Corning unveils Gorilla Glass 7i, a tougher glass for mid-rangers

Four years ago, Corning unveiled its 7th generation of Gorilla Glass, which came with new branding – Gorilla Glass Victus. It is aimed at more premium devices (though we’re starting to see it in mid-rangers too), so now the company is bringing out a new glass for “value and intermediate devices”, as the company describes it.

In other words, Gorilla Glass 7i is aimed at mid-rangers and more affordable phones. Why “7i” when there is no version 7? We asked Corning that and they say that this is a 7th generation glass (like Victus) and they wanted the name to reflect that. As for the “i”, it’s for “industry-leading innovation for intermediate devices”.

With that out of the way, let’s meet Gorilla Glass 7i. Corning claims that it can survive drops from up to 1m (3.3ft) onto rough surfaces like asphalt, while comparable glass alternatives can only go half as high before breaking.

Additionally, 7i is said to be two times more scratch resistant (or better) than those competing glasses. The 7i formulation was designed to be suitable for a wide variety of phones at different price points. It also has a focus on sustainability too, since these will be mass market models.

Why was 7i necessary in the first place? It’s 2024 and there are plenty of new devices that still use Gorilla Glass 5 – popular models like the Nothing Phone (2a) and Poco F6 Pro, for example. GG5 launched in the distant 2016, so it’s already 8 years old. There are even phones that use Gorilla Glass 3 (e.g. the Pixel 8a) and that is from 2013.

Corning and its partners felt the need for a more modern offering, but one that can fit in more modest budgets while still matching the recent trend of putting high-quality displays on mid-range models – 10-bit and even 12-bit OLED displays are not uncommon. And they’ve grown larger too, much larger than the average display size back in 2016 when GG5 launched, hence the need for something to slot between GG5 and Victus.

Corning revealed that Oppo will be the first company to unveil a phone with Gorilla Glass 7i. More details will come soon from Oppo itself. 7i will be used on phones, though it is suitable for smartwatches and other devices that need scratch and fall resistant glass.

Source