New ad for 5G iPhone 13 series shows that the handsets can take a beating from an expert

Just the other day we showed you Apple's new ad for the iPhone 13 series that focused on the longer battery life available on the latest and greatest iPhone models. Now, Apple has released another ad that promotes the Ceramic Shield. Made by Corning, the glass company embeds ceramic nanocrystals in the glass to make it "tougher than any smartphone glass," according to Apple.

This video, which runs 38 seconds (and will probably be trimmed to 30 seconds for use on television), is called "Run Baby Run," and it starts with a toddler who finds an iPhone on a table and promptly drops it on the floor. While the song "Chitty Bang" by Leikeli47 is heard in the background, we see the toddler running around with the iPhone in his hand. The phone is smacked against various objects including a piano, tossed into the sink, and used to hammer some plastic blocks.

Finally, the toddler holds the phone high and drops it on the hardwood floor. The mother comes from behind to pick up the iPhone, glances at the screen, and puts it in her pocket. "Toddler Resistant" says the ad, followed by Apple's iconic "Relax, it's iPhone" tag line.

Corning and Apple have teamed on protective glass dating back to the original iPhone when Apple asked Corning if it could develop a toughened thin glass for the iPhone. By 2010, the first version of Gorilla Glass was found on 20% of mobile phones across the globe, about 200 million units. In 2012, Corning introduced the sequel called Gorilla Glass 2. While we don't know how long it took the company to come up with that name, the sequel was 20% thinner than the original.

By October 2012, the number of mobile devices adorned with Gorilla Glass was one billion. At the Consumer Electronics Show in 2013, Corning introduced the third iteration of Gorilla Glass that Corning said offered three times the scratch-resistance as the previous version. It also was said to be tougher against the deep scratches that can weaken the glass.

At the end of 2014, Corning introduced Gorilla Glass 4 which was thinner than Gorilla Glass 3 while offering the same protection as the previous version. Gorilla Glass 5 was designed to provide protection from drops and debuted in 2016 on the ill-fated Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

Wearables break too, so for smartwatches and other similar devices, Gorilla Glass SR+ was created. Comparing the product with sapphire, Corning said that Glass SR+ delivers "superior scratch resistance approaching that of alternative luxury cover materials" and it also debuted on a Samsung produced device, the Gear S3 smartwatch which was released in 2016, the same year that the Galaxy Note 7 became the Hindenburg of smartphones (Google it).

Eventually, the Gorilla Glass SR+ was replaced by the Gorilla Glass DX+ and was first used on the Samsung Galaxy Watch in 2018. The following year, the Samsung Galaxy S10 was the first smartphone to use Gorilla Glass 6 and matched the previous version's scratch resistance while providing protection from multiple drops conducted at taller heights.

Gorilla Glass Victus was first used on the Samsung Galaxy S Note 20 Ultra in 2020. With twice the scratch resistance of Gorilla Glass 6, it is used on the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. And tipster Ice Universe recently disseminated a tweet stating that all three versions of the Galaxy S22 series will be covered with Gorilla Glass Victus as well.

Gorilla Glass Victus can survive falls from as high as 6.5-feet onto rough and hard surfaces. While Gorilla Glass 6 can survive up to 15 drops of 1 meter each (3.37-inches), Victus can survive up to 20 drops of 1 meter each.

Corning's Ceramic Shield, used on the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models, gives those iPhone models four times the drop protection than previous iPhone handsets.