Corning announces tougher Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 for phones

Corning has announced Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2, a toughened glass for use in smartphones that is capable of surviving multiple drops onto concrete. The durable glass was developed with Samsung for use in the super-thin Galaxy S25 Edge smartphone.

Traditional glass is brittle and breaks easily when dropped. Tempering glass increases its strength with rapid heating to high temperatures followed by rapid cooling, but such glass still breaks easily when dropped onto concrete.

Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 uses proprietary methods to crystallize glass. This increases the ability of glass to withstand breakage by deflecting forces along crystal boundaries and forming microcracks rather than developing a full crack upon impact. The surface is also chemically tempered through the company's ion exchange process, creating compressive stress that allows the glass to better withstand damage.

Those frustrated by the cost of replacing broken smartphone screens might want to ask phone makers why they don't use even more durable plastic screens like the Motorola Shattershield.

Readers can watch the debut of Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 in the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge launch broadcast on YouTube and buy the S25 Edge on Amazon soon thereafter.