Corning Is About to Make Sapphire Displays Obsolete

Corning's next iteration of Gorilla Glass could combine the best of both worlds in scratch and drop resistance. Source: Corning Incorporated.

If you've ever suffered the horror of shattering or scratching the cover glass on your smartphone, Corning Incorporated has some great news for you.

And no, Corning isn't suddenly getting into the sapphire cover business. In fact, quite the opposite: At Corning's 2015 annual investor meeting last week, the glass maker revealed it's working hard to render pure sapphire displays obsolete.

Meet "Project Phire"According to Corning Glass Technologies president James Clappin, they've appropriately dubbed the effort "Project Phire." Clappin elaborated:

To be sure, just over a year ago, Corning stock was plunging after sapphire producerGT Advanced Technologies announced a multi-year agreementwith Apple to produce and supply the super hard material for the tech giant's then-unspecified iProducts. We now know sapphire was meant to at least cover two variations of the Apple Watch-- thanks in no small part to its superior scratch resistance -- but investors couldn't help but wonder whether sapphire posed a legitimate threat to Corning's widely used Gorilla Glass.

However, it became clear that wasn't the case when GT Advanced Technologies descended into bankruptcy late last year, hurt by the weight of the deal, which was structured heavily in Apple's favor. What's more, shortly after theiPhone 6 was announced without a sapphire display, an IDC analyst's channel checks revealed part of the reason for the material's absence was that sapphire-covered iPhones "repeatedly cracked during standard drop tests conducted by Apple suppliers." When given the choice of a device with superior scratch resistance, or one able to survive a catastrophic drop, it's no surprise Apple opted to stick with the latter.

Corning won't stop thereIt's also unsurprising that Corning wouldn't be content to rest on its laurels and wait for another Gorilla Glass competitor to arrive. By offering the best of both worlds with whatever commercialized product comes out of Project Phire, Corning should be able to secure a virtual stranglehold on the cover glass industry going forward.

Of course, keep in mind Clappin also only said the Project Phire material has "scratch resistance approaching sapphire" (emphasis mine). This indicates it still doesn't quite match sapphire just yet on the scratch front, but it should suffice for most consumers knowing Corning is closing the gap between the two while still maintaining the superior drop-handling ability of Gorilla Glass 4.

What's more, keeping in mind Gorilla Glass 4 includes significant improvements over each of the prior three Gorilla Glass iterations, you can bet Corning will continue plowing R&D funds into further improving Project Phire going forward.

In the meantime, the Project Phire product will likely be released later this year as another variation of Gorilla Glass, especially given the impressive brand power that already comes with the primate-centric moniker. Clappin noted, for example, that one of Corning's leading Asian customers recently told them some Chinese speakers even believe "Gorilla" is the American word for glass.

Over the long term, that obviously bodes well for Corning's Specialty Materials segment, revenue from which is already expected to increase 10% year over year this quarter, driven by healthy demand and pricing power for Gorilla Glass 4.If Corning can indeed follow through on its promise to commercialize developments of Project Phire by the end of 2015, it should serve to only further sustain that momentum.

The article Corning Is About to Make Sapphire Displays Obsolete originally appeared on Fool.com.

Steve Symington owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Apple and Corning. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple and Corning. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.