Gorilla Glass- explained

Every time someone buys a touchscreen smart-phone, often one of the specifications which contributes as deal breaker is if the phone has gorilla glass protection or not. That advertisement will more often than not be followed by a usual battery of selling gimmicks- drop tests, scratch test, pretend hammering a nail right into the screen to show toughness...oooh that's so badass! Eh?

What exactly is gorilla glass?

I will not get into the technical specifics for simply one reason- I don't want to. I will however, get into the details which are not advertised. Read on…

So, what do they not tell you?

Things such as:

• Gorilla Glass (insert X, where X is integer) does not guarantee durability. It is by no means a measure of toughness. It simply means it passed some tests which were performed in a controlled environment which resemble actual usage.
• Gorilla Glass does not mean that it will not break, it most definitely will irrespective of the height from which the phone has fallen. If it does not, count it as your luck. Also, a shout out to all the people who are clumsy and review their phones on Flipkart and Amazon as if they are pros- please do not write how your phone broke just after it fell from a height of less than 1 feet, 2 feet, 3 feet etc. It's a fragile piece of tech, handle with care. Height doesn't matter, the angle at which the phone hits the floor does.
• Screens when they break will cost an exorbitant amount of money to replace. Here's a simple explanation. It's not just a piece of glass, it has both components- the touch digitiser and the integrated display. So, you can not replace one without the other. So, expect costs between a fourth and half of the actual phone cost.
• Gorilla Glass is supposed to be scratch proof. It is not. The statement implies scratch resistance. Please use a screen guard, and then use a phone cover- Silicone/PU based, always. Why? Well, because both Silicone and PU absorb shock. Please refrain from using good for nothing snazzy covers/back covers/flip covers. These don't provide any protection to the phone on direct impact.

It is essential to understand that touch devices are fragile. They are not made to measure up to military standards (some of them are- Moto Droid Turbo). Cracked screens are often the most common reason for dissatisfaction with the device, and also the reason to change to a new one. Hope this was helpful.