Samsung Galaxy Z Flip Uses 'Fake' Foldable Glass?

Samsung gave Motorola a run for its money with the release of the new Galaxy Z Flip foldable, a clamshell smartphone with better specs compared to the new Moto Razr. The new foldable device features specs equivalent to that of current-gen flagships like the Galaxy S10, but adds a new hinge and some more interesting features.

One of the headliner features Samsung equipped the Galaxy Z Flip with is the so-called Ultra Thin Glass display. This puts the new device in a better light compared to Motorola's Razr reboot and Samsung's own Galaxy Fold, both of which use a foldable screen made of plastic.

A durability test conducted by famed teardown expert JerryRigEverything, however, brings to light the huge possibility that Samsung's new foldable doesn't use bendable glass at all. If anything, it's “fake” glass.

In a 12-minute video, JerryRigEverything showed just how durable the new Galaxy Z Flip is, subjecting it to the usual scratch-resistance and bend tests. While the device performed well in many regards, it failed in one of the most important areas the Korean tech giant really spent a lot of time boasting about: the so-called glass display.

The teardown expert placed a long strip of tape on the device's display and marked it with numbers “2” through “10” indicating that he will use the Mohs Hardness Test on it. He explained that plastic screens normally “scratches at level 2 or 3,” real glass scratches at level “5 or 6,” and sapphire will scratch at level “8 or 9.” He then used picks with materials corresponding to those hardness levels.

The Galaxy Z Flip's screen, unfortunately, showed some marks when scratched using a material with hardness level 2. A pick with hardness level 3 created deeper grooves on the device's screen. A level 4 pick, he said, can be felt cutting the surface of the screen.

Why is this happening? “It could be that [Samsung] are using a hybrid plastic polymer with little specks of glass ingredients inside and then just, you know, calling it glass,” JerryRigEverything said.

“The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip does not have a true glass screen, and it's still very fragile. That being said, it's still pretty awesome,” he said as he closed the video. “Samsung should just correct their verbage.”