TL;DR
Smartphone manufacturers use misleading marketing claims about glass durability by alternating between highlighting scratch and shatter resistance, which are inversely related properties that cannot both be dramatically improved simultaneously.
Key Takeaways
- 1Scratch resistance and shatter resistance are inversely related—making glass harder reduces brittleness but increases scratches, and vice versa
- 2Major phone manufacturers alternate marketing focus between scratch and shatter resistance year-over-year, creating an illusion of continuous improvement
- 3Most flagship phones use Corning's Gorilla Glass, which has followed this alternating improvement pattern across nine generations since 2007
- 4Marketing claims like 'three times more shatter resistant' omit critical context: they don't explain what that metric means or acknowledge trade-offs
- 5Other factors beyond glass composition—like phone shape, bezel thickness, and edge design—significantly impact durability but get credited to glass improvements
- 6No glass material is immune to scratching from sand and quartz particles found in everyday pockets
- 7Apple's ceramic shield follows the same alternating pattern: four times more shatterproof at introduction, then three times more scratch resistant the next generation
Notable Quotes
“This isn't a lie, but it is misleading at best because shatter resistance and scratch resistance are inversely related.”
“You can pick one that you want to optimize for, but it's essentially impossible to dramatically improve both at the same time.”
“It's no accident that they're able to stack headlines like this. More scratch resistant, more drop resistant, more scratch resistant, more drop resistant because they're alternating.”
“The dust and sand in your pocket is often sand, which is still quartz, which is harder than glass, and so it still cuts scratches in the glass on the phone every time.”
Chapters
1. The Trade-off Between Durability Properties
Explanation of why scratch resistance and shatter resistance are inversely related, using the analogy of sliders that must be balanced against each other in material design.
2. Marketing Strategy: Alternating Improvements
Demonstration of how smartphone companies strategically alternate between highlighting scratch and shatter resistance improvements to create a false narrative of continuous overall improvement.
3. Gorilla Glass: Nine Generations of Alternating Claims
Historical analysis of Corning's Gorilla Glass marketing from the original iPhone in 2007 through generation nine, showing consistent alternation between scratch and shatter resistance headlines.
4. The Reality of Glass Durability
Explanation of why all glass remains vulnerable to scratching from sand and quartz, and why glass cannot overcome these fundamental material limitations.
5. Beyond Glass: Other Contributing Factors
Discussion of how phone design elements like shape, bezel thickness, and edge curvature significantly impact drop durability but are credited to glass improvements in marketing claims.
6. Ceramic Shield: A Different Material, Same Pattern
Analysis of Apple's ceramic shield technology and how it follows the identical alternating pattern as Gorilla Glass, debunking the notion that it represents a breakthrough.
7. Lesser-Known Glass Features
Overview of interesting but undermarketed glass properties like oleophobic coatings for fingerprint rejection and anti-reflective coatings that improve user experience.
Key People & Entities
- Corning
- Company that manufactures Gorilla Glass, used by most major smartphone manufacturers
- Apple
- Smartphone manufacturer that introduced ceramic shield technology and alternates durability claims between iPhone generations
Glossary
- Shatter resistance
- A material property measuring resistance to breaking or cracking upon impact; inversely related to scratch resistance in glass
- Scratch resistance
- A material property measuring resistance to surface abrasion and marks; inversely related to shatter resistance in glass
- Brittle
- A material characteristic describing tendency to break or shatter easily when stressed; opposite of flexible or ductile
- Oleophobic coating
- A surface treatment that repels oils and fingerprints, commonly applied to phone glass screens
- Anti-reflective coating
- A thin surface layer that reduces light reflection off glass, improving screen visibility and clarity