A new version of Gorilla Glass – the chemically strengthened cover glass which is used in mobile devices – has been unveiled by Corning. The latest Gorilla Glass version is called Gorilla Glass 5; and is the successor to the Gorilla Glass 4 version launched by Corning in fall 2014.

Introducing the new Gorilla Glass 5, Corning said that the new Gorilla Glass version is presently available for manufacturers and designers of consumer electronics. Devices equipped with Gorilla Glass 5 will likely hit the markets later this year.

Highlighting the fact that Gorilla Glass 5 has been formulated to survive epic smartphone drops, and to provide improved protection against breakage, Corning said that the new cover glass has the capability to survive nearly 80 percent of face-down drops from a height of 1.6 meters onto rough surfaces.

However, the 80 percent survival rate of Gorilla Glass 5 against everyday drops was achieved by Corning in tests carried out with 0.6mm thick pieces of glass. As such, the drop performance for smartphone manufacturers opting for Corning’s thinner 0.4mm glass may be slightly different.

Asserting that the resilience of Gorilla Glass 5 would depend not just on the glass but on the smartphone’s overall design, John Bayne -- Corning's VP and general manager -- said: "What will define the performance of the overall device on those types of corner drops is stiffness of the phone design, but also how the glass is packaged."