With the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, it saw Samsung choose to use Corning’s latest Gorilla Glass 5 display, which by all accounts should be tougher than its predecessors. However a testing conducted by YouTuber JerryRigEverything found that the Galaxy Note 7’s display can be easily scratched with a pick with a level 3 hardness on the Mohs’ scale.This made it “weaker” than previous Galaxy Note handsets that appeared to be tougher by comparison. However the folks at Corning have since come forward to defend its display. Speaking to Android Authority, senior spokespeople Jaymin Amin and Jon Pasansky vigorously defend the toughness of the Gorilla Glass 5.
According to Amin, all glass falls between the hardness of 5-6 on the Mohs scale, meaning that a pick with a hardness level of 3 should not be able to scratch it. He also notes that “the test that was conducted in the video is obviously not a bonafide industry test. It’s using Mohs hardness picks but it’s in an uncontrolled manner.”
As for the supposed scratch marks that were clearly visible on the display, Amin says, “Oftentimes when you have a softer material like [the pick used in the video], and depending on what kind of loads you have used, you tend to see material transfer on the test substrate. Material transfer on the test substrate is not necessarily a scratch but it can appear to the untrained eye as a pretty visible scratch.”
Addressing the portion of the video where a cloth was used to wipe down the display in which it should have cleared any debris, Pasansky says, “It can be very, very difficult to remove metallic material transfer from glass. It is very atypical to see in a field return when we look at scratches of glass, that kind of characteristic, but purely visual, perceived damage that is actually a material on top of the surface.”
Bottom line it sounds like maybe the Galaxy Note 7’s display isn’t as weak as we thought it was. However if you want to play it safe, throwing on a screen protector should give you that peace of mind.
Filed in . Read more about Corning, Galaxy Note 7 and Samsung.
