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Is Gorilla Glass 5 all that it's cracked up to be? First Note 7 drop test, hammer, knife and water torture

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By Daniel Petrov

Updated: Aug 17, 2016, 2:53 AM

Is Gorilla Glass 5 all that it's cracked up to be? First Note 7 drop test, hammer, knife and water torture

Replacing the curved S7 edge display costs $270, so we can only imagine how much would that flexible 5.7" Quad HD Dual edge Super AMOLED panel of the Note 7 set you back if you drop it face-down. That's why ever since Corning announced its next generation of toughened cover for the screens of flagship phones and tablets - Gorilla Glass 5 - we've had one thought in our mind.

It turned out that Gorilla Glass 5 is indeed making its debut on the Galaxy Note 7's front and back, leveraging Samsung's outsized investment in Corning once again. Corning are actually promising shoulder-height drop survival rates of up to 80% with Gorilla Glass 5 (before it was waist-height), but before we see the Note 7 fall face down on concrete and remain relatively unscathed, that is hard to believe.

Well, that day has come, and the new toughened glass series from Corning is indeed all that it's cracked up to be (pun intended). As you can see in the first Note 7 drop test below, the phone easily survives drops that would have shattered the Note 5, so you can be relatively certain that your $800+ glass phone won't be laid to waste by everyday drops and scratches. We are including one of the first Note 5 break tests, where last year's phablet falls from roughly the same height, just for comparison giggles.

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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena from 2010 to 2025, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.