Apple Watch Sport's Ion-X glass reportedly endures scratch test in new video
A video published to YouTube on Tuesday shows a scratch test featuring what is claimed to be an Apple Watch Sport's Ion-X cover glass, a scratch-resistant material whose properties lie somewhere between toughened glass and sapphire.
If the display cover procured by Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy is legitimate, it comes constructed from a proprietary ion-impregnated glass Apple has branded Ion-X. While not as durable as sapphire, which is used on Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition models, Apple says Ion-X is more resistant to wear and tear than hardened substrates typically found on current smartphones.
To create Ion-X material, Apple dips glass into a molten salt bath that transfers smaller sodium ions out of the substrate, filling in the spaces with larger potassium ions. Exposed surfaces become hardened during the process, making it more resilient to scratching and nicks.
As seen in the video, Apple's special glass withstands punishment from a key, knife and steel wool, but fares poorly against two sheets of sandpaper at unspecified grits. The results are comparable to similar products like Corning's Gorilla Glass, itself used on iPhone and iPad models.
Apple's Ion-X glass is thought to be less expensive than sapphire crystal, making it an attractive choice for entry-level Watch versions. In addition, Apple Watch Sport models are being marketed to active users who likely prefer lightweight Ion-X panels to heavy sapphire faces.
Earlier this month, a UK iPhone repair company got their hands on an alleged Apple Watch sapphire panel, which was subsequently stress-tested using sandpaper, keys and even a power drill. Unlike today's results, the sapphire part came out unscathed.
If the display cover procured by Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy is legitimate, it comes constructed from a proprietary ion-impregnated glass Apple has branded Ion-X. While not as durable as sapphire, which is used on Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition models, Apple says Ion-X is more resistant to wear and tear than hardened substrates typically found on current smartphones.
To create Ion-X material, Apple dips glass into a molten salt bath that transfers smaller sodium ions out of the substrate, filling in the spaces with larger potassium ions. Exposed surfaces become hardened during the process, making it more resilient to scratching and nicks.
As seen in the video, Apple's special glass withstands punishment from a key, knife and steel wool, but fares poorly against two sheets of sandpaper at unspecified grits. The results are comparable to similar products like Corning's Gorilla Glass, itself used on iPhone and iPad models.
Apple's Ion-X glass is thought to be less expensive than sapphire crystal, making it an attractive choice for entry-level Watch versions. In addition, Apple Watch Sport models are being marketed to active users who likely prefer lightweight Ion-X panels to heavy sapphire faces.
Earlier this month, a UK iPhone repair company got their hands on an alleged Apple Watch sapphire panel, which was subsequently stress-tested using sandpaper, keys and even a power drill. Unlike today's results, the sapphire part came out unscathed.
Comments
I'll keep that in mind the next time I decided to rub steel wool on my watchface
. That being said, eager for my 42mm Apple Watch with Milanese band to arrive.
(I still can't decide which order to cancel, Sport or SS)
What do you care? You can take a power drill to yours every morning and buff with steel wool every night...
(I still can't decide which order to cancel, Sport or SS)
The point being, even if I were going to "daily" a Sport model, sandpaper and steel wool would be the least of my concerns. I just find these tests... synthetic and odd.
What do you care? You can take a power drill to yours every morning and buff with steel wool every night...
(I still can't decide which order to cancel, Sport or SS)
I'm glad I decided to go with Sport. For a first gen version, I didn't want to spend the kind of money needed for Stainless Steel.
And thus: SS for me at any rate.
Lewis Hilsenteger? OMG. This is the same guy that started the iPhone 6+ bend controversy. His bend till it breaks video was later thought to be altered for a more 'dramatic' effect but he still managed to get more than 30 million views to pay for his broken iPhone 6+ .. and then some.
Sandpaper? C'mon Lewis, why don't you just bend the Apple watch for us? .... /s
1) I really doubt annual updates to the watch line. software, perhaps, but not hardware.
2) there's been no debacle. a new Apple product selling out before you could get one does not a debacle make. nobody buying them would be a debacle.
However, an imperfect "synthetic" test does make some sense IMHO. If you want a sense of its long term durability, you have few choices. You can wait till they have been out for a year or two and make a "natural" observation of wear and damage or you can try to simulate the accumulated year's worth of scratches and bumps in a short time.
Obviously, only an idiot will take sandpaper to their watch. But I know mine will hit my keys, the window sill, and the metal latch of the screen door. I know it will rub up against clothes that have sand in them and bedsheets with sand and couch pillows with sand on them.
The sandpaper test actually makes quite a bit of sense to me when looked at in this light. Now the drill test? That is more of a stunt...
No way in hell am I clicking on that link.
I'm not giving any views and contributing to the revenue of these youtube whores who make these dumb videos.
And post #10 pointed out that this is the same person who made that idiotic iPhone bend video.
1) I really doubt annual updates to the watch line. software, perhaps, but not hardware.
2) there's been no debacle. a new Apple product selling out before you could get one does not a debacle make. nobody buying them would be a debacle.
1. I really hope and expect annual updates to both the hardware and the software of the watch (this is why I went with the Sport as well)
(Or a carpenter with a nice watch)
Lewis Hilsenteger? OMG. This is the same guy that started the iPhone 6+ bend controversy. His bend till it breaks video was later thought to be altered for a more 'dramatic' effect but he still managed to get more than 30 million views to pay for his broken iPhone 6+ .. and then some.
Sandpaper? C'mon Lewis, why don't you just bend the Apple watch for us? .... /s
I'm not even going to visit his channel, but tell me: did he ever post a bend video of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge for his channel?
Sandpaper/glasspaper is a misnomer, they don't contain sand or glass. It's a range of minerals, most often Aluminium Oxide (aka "sapphire"). Testing with sandpaper is pointless because you will very rarely have to deal with abrasion like that in the real world. (If ever.)
Instead test with sand/sandstone, brick, rocks or car keys. Those are things that the watch face are likely to run against, unsurprisingly Ion-X glass stands up well to those.
I'm not even going to visit his channel, but tell me: did he ever post a bend video of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge for his channel?
I'm not visiting there too but my bet is he's smart enough not to post it. Nobody will care to see it.
That's the same douchebag that created the viral "bendgate" video when the iP6 was first released. Heard he made boatloads of Google ad revenue from the millions of YouTube views.
I'm not visiting there too but my bet is he's smart enough not to post it. Nobody will care to see it.
I searched for the name found a deleted Wikipedia page, deleted for the following reasons:
Basically, this mod noticed that Hilsenteger only (weak) claim to notability was being mentioned (non-substantively) in a couple of articles about the iPhone. Think about that: the iPhone is propping up his notability, weakly. I'd say that pretty much sums up his YouTube channel.