Scoop readers have come to expect. As an industry veteran, Rich is a respected voice on phone technology of the past, present, and future.
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