FAQ | Corning Gorilla Glass

FAQs

FAQs

FAQs

  • WHY DO I WANT GORILLA GLASS ON MY DEVICES?

    Scrapes and bumps are a fact of life, but Gorilla Glass enables your device to resist damage from the abuses that come with everyday use. Gorilla Glass also has strong aesthetic appeal. It’s thin, lightweight, and cool to the touch – enabling the sleekest designs.

  • CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE ION-EXCHANGE PROCESS?

    Ion exchange is a chemical strengthening process where large ions are “stuffed” into the glass surface, creating a state of compression. Gorilla Glass is specially designed to maximize this behavior. The glass is placed in a hot bath of molten salt at a temperature of approximately 400°C. Smaller sodium ions leave the glass, and larger potassium ions from the salt bath replace them. These larger ions take up more room and are pressed together when the glass cools, producing a layer of compressive stress on the surface of the glass. Gorilla Glass’s special composition enables the potassium ions to diffuse far into the surface, creating high compressive stress deep into the glass. This layer of compression creates a surface that is more resistant to damage from everyday use.

  • WHAT MAKES GORILLA GLASS SO DAMAGE RESISTANT?

    The unique composition of Gorilla Glass allows for a deep layer of high compressive stress (created through an ion-exchange process). This compression acts as a sort of “armor,” making the glass exceptionally tough and damage resistant.

  • HOW DO I KNOW IF GORILLA GLASS IS ON MY DEVICE?

    Gorilla Glass is currently used by more than 40 major OEMs, designed into more than 2,100 product models, and featured on over 5 billion devices. Check out this list for the most current, comprehensive collection of devices that Corning can confirm for Gorilla Glass.

  • DOES THIS LIST INCLUDE ALL DEVICES THAT HAVE GORILLA GLASS?

    No, unfortunately, customer agreements prevent us from identifying all the devices that feature Gorilla Glass. This list shows all devices we can talk about. We’ll continue to update the list as customers allow us to share that information.

  • I LIKE THE IDEA OF GREATER DAMAGE RESISTANCE, BUT WON’T GORILLA GLASS ADD BULK TO MY DEVICE?

    Corning’s ion-exchange process makes Gorilla Glass exceptionally durable, while allowing it to remain thin and lightweight enough to enable the sleekest smartphones and slates. Gorilla Glass can be produced at a thinness of 0.5 millimeters just four times thicker than a human hair.

  • IS IT TRUE THAT GORILLA GLASS WAS ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED IN THE 1960S?

    No. That has been a popular myth, which apparently resulted from a misunderstanding of the facts. It’s true that Corning experimented with chemically strengthened glass in 1960, as part of an initiative called “Project Muscle.” In 1961, Corning developed a glass composition it promoted under the Chemcor® brand, which featured state-of-the-art strength and durability. Chemcor glass was incorporated into tableware, ophthalmic products, and applications for the automotive, aviation, and pharmaceutical industries. When Corning began developing a tough new cover glass for electronic devices in 2006, Corning scientists, of course, drew upon the company’s prior expertise with strengthened glass. However, Corning Gorilla Glass is a different product and glass composition than Chemcor. We implemented significant compositional as well as other changes to achieve superior product characteristics including outstanding damage resistance, while making the glass compatible with Corning’s proprietary fusion-draw manufacturing process. Corning’s fusion-draw process produces exceptionally thin glass with unparalleled surface quality. The result is a tough and damage-resistant glass that is ideal for today’s sleekest electronic devices and most sophisticated touch technology.

  • CAN I BREAK GORILLA GLASS?

    If subjected to enough abuse, Gorilla Glass can break. However, Gorilla Glass is better able to survive the real-world events that most commonly cause glass to scratch, chip, or break.

  • WILL I PAY MORE FOR MY MOBILE DEVICE IF IT CONTAINS GORILLA GLASS VERSUS SODA LIME GLASS?

    Corning sells to device manufacturers. Pricing for Gorilla Glass is based on manufacturer-specific product requirements (e.g., thickness, size) and volume. We can’t speculate on what that might mean for the retail price of a particular device.

  • WHERE IS GORILLA GLASS MADE?

    Corning manufactures Gorilla Glass in the United States, Japan, and Taiwan.

  • WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF CORNING’S FUSION DRAW PROCESS?

    Corning’s proprietary fusion process creates an unparalleled surface quality. This extraordinarily precise, highly automated process produces glass with exceptionally clean, smooth, flat surfaces; outstanding optical clarity; and inherent dimensional stability. With the right process design, the glass can be used “as drawn,” eliminating grinding and polishing processes that add cost and may introduce surface flaws. This same fusion draw process is at the heart of Corning’s industry-leading LCD glass.

  • WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GORILLA GLASS AND CORNING’S LCD GLASS SUBSTRATES?

    They serve different purposes: Gorilla Glass is a cover glass for the exterior of display devices, while EAGLE XG® is a glass substrate used within liquid crystal display panels. Therefore, many electronic devices feature both Corning Gorilla Glass and EAGLE XG. While they are formed with the same manufacturing process, the chemical compositions of the glass are also different. EAGLE XG LCD glass is an aluminosilicate composition, while Gorilla Glass is an alkali-aluminosilicate glass.

  • I HEARD THAT GORILLA GLASS IS GOING TO BE USED FOR APPLICATIONS AND PRODUCTS OUTSIDE OF CONSUMER ELECTRONICS. WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THAT?

    Gorilla Glass’s unique combination of beauty and durability offers benefits for applications beyond consumer electronics, and Corning’s research team is exploring the possibilities. Stay tuned for more information about where Gorilla Glass may appear next.

share