14 DAY TRIAL // A few days ago, JerryRigEverything conducted a test that caused the Galaxy Note 7's display to suffer scratches in a surprising way. The results showed that the smartphone’s screen got visible scratches at level 3 out of 9, which is quite unusual, considering that other handsets usually start having marks at around level 6.
What’s even more surprising is the fact that the Galaxy Note 7 is the first smartphone to come with Corning Gorilla Glass 5, yet it recorded much greater damage when it comes to scratches compared to the Galaxy S7, which had Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protective glass. The visible marks on the device’s Gorilla Glass 5 screen were made with a metal pick that rates at 3 on Mohs scale of hardness, which was “only one step above plastic,” as the video shows.
It seems that Corning caught wind of this scratch test and prepared a response. Jaymin Amin, Corning’s VP of technology, and Jon Pasansky, Corning’s business technical director for Gorilla Glass, have made some comments to Android Authority.
Corning dismisses the test conducted in the video
The two executives have tried to question the test’s reliability and said that it didn’t occur in completely controlled conditions and that a number of factors could have affected the experiment’s result. They argue that JerryRigEverything may have pressed the pick too hard on the panel and that some of its material rubbed off on the glass.
They state that the Note 7’s display was so tough that it actually caused the pick to leave material on the screen, which could look like scratches, but in fact they’re not. They also say all glass falls somewhere around 5 or 6 on Mohs hardness scale and that Corning reproduced the test in its lab in the past.
Whether or not environmental factors actually played a part in the test and interfered with the results isn’t really the question, as the marks are clearly visible even if they’re a result of scratches or material transfer.
The test shows that the latest Gorilla Glass protective case does make the Note 7 more durable, but it might not be as resistant to scratches as one would hope, so a protective case is surely needed.
