iPhone 4 Glass – Will it break?

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Lord Nemesis

Lord Nemesis

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iPhone 4 Glass – Will it break? | iFixYouri Blog

We here at iFixYouri did a little science experiment the other day with some of our newest iPhone parts. Many people have been talking that the new iPhone has strong glass, less prone to scratching, 30 times stronger than plastic, etc. Will the new glass prove to be ultra strong and never break?

I’m going to go with a no on this one. Why may you ask? ....
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Why of course it would. Where has Apple stated that the glass atop the iPhone 4 will *not* break? :)

Apple said:
All the breakthrough technology in iPhone 4 is situated between two glossy panels of aluminosilicate glass — the same type of glass used in the windshields of helicopters and high-speed trains. Chemically strengthened to be 20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic, the glass is ultradurable and more scratch resistant than ever. It’s also recyclable.
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The point is alumino-silicate glass has a higher surface hardness value (albeit inferior to sapphire crystal glass) and thus is less prone to scratches and has a low value of coefficient of thermal expansion so they can withstand higher temperatures and thermal shocks (even higher than borosilcate glass used in test tubes in labs). Not that they are unbreakable.

This seemed like a lame test to me.
 
I don't think its a lame test. If I am right, Unlike previous versions which had glass only on the screen, most of the body of iPhone 4 is made of that glass instead of plastic or metal. Also jobs did not just talk about the technical properties of the glass, but he also talked about how the glass lends to build quality and durability unrivaled by any other mobile device. I don't think build quality implies scratch resistance or resistance to thermal shocks alone. In fact I don't think Thermal properties are of any significant relevance at all. The chance of people leaving their iPhones near a furnace is next to nill and we don't have drastic temperature variations that lead to 50 deg on one day and -10 deg on the next.

The most common form of accident (apart from scratching) that can befall a phone is a free fall. In fact my phone accidentally dropped from a fairly decent height at least 4~5 times within the last one year. if this glass is less resistant to that kind of shocks compared to plastic, then I don't see the point of using that except for the essential places.

In any case if this means nothing else, it means more business for iFixyouri with iPhone 4. :)
 
Dropping an empty outer shell of the phone with no components is a moronic way to test for durability/fall damage.

here's excerpt from the engadget review:-----"On that note, we've actually seen the iPhone 4 tossed with and without a bumper across a room (one hit a wall) with no issue, and we dropped ours pretty hard from about two feet up onto tile with nary a scratch."

iPhone 4 review -- Engadget

Seriously you should drop your annoying anti-iphone posts.Or atleast post these on the anti-apple thread you already created. On a side note atleast thew iphone 4's screen won't fork out like the HTC evo's !!:P Will continue to use the iphone as long as there's no better device available.When that changes i will simply go get that new phone(prolly made by M$!).But never again will i use another crapia(oh read nokia:P) device
 
Lord Nemesis said:
In fact I don't think Thermal properties are of any significant relevance at all. The chance of people leaving their iPhones near a furnace is next to nill and we don't have drastic temperature variations that lead to 50 deg on one day and -10 deg on the next.
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Coefficient of thermal expansion is a property of a material and it is pretty much significant although it is the least when it comes to phones. :)

The free fall test - I'm sure most phones (smartphones included!)will not withstand this test if it was done the way those guys did since we do drop our phones occasionally and survives a fall most of the time. My 3G enclosed in the silicone cover has fallen 3~4 times if I recall it right and *touchwood* there have been no scratches on the back and front nor any problems associated with it till date.
 
smoky004 said:
Seriously you should drop your annoying anti-iphone posts.Or atleast post these on the anti-apple thread you already created. On a side note atleast thew iphone 4's screen won't fork out like the HTC evo's !!:P Will continue to use the iphone as long as there's no better device available.When that changes i will simply go get that new phone(prolly made by M$!).But never again will i use another crapia(oh read nokia:P) device
Click to expand...

If I have something to post. I will. I decide whether I create a new thread for it or not. if the Mods feel that a topic belongs in another thread, they will move it. You don't get to decide what I should not post. Don't like the thread, don't post. Just do me a favor and get that though your head. Thanks. :)

On a side note I am not anti-iphone or anti-apple or anti/pro any brand. I just like or dislike products/technologies. I use Apple products on a daily basis and I won't mind buying an iPhone either if it solves my issues in the future. Similarly I am open to Symbian, Android, MeeGo or any other platform that takes my fancy. You on the other hand are anti-Nokia as you yourself indicated in your post.
 
