AppleInsider Staff
Glass maker Corning on Tuesday announced commercial availability of Gorilla Glass SR+, a composite cover material designed specifically to take on the stresses endured by wearable devices like Apple Watch.
The culmination of research dating back to early 2015, Gorilla Glass SR+ is said demonstrate scratch resistance nearing that of "alternative luxury cover materials," Corning said in a press release. While not specified, Corning is likely referring to sapphire, an incredibly hard and optically clear material commonly seen in high-end wristwatches.
Although Apple uses sapphire to protect Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition models, the material has seen limited application in the smartwatch field due to high production and tooling costs. Apple, too, implements a cheaper ion-impregnated glass — "Ion-X" in Apple speak — with the entry-level Apple Watch Sport.
According to Corning, Gorilla Glass SR+ delivers up to 70 percent better damage resistance against impacts and 25 percent better surface reflection than competing luxury materials.
"In early 2015, Corning launched Project Phire with the goal of engineering glass-based solutions with the scratch resistance approaching luxury cover materials, combined with the superior damage resistance of Gorilla Glass," said Scott Forester, director, innovation products, Corning Gorilla Glass. "Corning Gorilla Glass SR+ delivers a superior combination of properties that is not available in any other material today - it is in a class of its own."
Corning expects Gorilla Glass SR+ to show up in products from leading global brands later this year.
Malcolm Owen
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9 Comments
Totally awesome to see Corning constantly raising their game to bring new innovative and cost effective materials to market. We all like to talk about how the space programs of the 60s and 70s spun off many advances in consumer technologies. As the iPhone approaches its 10th anniversary next year it would be nice to hear about how the iPhone has spurred similar innovations across a wide range of material, component, and software technologies. Steve would be proud and all Apple employees should be very proud as well.
Nice. I know people complain about battery life (still don't understand that one) and third party app performance but the ease at which the Sport model's screen scratched was my biggest complaint. Love to see this used in an Apple Watch refresh for models that don't get the sapphire displays.
Call me skeptical. Despite all the advances with glass, I still find scratches on my iPhone screen, usually within weeks of ownership - and I usually avoid keeping it in a pocket with anything in it. Do I wish my Apple Watch screen had better transparency, less reflectance? Sure, but not at the expense of scratch resistance. My watch screen is still as good as the day I bought it.