Concerned about the “fragile” nature of some Apple products? According to a new report from Mac OS Rumors, that may be about to change, as Apple is apparently working to add a new, stronger, shatter-resistant glass to all future iOS devices.
The glass is said to be significantly more shatter resistant than the Corning Gorilla Glass used in the current iPhone 4 and 4S, iPod touch and other Apple devices.
The information reportedly comes from sources familiar with Apple’s 2011 hardware roadmap, and in addition to including the tougher shatter-resistant glass, the report claims that Apple will be replacing the iPhone 4S design (which features the glass on the very outside of both the front and back of the device) with a solid frame.
A new type of nearly indestructible capacitative touchscreen will also apparently be used in the next-gen iPhone, which will feature an OLED display that’s “significantly larger” that the current Retina display found in the iPhone 4, although the resolution will remain the same. The display will also have a high enough pixel density to remain a “Retina” display.
The report has the following to say about the new tougher generation of iOS devices.
Whereas previous generation (original iPhone through 3GS) designs would usually suffer severe cracking of the display when dropped on a hard surface from more than 3 feet and iPhone 4/4S units experience either front or rear glass panel shattering at less than 2 feet in some cases depending on the surface and angle of impact, this new design would be nearly identical across the iPhone 5 and iPod Touch 5 — and in Cupertino’s testing thus far, has reportedly had a 0% crack rate when dropped from as high as 12 feet onto a concrete or tile surface. When dropped higher, other damage becomes possible but so far in the testing that has been described to Rumors, it seems to take truly unrealistic amounts of force to cause significant damage (beyond mild scratching) to the new display panel itself.
The technology will also reportedly make it to the iPad 3, and may premiere in that device first. The iPad 3’s version of the display would be the same size as the current iPad, and would have a resolution of 2048 x 1536.
Of course, this is all completely speculative, and there isn’t a shred of evidence to back any of this up, but it does seem like a wise move for Apple to make as long as it’s cost-effective.
