Corning: Gorilla Glass 5 is at least as scratch-resistant as its predecessor

Corning commented on JerryRigEverything’s video testing Gorilla Glass 5’s scratch resistance. The company states that the scratches in the video are actually metal scraps and that the hardness of the glass “at least matches” that of the previous version.

This is the company behind Gorilla Glass in response to questions posed by Android Authority, following the video about Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7. Corning has listed a number of arguments why the test would not be representative. In the video, for example, a pin made of material that has a score of 3 on the Mohs scale of hardness is said to have been used to scratch the screen. Corning refutes this by stating that material with a hardness of 3 cannot scratch material with a hardness of 5 or 6. The scratches seen in the video would therefore in reality be ‘metal scraps’.

Jaymin Amin of Corning states, “Materials transferred to the screen may appear to the untrained eye as a scratch, when it is actually not a scratch.” Company spokespersons then explain that removing such material is virtually impossible. When asked why the scratches seemed to get worse with harder material, the spokespersons answered that this has to do with the force exerted on the glass. In addition, Gorilla Glass 5 would have at least the same scratch resistance as Gorilla Glass 4. However, the documentation always referred to “similar properties”, according to Android Authority.

When asked whether scratch resistance had been traded for drop resistance, Corning replied that this discussion is based on a wrong assumption. The new glass would have used a way to eliminate impurities in the glass, increasing its resistance to damage. It would therefore not be about better shock absorption or increased flexibility of the glass. Corning also denounced the test setup in the video for being inconsistent, for example when it comes to force applied. Android Authority countered that JerryRigEverything always uses this setup. In the video, based on his findings, the YouTuber advised that users would be well advised to use a screen protector for the Note 7.