Corning has been refining its chemically strengthened glass for decades. They began developing this so-called “muscled glass” in 1960 and have been working hard ever since to bring toughened glass to consumers, businesses and manufacturers. The current Gorilla Glass line used for smartphones and tablets is great but it’s not nearly flexible enough for the coming wearable device wave. Never fear, because Corning has announced today that it can now manufacture #D-shaped Gorilla Glass. Using new techniques, Corning is able to shape their strengthened glass into different forms and shapes without sacrificing strength or adding any bulk.
There are quite a few companies that will be interested in this new Gorilla Glass. CES 2014 starts next week, and there’s going to be a slew of smartwatches, bracelets, rings, and Google Glass competitors that will want to take advantage of what Corning is offering. Devices and consumer products should begin arriving in stores sometime this coming year. They’ll probably have a showing at CES next week, too.
Corning announced their previous iteration of Gorilla Glass at CES last year. Gorilla Glass 3 improved on Gorilla Glass 2 and is up to three times more damage resistant than its predecessor. Gorilla Glass 3 actually resists scratches that will weaken normal glass over time. It was also more flexible, and Corning used that to build this new glass product. The new glass announced today hasn’t been named, but it doesn’t need to be called Gorilla Glass 4 for us to realize what kind of improvements it can offer.
Corning is also working on making its treated glass less reflective which would be helpful in bright situations, especially using our devices outdoors. Another area of focus is the dreaded fingerprint smudges. It would be an amazing day if Corning could find a way to significantly reduce or even remove fingerprints from our displays using its glass technology. Corning makes Gorilla Glass using a proprietary fusion manufacturing process. They have focused on improving glass for use in consumer products. The company was originally founded in 1851 and became the company we know today, Corning Incorporated, in 1989.