First Galaxy S24 Ultra drop test cracks the brand-new Corning Gorilla Armor glass

I never expected the Galaxy S24 Ultra to deliver the upgrade I’m dying to see on smartphones, which is glass that doesn’t break when you drop your phone. But I was curious to see how the new Corning Gorilla Armor would fare during such events. This is a brand new type of Corning glass, which is exclusive to the Galaxy S24 Ultra series. Corning announced the glass panel just as Samsung unveiled its Galaxy S24, focusing on Gorlia Armor’s improved scratch resistance. 

With a week to go until the Galaxy S24’s official release date, we already have a drop test featuring the Galaxy S24 Ultra. And the Gorilla Armor screen cracked on the first waist-high drop against concrete. 

You can’t have a perfectly objective drop test to measure the durability of a smartphone’s screen. But most of them drop the phone from waist-high, or about three feet. The phone usually lands on a hard surface like concrete. This test is supposed to simulate real-life conditions. You take the phone out of a pocket or purse, and drop it against the asphalt. It happens. 

YouTuber PBKreviews performed the “standard” drop test above with the screen facing down. The Galaxy S24 Ultra dropped on the screen, and the top right corner cracked. He didn’t continue dropping the phone against the display from higher heights, as the glass had already broken. 

The YouTuber dropped it on the back and the sides, and the rear-facing drop damaged the screen again. This time, the top left corner cracked. Another reason why drop tests can’t be objective is that you can’t control the drop. This was supposed to be a rear-facing drop, but it damaged the screen. 

Then, the side drops damaged the titanium frame.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra survived the test, and everything works. Only the corners of the screen were damaged. And I can’t help but wonder whether curved corners would prevent such damage.

The Ultra is the only model of the three Galaxy S24 phones with square corners. And that’s because of the S Pen, which has to sit inside the phone, next to one of those corners. The necessity for design symmetry does the rest. 

The Galaxy S24 Ultra also features a flat display, a first for the Ultra series. And it’s the first Samsung phone to come with a titanium frame. 

The YouTuber also tested the Gorilla Armor’s scratch durability by rubbing debris against it. And the glass did not scratch. Corning insisted on the new glass panel’s scratch resistance during the announcement: 

Corning’s new cover material optimizes durability on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. In Corning lab tests, Gorilla Armor demonstrated superior durability when compared against competitive aluminosilicate cover glasses. To measure its exceptional scratch resistance, Corning created a new lab test the “Scratch Bot” to replicate micro scratches caused by day-to-day wear. On this rigorous test, Gorilla Armor showed no visible scratches and demonstrated over four times more scratch resistance than competitive aluminosilicate cover glasses.

That said, you’ll likely need a screen protector for the Galaxy S24 Ultra. I’d also go for a case. The Galaxy S24 phones feature Corning Gorilla Victus 2. And I don’t expect Gorilla Victus 2 to be any more drop-resistant. So consider protective gear for the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus models as well.