shatterediphone

Every year, tech giants like Apple, Samsung and HTC give us more features and better, often bigger, displays to look forward to in our smartphones. But so far they still haven’t managed to come up with a way to tackle perhaps the most common problem users have, which is dropping your phone and cracking the screen.

However one research team at Tokyo University is hoping to change that by creating glass that is nearly indestructible. If the team achieves its goal, the glass could be used in everything from buildings to consumer electronics as soon as 2020.

Last month, a report from the research team at the Institute of Industrial Science at the University of Tokyo was published on Scientific Reports outlining not only the technical details of the project, but the team’s goal of making virtually shatterproof glass ready for commercial production within the next five years.

The glass is said to be even more durable than the Moto ShatterShield used on Motorola’s Droid Turbo 2 released just last week, which can withstand being dropped from up to heights of 10 feet (almost 3.5 meters) without suffering any screen damage.

If the team meets its goal, there’s a very good chance that our smartphones’ displays will be outfitted with the new shatterproof material by the time Apple—known for its annual product releases—unleashes its iPhone 9, or whatever it’ll be naming its smartphones by then.

But will stronger displays mean less of a demand for cute, protective smartphone cases? We’d hate to see production of cool accessories like these Disney and Sailor Moon iPhone cases or edible-looking smartphone case art come to an end.

Source: YouTube/Motorola Mobility, livedoor NEWS via Hachima Kikou
Feature/top image: Flickr/Justine Ezarik