And that could be a disgrace!
Is Gorilla Armor actually scratch-resistant?
OK, when it was introduced, Gorilla Armor was introduced because the “hardest, most scratch resistant, and most optically superior Gorilla Glass but”. These days, after I hear this, I simply roll my eyes — “Positive, scratches at degree 6, deeper grooves at degree 7, proper?”.So far, till the yr 2024, I had by no means seen a smartphone that didn’t get random display screen scratches over time, regardless of how a lot you tried to child it.
Properly, I’ve been utilizing the Galaxy S24 Extremely since its launch in January. It has been in my pocket, on my desk, in random compartments in my automobile, on canine walks, work journeys, propped up on random surfaces to file movies in less-than-clean rehearsal rooms. The one protector I’ve on it’s a very skinny case.
By this time, I’d anticipate the telephone’s display screen to be riddled with micro-scratches. You recognize, it hasn’t been dropped or something, however any telephone I’ve owned would ultimately collect micro swirls and a few grooves on the display screen, which are seen when inspecting the glass beneath brilliant lights.
The Galaxy S24 Extremely’s show nonetheless seems to be like new. Sure, sure, I understand I’m sounding like an advert learn right here, however fairly the opposite — I’m pleased and amazed that the manufacturing of such glass has turn into doable. Lastly, after years and years of “scratch-resistant” guarantees, we lastly acquired one which saved its promise!
Simply for instance my level, I put the Galaxy S24 Extremely that I’ve been utilizing for the previous 8-ish months proper subsequent to the brand-new iPhone 16 Professional Max that now we have within the workplace. Apple’s telephones are nonetheless super-fresh and this unit has not left our studio. It has been used for benchmarks and varied design photographs, so it has been put face-up, face-down on a couple of surfaces and propped up a couple of occasions. Not like the Galaxy S24 Extremely, it hasn’t been “correctly” used as a long-time telephone.
Properly, it already has micro-scratches on its display screen, which may even be caught on photograph:
iPhone 16 Professional Max – left; Galaxy S24 Extremely – proper (Picture Credit score – PhoneArena)
No, this isn’t an anti-iPhone submit, I additionally love utilizing iPhones and iPads, this can be a “we’d like extra Gorilla Armor” on the planet, so keep on matter!
Subsequent up –
The anti-reflective coating is wild!
The second a part of the advertising supplies about Gorilla Armor promised as much as 75% much less reflectance. Now, this appeared like one thing straight out of a fairy story. We had seen anti-reflecting coating on different merchandise, which was fairly OK, however as much as 75% much less glare? No method, proper?
Cue all of the YouTube movies and opinions praising the Gorilla Armor’s low reflectivity.
iPhone 16 Professional Max – left; Galaxy S24 Extremely – proper (Picture Credit score – PhoneArena)
And so they have been fairly proper. It took me a great 3 months to get used to how vibrant and pronounced the AMOLED display screen seems to be when there are not any reflections on the display screen. It turned out to be a much bigger deal than we imagined — if you hear “anti-reflective”, you sometimes assume that you’ll solely have use of this function when utilizing the telephone open air.
Nevertheless, you’d be shocked how typically reflectivity interferes with the on-screen picture, even when utilizing it indoors. White partitions, inside lighting, your personal face — we regularly flip up the telephone’s brightness by behavior, and ignore this stuff. When you get to see the show’s picture with out this stuff overlaid on prime, it’s a special deal!
iPhone 16 Professional Max – left; Galaxy S24 Extremely – proper (Picture Credit score – PhoneArena)
Will there be extra Gorilla Armor telephones?
Given how nice this new glass is, I’m fairly perplexed why it hasn’t been used elsewhere. I’ve the sensation that the toughness facet of it’s, certainly, Corning’s doing. However the anti-reflective coating could also be a Samsung invention.
Just some days in the past, Samsung revealed the brand new Galaxy Tab S10+ and Galaxy Tab S10 Extremely. They’re marketed to have a brand new coating, which solely displays 2% of sunshine. Extra notably, there’s no point out of Corning or Gorilla Glass in any presentation materials. Which leads me to consider that the coating could also be Samsung’s concoction.
Moreover, throughout a press convention for a wholly totally different product, I used to be capable of nook some Corning guys and ask them in regards to the Gorilla Armor and its future, however they have been fairly mum and wanting to keep away from or change the subject, leaving me with a definite feeling that it’s a “Samsung factor”.
The excellent news?
From what I perceive, after digging into this for an unhealthy period of time — Gorilla Armor is probably going a variant of Gorilla Glass Victus 2, with Samsung’s anti-reflective coating on prime. The chemistry could also be barely altered for the 2 elements to combine, however that’s the gist of it.
Now, I additionally noticed a number of person complaints on-line, in regards to the Galaxy S24 Extremely scratching simply, and the Galaxy S23 Extremely with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 additionally scratching simply. That is bizarre to me, as my expertise with the S24 Extremely is, as described above, fully totally different.
To be clear — the telephone I’m utilizing was store-bought, not despatched in by Samsung. Our official evaluate unit is sitting within the workplace, preserved and undisturbed.
So, the excellent news is that the toughness of the Gorilla Armor might also be current on the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 (sorry, I didn’t daily-drive the Galaxy S23 Extremely in 2023). The not-so-good information is that your mileage could range.
