It is certainly true that Cornings Gorilla Glass, has made massive improvements to the longevity of cell phones, but we still just shake our heads when we see people using phones without protective covers.
Mobile Phone Glass: A Brief History
| Glass Type | Key Impact/Drop Resistance | Key Scratch Resistance |
| Before Gorilla Glass | Highly prone to shattering from short drops. | Relatively easy to scratch with common objects (keys, coins, sand). |
| Gorilla Glass 1 (2007) | Improved durability over previous glass. | Good for its time (Mohs ~6-6.5). |
| Gorilla Glass 2 (2012) | Similar strength to GG1, but 20% thinner. | Similar to GG1. |
| Gorilla Glass 3 (2013) | Focus less on drops; aimed to resist damage from scratches. | 4x better than competitive glasses; very good scratch resistance (Mohs ~6.5-7). |
| Gorilla Glass 4 (2014) | 2x stronger than GG3 in lab drops. | Slightly less scratch-resistant than GG3 (trade-off for drop). |
| Gorilla Glass 5 (2016) | Survived 80% of drops from 1.6 meters (5.2 ft) onto rough surfaces. | Similar to GG4. |
| Gorilla Glass 6 (2018) | Survived 15 consecutive drops from 1 meter; 2x stronger than GG5. | Similar to GG5. |
| Gorilla Glass Victus (2020) | Survived drops from up to 2 meters onto hard, rough surfaces; 4x better than competitive glasses. | 2x more scratch-resistant than GG6 (significant improvement). |
| Gorilla Glass Victus 2 (2022) | Improved drop performance specifically on rougher surfaces like concrete (retains 2m drop). | Similar to original Victus. |
| Gorilla Armor (2024) | Up to 3x better drop performance than competitive glasses. | 4x better scratch resistance than competitive glasses; significant step up (also greatly reduces glare). |
Different Type of Phone Covers
Once you have figured out that you need a cover for your $1000 phone, even in the 2025, you can easily get overwhelmed with choices.
We will leave the style decisions to you, but here is some quick information on the 4 common types of mobile phone cover materials:
- Plastic Cases – Our Least Favorite – These are often called ARMORED or MILITARY GRADE and usually come with a not only a case around the outside of the phone, but also a screen cover. We do not like these as they are often bulky, hard and interfere with how we touch the screen. However, a friend run a car wash and he drops his phone from 20′ up while working on ladders so for him, the Otter Box type solution works great.
. - Leather Wallet – We find many people like these and the offer excellent protection for your phone investment, but they are bulky and we do not use them in our office anymore
. - TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) – This is our go-to for most clients. Thin, light, scratch resistant, rubbery plastic, TPU makes an excellent source material for a phone cover.
. - Liquid Silicone – This is the relatively new-kid-on-the-block. Liquid Silicone looks like TPU but when you touch it, you will notice how soft it it. It is a great alternative to TPU, but take not that Liquid Silicone is not as hard as TPU so it is more prone to scratches and scrapes over time
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