Corning has just announced the Gorilla Glass 5, the successor to the impressive Gorilla Glass 4 display protection technology that dominates 2015 and 2016 smartphone flagship displays.
Even though the American company was not specific with respect to the devices that will feature this new Glass 5 technology, the most interesting part is that the technology will start appearing on handsets that are yet to be released this year. The company says that the new Gorilla Glass 5 comes with better resistance to impact that causes things like cracking or shattering of the screen.
In short, what Corning is telling us is that the Gorilla Glass 5 will be the company’s most drop-resistant screen protector yet. In lab tests, the new glass is said to have survived up to 80% of the times it was dropped when facing down from a height of 1.6m, which is about 5 feet and 3 inches.
While there is no direct comparison of how better the new Gorilla Glass has gotten over the older and proven Glass 4 from Corning, there is a belief that this is the technology that will appear on handsets that will come towards the end of the year. One such handset is the Google Nexus 2016.
Last year, Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X were unveiled on September 29 but were not available for purchase until October. The same is expected with the upcoming Google Nexus 2016, which is reportedly being made by HTC. The Nexus 6P display screen is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 4, now that there is a new technology in the shape of Gorilla Glass 5, expect to see this on the new Google Nexus 2016 when the company announces the phone later this year.
Just like last year, the new Google Nexus 2016 will come preloaded with Android Nougat, which is the latest OS from Google that is yet to be released officially. The latest reports point towards two devices codenamed Marlin and Sailfish, all of which are being made by HTC. Apparently, the two Google Nexus 2016 phones will pack the same specs under the hood, but the screen sizes will vary. The larger handset, which is codenamed Marlin, will pack a 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED display screen with a resolution of 2560 by 1440 pixels and Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5 on top of the screen.
On the other hand, the Sailfish will pack a 5-inch Full HD display screen with 1080p resolution, but it is doubtful if the handset will go with Gorilla Glass 5 like its counterpart. Last year’s Nexus 5X came with Gorilla Glass 3 while the flagship Nexus 6P went for the newer Glass 4. The case could be repeated with the Google Nexus 2016 handsets, where the smaller model could come with Gorilla Glass 4 technology.
As for the hardware specs, expect to come across a quad-core Snapdragon processor that is paired with an Adreno 530 GPU and a RAM of 4GB. The rear will pack a 12MP sensor and the front an 8MP selfie camera. Expect 32GB of onboard storage with no room for microSD card storage, but the two handsets will keep the USB Type-C port as well as have a fingerprint scanner on the back.
Remember, these are based on rumors and speculations. As such, it is better to be skeptic about the same. Still, we’ll follow up the matter and bring you the latest updates regarding the Google Nexus 2016 smartphones.