How reliable is the gorrila glass?

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Archpope

Senior Member
Jun 26, 2006
310
61
OC, CA
tl;dr: No. You don't need a screen protector.

I have had my Captivate for over a year now. In that time, I have used neither a screen protector nor a case. It would often ride in my pocket with change and/or keys, or on my dashboard, where the "sticky pad" proved often not to be as sticky as advertised and would allow my phone to be thrown under the seat and into other parts of the car. In truth, I haven't been very kind to my Captivate, even getting mad enough to throw it once after a botched ROM upgrade. Suffice it to say, I have given the screen plenty of opportunities to get scratched.

Just now, I wiped my fingerprints off the screen, and took a picture of the screen in the least flattering light possible. As you can see, it looks like I did not do a good job of cleaning it, but it's obvious that there is not a single scratch on it, and certainly nothing that would affect the functionality of it. Even examining it with a magnifying glass and running my fingernail across it in all directions could not reveal single scratch or pit. The glass is still as flawless as the day I bought it.
 

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Mr.Immaculate

Senior Member
Sep 10, 2010
50
5
I used to trust the Gorilla Glass, then I got my first scratch. Now I trust my cheap disposable screen protectors.

Go for one of the smooth ones, the thick textured screen protectors (I'm talking about you Zagg Invisishield) are horrid.
 

SekuHusky

Member
Feb 16, 2012
8
0
The problem isn't so much the Gorilla Glass failing as it is the glass components of the AMOLED on phones such as the Galaxy series. My Captivate, much like my previous Attain, both suffered screen cracks that left a spotless Gorilla Glass digitizer behind, as if nothing happened.

I've come up with a bit of a theory as to why this occurs as well. Much like resonant frequency literally shaking a wine glass to shards, the Gorilla Glass disperses much of the kinetic energy of impact by transferring it throughout the rest of the phone, where it has a higher probability of causing damage to the un-reinforced glass of the screen below.

In terms of scratch resistance however, I'd emphasize "resistance" as I know for a fact that Gorilla Glass will scratch, often times starting off as micro-fine lines and over time getting more noticeable with entropy.

So far, the best solution I've found for my current phone is a good case and screen protector combo, specifically Ballistic "Shel-Gel" and Zagg, respectively.
I've dropped my Galaxy Nexus flat on its face on numerous occasions, and I've noticed that there's a much more effective dissipation of kinetic energy with the extra layer added. I've even noticed scratches that were there on the screen protector one day and gone the next (I think I had put my phone in the pocket with my keys by mistake), so I'd definitely advise that screen protection is cheaper in the long run than having to buy screen assemblies (the Captivate is lucky and has a separate digitizer, but the new technology Samsung utilizes to create Super Amoled and HD Super Amoled screens is almost like printing the pixels onto a glass surface, meaning the entire screen is only replaceable as an assembly, as I've learned from repairing my Attain's cracked screen.)

Hope this helps!
 

Sun0fNothing

Senior Member
Oct 22, 2011
260
48
Boston, MA
I use a screen protector on my Cappy, but only because it came with the POS Otterbox silicon case that I had. I haven't bothered to take it off but seeing that you all don't seem to get any scratches at all, I'll probably take it off soon. I only keep it in a pocket with my wallet anyways.
 

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    i was wondering the same thing a while back then i found this:
    http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=912515
    Lots of people sharing their experience.

    I always use a screen protector because I know one day I will get rid of this phone and I want it looking perfect. The gorilla glass will scratch.

    That OP is the man.

    Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App
    1
    Can't stand screen protectors. Have had no scratches yet. I work construction often digging trenches, and have pulled my phone our of my pocket that was full of sand and rocks. Still looks brand new.

    I do use a body glove case because without it, I have a hard time holding the phone

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk