Galaxy S4
Samsung Galaxy S4 Survives Knives, Keys and Coins (Video)
The Samsung Galaxy S4 is the first smartphone to arrive with Gorilla Glass 3, a new chemically strengthened glass that claims to prevent scratches from a variety of materials.
In the video below we get a look at a Samsung Galaxy S4 scratch test that shows the new smartphone going up against a pen, multiple knives, keys and coins. This test can’t simulate the repeated abuses of carrying the Galaxy S4 in a pocket with a hard object day after day for a year, but it does offer a look at how resilient Gorilla Glass 3 is to abuse.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 screen is protected form scratches with a glass that is three times harder than Gorilla Glass 2. This new, harder glass should also help prevent damage when dropped, though it is not impervious.
Szaboics Ignacz got his hands on the Galaxy S4 early, and subjects it to abuse so we can see how it handles. Ignacz is a Samsung Mobiler who got the phone early for testing.
As the video shows, the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Gorilla Glass are able to withstand repeated attempts to scratch the glass with a variety of objects.
It’s not surprising to see the Galaxy S4 fare well against this abuse given the previous performance of Gorilla Glass in products like the Samsung Galaxy S3. With the latest version, Corning includes what it calls, “Native Damage Resistance” — which the company claims will help the glass withstand crack inducing damage better.
We’ll soon likely see a Samsung Galaxy S4 drop test which checks the smartphone’s ability to withstand abuse from falls. Most smartphone screens crack during drop tests onto hard surfaces, no matter how strong the glass is. Because the Samsung Galaxy S4 is the first phone to use Gorilla Glass 3, it will be interesting to see how the stronger glass handles abuse like a drop or fall.
Other companies are competing to deliver stronger glass in upcoming smartphones by using Saphire instead of traditional glass. Apple uses this to cover the lens on the iPhone 5, but companies are exploring Saphire as a glass replacement. In one tech demo we’ve seen a piece of concrete smashed repeatedly into a smartphone screen without leaving a mark or cracking the display.
Underneath the Gorilla Glass 3 is a 5-inch 1080P HD smartphone display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor and 2GB of RAM. The Samsung Galaxy S4 arrives in the U.S. this week.
Joe
04/22/2013 at 8:49 am
I would like it better if he left the phone on the screen the entire time
Joseph Harris
04/22/2013 at 11:27 am
This is a aste of time. The S4 comes with geurilla glass and we already know that it is tempered to be harder than most metals.
Victor Vega (@vvega58727)
04/22/2013 at 11:42 am
@joe
yea read joseph harris’s comment. this is not really a test of the s4 but the guerrilla glass which is already known to be extremely tough.so who cares if it makes you think up conspiracy theories when he takes the phone away from the camera to clean it.
Victor Vega (@vvega58727)
04/22/2013 at 11:43 am
sorry it’s actually called gorilla glass as in the animal not the warfare tactic lol.
Starscream
04/22/2013 at 1:50 pm
The test would have been better if it had been shown in a comparason with another phone or what it actually took to scratch the phone especially using something really abrasive like a stone.
Michael Walker (@bjorn6)
04/22/2013 at 2:09 pm
I have the Samsung galaxy S 3, and the screen cracked by itself while I slept next to it. The first happened with in 2 days of getting the phone. I got a replacement phone it now has a similar crack going down the screen. This took 3 months, now previous I had a motorola Droid X, which I still have and no crack screen. I also had the Motorola Droid Razr, never cracked. So my concern is Samsung able to make a phone as strong as motorola? If you go onto Droid Forum. Net (for Verizon phones) many people are complaining about the S3, cracking by itself. This site discusses all verizon phones and only the galaxy S 3 has these complaints.
J
04/22/2013 at 8:49 pm
Sounds like BS to me. I’ve had the S3 since last July (9+ months) with zero problems. No case, no screen protector, no worries. Not a scratch, let alone some random self induced crack. In my pocket with keys, dropped multiple times and left in the sun for hours. I have confidence in Samsung, this is the third but not last galaxy that I will purchase.
Handytechplus
04/22/2013 at 11:28 pm
hmm,, .. i can not see when galaxy s4 clean in front of video..
why that takes away when cleaning the screen..
hmmm,, confuse..
Starscream
04/23/2013 at 2:50 am
My S3 got waterlogged on a kayak trip so i thought ….what the heck. Let me try replicating this test. Guess whatt? I could not put a scratch on it doing exactly what Josh Smith did. Only by applying significant pressure did i succeed in scratching the lens. I really started scratching the lens when i used a piece of rough brick. Josh you really should think about redoing this test properly by comparing it to another phone and keeping the phone in front of the camera at all times. Applying a little more pressure and using something abrasive will also help. We obviously know that the s4 screen can be scratched what we want know is by comparason is how hard it is to be scratched.
Starscream
04/23/2013 at 3:04 am
@ Michael Walker “and the screen cracked by itself while I slept next to it”. Why does this statement sound so funny? Why did you have to put in that are sleeping next to the phone? What have you been doing to this phone? I think that there is a more plausible reason for the screen cracking. LOL
Emil Phillip Posselt
05/10/2013 at 10:49 am
It does NOT survive a fall from 60 cm height onto concrete, I just cracked my screen, phone fell out of my pocket as i was sitting in chair, it SUCKS !