Apple could give the iPhone 17’s display a big anti-reflective update. A new rumor says the 2025 iPhone might feature a “super-hard anti-reflective layer,” which is also more scratch-resistant.
Seemingly, Apple will use a new layer of coating on the glass to reduce the reflection and increase scratch resistance.
Apple is handing another $45 million to the company which makes Gorilla Glass for the iPhone. Announced Monday, Apple’s eight-figure award will help Corning “expand manufacturing” and “drive research and development” in the United States.
It’s part of Apple’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund, dedicated to supporting American businesses that are creating the jobs of the future. But, like the recent $410 million cash injection to the company that makes laser components for the iPhone, it also helps out Apple’s future plans.
Cupertino is so ferociously secretive about having its name mentioned by suppliers that Gorilla Glass maker Corning uses a pseudonym for Apple inside the company — despite having worked on the iPhone since the very first model in 2007.
Corning unveiled an improved version of Gorilla Glass on Thursday that it promises is much more scratch and shatter resistant than its predecessor. The new iteration, dubbed Victus, could lead to iPhones that survive both being dropped and being stuffed in a pocket with a set of a car keys.
OtterBox’s latest screen protectors not only prevent scratches, they also contain an antimicrobial agent. The Amplify Glass line is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency and manufactured by Corning. These screen protectors debuted Thursday for the iPhone 11 series as well as earlier models.
Apple is investing $250 million in Corning, the company behind Gorilla Glass. Corning has worked with Apple on every iPhone since the original.
The money comes from a $5 billion fund that Apple set aside to advance U.S. manufacturing. Corning produces its screens at its plant in Harrodsburg, Kentucky.
Amplify screen protectors use scratch resistance technology developed by Corning, and the latest version also has this company’s proprietary DX tech to make an iPhone easier to see in bright sunlight.
It’s made by Corning and marketed by OtterBox.
This week on The CultCast: WWDC 2019 is right around the corner, and a new report sheds light on everything Apple’s prepping to reveal. We discuss! Plus: The magic of Corning glass, and how making your iPhone just slightly thicker would make it indestructible. And we reveal how (and why) Jony Ive created the massive mystery rainbow stage now present at the heart of Apple Park.
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain..
Update: Corning sent an email to clarify some of the claims made in this post, which I’ve included in the body of the post and at the bottom.
SUNNYVALE, Calif. — Even though the latest iPhones are made from glass front and back, they would be “nearly unbreakable” if just a bit thicker.
That was the message from glass manufacturer Corning during an open house at its Silicon Valley research center Tuesday.
“If the glass on the latest smartphones was just a little bit thicker, it would be nearly unbreakable,” said Dave Young, a Corning marketing communications specialist, at the event.
Deciding now that an folding iPhone is a terrible idea is premature. There just isn’t enough information yet to judge whether any such device is something you’ll want. And it’s betting against Apple’s history of success in areas where others have failed.
While the first foldable devices from other companies have serious flaws, that in no way means any eventual Apple device with a flexible screen will be equally bad. There’s actually plenty of reason to think it won’t.
Corning Gorilla Glass 6 focuses on durability. This cover glass for smartphones has been formulated to not just survive higher drops, but more frequent ones.
Earlier versions of Gorilla Glass have been used on all previous iPhone models since Steve Jobs chose the company to provide screen covers in 2006.
Apple plans to build new manufacturing plants in the United States, according to President Donald Trump.
In a recent interview, Trump claimed Apple CEO Tim Cook promised to help revitalize American manufacturing by building “three big plants, beautiful plants.” Trump didn’t say what the plants would be used for or where they would be located. But he swears they’re coming.
Apple has awarded Corning the first grant of its $1 billion investment aimed at boosting high-tech manufacturing jobs in the United States. The glassmaker will receive $200 million.
Corning has worked with Apple for a decade — ever since the original iPhone’s Gorilla Glass — to create the glass found on its devices. Apple’s contribution as part of its “Advanced Manufacturing Fund” will support Corning’s R&D, capital equipment needs, and state-of-the-art glass processing.
Breaking the screen on your next iPhone is going to be a little bit harder, if Apple goes with the next version of Corning’s Gorilla Glass.
The company debuted Gorilla Glass 5 today that is destined to arrive on smartphones later this year, offering better durability than any other version when its dropped from 5 feet or lower.
What me, worry? Not Corning. The Gorilla Glass maker has just unveiled a new type of glass which they say is just as hard (and therefore unscratchable) as sapphire. They’re calling it Project Phire. Go figure.
Corning’s relationship with Apple looked doomed earlier this year. Having manufactured the touchscreens for every iPhone since 2007, the Gorilla Glass bosses were all but sure they were being ditched in favor of synthetic sapphire crystal, set to be supplied by Apple’s hot new partner, GT Advanced Technologies.
But while Apple’s affair with GT has imploded spectacularly, Corning is back on Cupertino’s crush list after stepping in at the eleventh hour to create super-sized displays for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Now Corning is convinced its latest technological advance — Gorilla Glass 4, its toughest version yet — will banish sapphire suitors for the immediate future.
“Sapphire is a really, really nice material that’s very good for reducing scratches,” Dave Velasquez, Corning’s director of marketing and commercial ops, told Cult of Mac. “However, we feel very strongly that glass is the best material for touch panel cover glass. When you weigh up everything from cost to drop-testing, to the amount of energy that’s needed to make it, in our opinion Gorilla Glass is clearly the best material to use.”
In news that will come as a shock to absolutely no one, it seems that Corning Glass (makers of Gorilla Glass) aren’t big fans of Sapphire glass.
Asked by Morgan Stanley analyst James Fawcett his thoughts about “one large handset and device maker” planning to use Sapphire in its products, Tony Tripeny, a senior vice president at Corning Glass, responded that:
LAS VEGAS –Your iPhone is dirty. You know how we know? We subjected our intrepid reporter’s iPhone to Corning’s on-site contaminant test at CES in Vegas.
Corning is there, talking to Cult of Mac about its new Gorilla Glass, which will have a layer of ionic silver embedded in it. That will decrease the amount of bacteria on your iPhone screen while still being crazy-strong and scratch-resistant.
The result? It’s pretty gross.
Today Corning announced that it’s ready to manufacture a new 3D-shaped Gorilla glass for availability this year. The new glass is designed with curved phone and wearable displays in mind.
As the main glass supplier for iOS devices, Corning’s 3D Gorilla glass could very well end up in future Apple products.
Although Apple doesn’t like to talk too much about it, they admit right on their official website that all of the glass used in their iPhone and iPad displays are made by Corning, makers of Gorilla Glass.
Corning’s always looking to make their glass stronger, thinner and more useful to Apple, though, which is why they’ve just announced Corning Lotus XT Glass, which looks to be a prime contender for use in the upcoming iPhone 5S, iPad 5 and iPad mini 2.
The video above, frankly, is pretty boring. Here’s what you need to know: Lotus XT Glass is a new type of glass from Corning that is specifically designed for use in high-performance displays, like Retina displays. Its primary characteristics are that they allow more light through, so Lotus XT Glass reduces power draw (light goes through easier, so a backlight needs to do less to compensate) and increase color vibrancy. In addition, Lotus XT Glass is easier for manufacturers to work with, reducing manufacturing costs and increasing yields.
Press release is after the jump.
It was recently reported that Apple is working on a wristwatch computer with a curved glass display. The glass was speculated to be Corning’s Willow Glass, a brand new technology that lets a thin pane of glass fold up like a newspaper. “The thinness, strength and flexibility of the glass has the potential to enable displays to be “wrapped” around a device or structure,” according to Corning.
If Apple were to release an iWatch in the next year or so, it would assumedly need Willow Glass to be ready for mass production. Unfortunately, it will be several more years before Corning’s flexible displays are ready for consumers.
LAS VEGAS, CES 2013 – I don’t care how battered and beaten the backs of my devices get. In fact, I kind of like the scars – they add character. But even the tiniest scratch on the screen drives me crazy. So I’m pretty stoked about Corning’s brand new Gorilla Glass 3, which promises to shrug off sharp stuff even better than before.
Corning has today announced its third-generation Gorilla Glass, and as you’d expect, it’s significantly tougher than its predecessors. Gorilla Glass 3 boasts a new feature called Native Damage Resistance (NDR), which promises to provide three times the scratch resistance of Gorilla Glass 2. It’ll be on show at CES next week before making its way to the next generation of smartphones, tablets, and more.
Although Apple has never officially promoted it, every iPhone and iPad’s screen resilience is thanks to Gorilla Glass, an ultra-strong, chemically treated glass made by Corning right here in the United States. At CES this year, though, Corning unveiled the stronger and much tougher sequel to Gorilla Glass, Gorilla Glass 2, and it’s this technology that is in all probability a shoo-in for the next iPhone and upcoming iPad mini.
We’ve already heard reports that the next iPhone will have the toughest and most scratch resistant display yet, but how tough will it be, really? This promotional video by Corning for Gorilla Glass 2 puts it all in perspective, proving not only that glass can be really cool, but that the next iPhone will likely be pretty much scratch and shatter-proof unless you let a real gorilla take a sledgehammer to it.
At the very least, stay for the flex test. It’ll make your jaw drop.
Corning is at CES in Las Vegas this week to unveil its next-generation Gorilla Glass, which it promises is as tough and scratch-resistant as ever, designed to withstand the “unexpected abuses of everyday life.” It’s likely to take over its predecessor in future iOS devices, helping Apple make slimmer yet stronger iPhones, iPads, and iPods.
