Corning has been pioneering the industry for years with its Gorilla Glass and while it generally announces top-tier cover glasses, it has now announced a new product called Gorilla Glass 7i that’ll serve as one of the best options for mid-range smartphones. The glass will sit between Gorilla Glass 5 and the Gorilla Glass Victus.
Corning says that the “Gorilla Glass 7i broadens Corning’s renowned tough cover glass portfolio, offering better drop and scratch performance compared to competitive lithium aluminosilicate glasses from other manufacturers.” Gorilla Glass 7i survived drops of up to one meter on surfaces replicating asphalt in Corning’s lab tests. Glasses from competitor brands made of lithium aluminosilicate typically failed when dropped from half a meter or less, according to Corning.
Additionally, Gorilla Glass 7i is up to two times more scratch resistant than competitive lithium aluminosilicate cover glasses. The 7i is made for a wide variety of devices as it will be serving the value segment which sees more additions than the flagship models from smartphone manufacturers.
Corning revealed that Oppo will be the first company to unveil a phone that’ll equip the Gorilla Glass 7i. While 7i will mostly be used on phones, it is also usable on smartwatches and other devices which need a protective cover glass.
Gorilla Glass 7i will be positioned between the Gorilla Glass 5 that launched back in 2016 and the Gorilla Glass Victus. Smartphones like Pixel 8a use Gorilla Glass 3 which debuted back in 2013. There’s definitely a need for a new cover protective glass in the mid-range segment and Corning aims to deliver in it.
Meanwhile, Corning also released an entirely unique and segment-defining product earlier this year, employed on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Dubbed Corning Gorilla Armor, it is a different kind of smartphone cover material. Compared to a typical glass surface, Corning Gorilla Armor reduces reflection by up to 75%, which enhances display readability and minimises screen reflections in almost any environment. On a rigorous scratch test, Gorilla Armor showed no visible scratches and demonstrated over four times more scratch resistance than competitive aluminosilicate cover glasses.