From the moment we get up to the moment we go to sleep, there is one entity that never leaves our side: our family pet smartphone. Thus, it's no wonder that we drop it more times than we'd like to admit. Corning, the New York-based company that makes cover glasses for smartphones, has today introduced the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 which can do better against tougher surfaces, just in time for the Samsung Galaxy S23 series.In 2020, Corning released the Gorilla Glass Victus, which offered improvement in both drop performance and scratch resistance. This year, we saw a slightly boosted version of the Victus, called the Victus+, which is found on the Galaxy S22.

Today, Corning has announced a new Victus glass with improvements worthy of its own press release. The Gorilla Glass Victus 2 boasts a new glass composition and the key advantage it offers over the Victus is that can withstand a drop from one meter (waist height) onto rough surfaces like concrete and is as scratch resistant as the Victus, four times better than competitive aluminosilicate to be specific.

We challenged our scientists not only to create a glass composition that was durable enough to better survive drops from waist height onto rougher surfaces than asphalt, but to improve cover-glass performance for larger and heavier devices. With more sophisticated and varied designs, today’s smartphones are nearly 15% heavier, and screen sizes are up to 10% larger, than they were four years ago – increasing both the stress on the cover glass and the probability of damage. Gorilla Glass Victus 2 redefines tough for consumers and OEMs." - David Velasquez, Vice President and General Manager, Gorilla Glass.

The Victus 2 has also been tested to survive drops from up to two meters on softer asphalt surfaces.

Over 75 percent of drop accidents happen on rough surfaces like asphalt, granite, and concrete

So, why the emphasis on concrete? Talking to The Verge, VP Scott Forester said that this is what phone makers had specifically requested, as more than 30 percent of reported drops were on concrete.

Apparently, we are getting more comfortable with rough surfaces, as Forester says that previously the main concern was survival on smooth surfaces. Further compounding the problem are the increasing weight and screen sizes of phones, which call for a sturdier cover glass. According to Corning, phones today are 15 percent heavier and have up to 10 percent larger displays, compared to four years ago, which makes them more susceptible to drop damage.

Corning says that we can expect phones with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 to start arriving in the next few months. The Galaxy Note 20 was the first phone with the Victus, so it's not beyond the realms of possibility to expect the Galaxy S23 range to feature the Victus 2.

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