Corning’s ‘Project Phire’ will combine the strength of sapphire with the durability of Gorilla Glass

BY Rajesh Pandey

Published 7 Feb 2015

Corning Gorilla Glass

Corning is popularly known for its Gorilla Glass that is used in almost all the major Android and iOS devices out there. While Gorilla Glass is shatter resistant, it picks up scratches easily compared to sapphire, which is almost impossible to scratch. However, sapphire screens are very easy to crack, which does not make them ideal for use in smartphones.

To give consumers the best of both worlds, Corning is developing a new type of glass for smartphones and other devices that will be as scratch resistant as sapphire while still maintaining the durability of Gorilla Glass.

“We told you last year that sapphire was great for scratch performance but didn’t fare well when dropped,” Clappin, president of Corning Glass Technologies, told the crowd at the event. “So, we created a product that offers the same superior damage resistance and drop performance of Gorilla Glass 4 with scratch resistance that approaches sapphire.”

The company is currently calling this new glass “Project Phire,” and hopes to start shipping it to manufacturers later this year.

It was only in November last year that Corning unveiled the Gorilla Glass 4, which is less prone to cracking during falls. The glass is already being used in a few high-end smartphones, including the Galaxy Alpha and the Galaxy Note 4.