Lord Nemesis said:
If I have something to post. I will. I decide whether I create a new thread for it or not. if the Mods feel that a topic belongs in another thread, they will move it. You don't get to decide what I should not post. Don't like the thread, don't post. Just do me a favor and get that though your head. Thanks. :)

On a side note I am not anti-iphone or anti-apple or anti/pro any brand. I just like or dislike products/technologies. I use Apple products on a daily basis and I won't mind buying an iPhone either if it solves my issues in the future. Similarly I am open to Symbian, Android, MeeGo or any other platform that takes my fancy. You on the other hand are anti-Nokia as you yourself indicated in your post.
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Relax !! It was only a suggestion(a good one:D) And it's true i am anti-nokia....That's only because i have used their products----N70 and N97.
 
Desecrator said:
Coefficient of thermal expansion is a property of a material and it is pretty much significant although it is the least when it comes to phones. :)

The free fall test - I'm sure most phones (smartphones included!)will not withstand this test if it was done the way those guys did since we do drop our phones occasionally and survives a fall most of the time. My 3G enclosed in the silicone cover has fallen 3~4 times if I recall it right and *touchwood* there have been no scratches on the back and front nor any problems associated with it till date.
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Of course, I was taking about the relevance of those thermal properties with respect to the current context which in my opinion are not that significant.

As for your second point, Yes I do agree that any touchscreen phone is liable to take damage after a free fall. But consider this case.

To keep things simple, lets say that there is a chance of the iPhone glass shattering only if it falls on its glass side and the probability of falling on its glass side is 50% and chance of shattering when it falls on the glass side is 20%. So in effect, the probability that the glass will shatter when dropped is 10%. With iPhone 4, both sides of the phone are glass. So chance of shattering is 20% which means there is a higher risk of glass shattering. Of course I have kept it too simple and there are other factors as well like the increased strength of the glass which again does not seem to be substantial as far free fall shocks are considered.
 
Lord Nemesis said:
In fact I don't think Thermal properties are of any significant relevance at all. The chance of people leaving their iPhones near a furnace is next to nill and we don't have drastic temperature variations that lead to 50 deg on one day and -10 deg on the next.
Click to expand...
Note that the boundary of the phone is metallic, and rest of the body is glass. The thermal expansion of 2 different materials is different. In such cases, there is some strain on the materials because they are attached to each other and have to expand/contract together.

In winters, the temperature of the phone might easily reach under 5 degree Celcius in India. In summers, 45 is not a big deal, that too in shade. If the phone is under the sun (maybe in your pocket but you are in the sun), it might reach 55 degree. Note that it is generating its own heat too. In general, there can be a maximum of 20 degree difference between shade and under the sun temperatures in a body - but that needs prolonged direct exposure to the sun.

Between 5 degree and 55 degree, there will be a differential expansion which will cause strain on the body of the phone and might be of some consequence.
 
Woah, painful Video that... but brilliant stuff i might say?... @ the Gorilla Glass screen vid.

@smoky004 - your first post wasnt very nice (even tho you might have been joking) so it was quite right the way LordNemesis took that post.

so you can try to be a bit more diplomatic. i'd say you should use meego/maemo before you come to conclusions about nokia.
 
Apparently, the iphone doesn't come with the heli glass all around.. Engadget reports of scratches on the back. iFanBois around the world cringe :P
 
Okay here's somethin that will cheer up anti-apple fanboi's:-

looks kinda ugly!! like it pissed in its pants!! Anyway those going out to buy the new iphone keep your eyes open and watch out for any yellow spots. .Hope it's just those one off cases where you got a faulty iphone

Poll: is your iPhone 4 retina display seeing yellow spots?

Out, damned spot! out, I say! One; two: why, then, 'tis time to do 't. Hell is murky! Fie, my lord, fie! Reports are coming in from some of those lucky early iPhone 4 users that there may exist a not-so-lucky yellow coloration in the bottom right corner of the IPS LCD. We haven't seen this ourselves on any new iPhones, but maybe you've had different experiences. Tell us, is your iPhone 4 seeing yellow?

Poll: is your iPhone 4 retina display seeing yellow spots? -- Engadget
 
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