Corning on Wednesday unveiled
Gorilla Glass 5, the latest iteration of its popular cover glass that's said to further address a common concern among consumers: breakage from drops. Citing an 11-country survey, Corning points out that more than 85 percent of smartphone owners have drop their handset at least once a year with 55 percent saying they've done so a minimum of three times over the same period of time.
Indeed, cracked and shattered screens are a common occurrence in today's mobile-driven world. In the earlier days, scratches were just as much of an issue (if not more) although at this point, advancements in cover glass like those offered by Corning have largely eliminated the need for protective screen covers. Damage from drops, however, remains a pain point for the industry. In Corning's internal testing, the company said its Gorilla Glass 5 survived up to 80 percent of the time when dropped face-down from 1.6 meters (between shoulder and waist height for the average person) onto rough surfaces.