Despite a number of extensive leaks already, there are still new morsels surfacing about the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra which is set to be shown off at Samsung's Unpacked event on August 5 alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 2, Galaxy Beans, and Galaxy Watch 3, with the Galaxy Tab S7 likely rounding out the five-strong lineup teased by the Korean tech giant.
The latest report suggests that the two flagship smartphones are in for a massive upgrade which will see their durability go through the roof, all thanks to an improvement in this one area.
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Corning, the manufacturer of Gorilla Glass, has been working on the next iteration of its device glass and has just revealed exactly what it's capable of - and it's impressive! It also revealed that Samsung is the first customer to adopt the new glass "in the near future." Thanks to a spate of leaks, we suspected that the Note 20 Ultra would almost certainly be sporting the upcoming Gorilla Glass, and it's likely the Fold 2 will be following suit.
Dropping the expected 'Gorilla Glass 7' moniker, the latest crack at a scratch and drop-resistant glass has been dubbed 'Gorilla Glass Victus' and it's a game-changer; the company claims that it can survive drops of up to two metres (6 feet) and has significantly improved scratch resistance - twice that of Gorilla Glass 6, and four times that of competing glass.
Display durability when it comes to "improved drop and scratch performance" are "key components of consumer purchasing decisions", says Corning, giving the two Samsung devices a huge advantage over the slew of other premium flagship phones out there.
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Corning's senior vice president and general manager of Mobile Consumer Electronics, John Bayne, explained:
"Dropped phones can result in broken phones, but as we developed better glasses, phones survived more drops but also showed more visible scratches, which can impact the usability of devices.
"Instead of our historic approach of asking our technologists to focus on a single goal – making the glass better for either drop or scratch – we asked them to focus on improving both drop and scratch, and they delivered with Gorilla Glass Victus."
That being said, it's not going to remain pristine forever, given the wear and tear smartphones are exposed to during the daily grind, with Corning VP and lead Gorilla Glass scientist, Jaymin Amin, telling The Verge that devices using Gorilla Glass Victus won't be impervious to things like dirt, sand, or other small particles that find their ways into pockets along with keys, loose change, and your smartphone:
"I think those caveats would still apply on any glass material, but what this does for you is reduce those instances quite dramatically.”
It's a good job too, as we don't expect either the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra or the Galaxy Z Fold 2 to be cheap; users are going to want to keep them in tip top shape, and now that looks more feasible than ever thanks to Gorilla Glass Victus.
Source: Corning
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