[Essential Phone Accessories] krws1:
I stumbled into this forum yesterday, by searching for accessories for my Essential Phone PH-1. In theory, this phone is perfect! Tough, can withstand a 5’ drop without a case, and no more taking off your gloves in the dead of winter to swipe, or dial.

However, like I said, in theory, it is the perfect phone. In the real world, not so much! My 25-day-old PH-1, hit the pavement twice in the last four days. First, it fell as I was pulling it from my pocket. It landed on its top right edge, breaking the Gorilla Glass 5 cover on that corner. After hitting the pavement on its top right corner, it flipped over, and landed on its back. The back of the PH-1 sustained no damage, not even a scratch.

https://xdaforums.com/picture.php?albumid=14543&pictureid=56462

The second drop, had my PH-1 hitting a hard-tiled floor from off a desk, a drop distance of 3’. This drop killed the supposed Gorilla Glass 5 cover of my PH-1.

https://xdaforums.com/album.php?albumid=14543&pictureid=56463

Gorilla Glass 5 according to Corning, can withstand a 1.6 meter drop. That is a height of 5’ onto surfaces like brick, concrete, or asphalt. Corning made a video of the drop testing…

https://www.corning.com/gorillaglas...illa-glass-5-taking-tough-to-new-heights.html

My shorter than spec drops, set me back $699.99 which made me both mad, and curious. A little research revealed that Corning, has two lists on their website which, show all the smartphone manufacturers licensed to use Corning Gorilla Glass, and Essential, is not on either list. See for yourselves… Click the first link below, uncheck all devices except for smartphones. Then click on the manufacturer’s name in the list which, opens a page and tells you the phone by model, and the Gorilla Glass version the phone uses. The second link is Corning’s full list of licensed products licensed to use Gorilla Glass.

1.	https://www.corning.com/gorillaglass/worldwide/en/products-with-gorilla.html

2.	https://www.corning.com/gorillaglass/worldwide/en/full-product-list.html

Call me crazy, but this gets worse. Now, I understand this sounds like straight sour grapes, and it very well maybe. However, the following legal disclaimer comes directly from Corning’s website;

“Corning® Gorilla® Glass is used in the following mobile smartphones, tablets, slates, notebooks, wearables and tablets. The devices have been verified by the manufacturer and Corning as using Corning® Gorilla® Glass. The manufacturers and devices detailed are the only manufacturers authorized to use the Corning® Gorilla® Glass trademark in their device promotions. Select device manufacturers have not been willing to provide Gorilla Glass model verification. In those cases, please ask the manufacturer directly or contact Corning here and we will do our best to help you.”

So naturally, I clicked the “here” link, Outlook opened, and I sent an email asking Corning if the omission of Essential Phone was an error, and could they confirm the Essential PH-1 uses Gorilla Glass 5? The response was mind blowing!

From: Gorilla Glass <gorillaglass@corning.com>

Sent: Wednesday, October 25, 2017 10:53 AM

To:

Subject: RE: Re: [ ref:_00D60JeK9._5000d1FQ53i:ref ]

Because of non-disclosure clauses in some of our customer contracts, we cannot identify all the devices that feature Corning® Gorilla® Glass, so we encourage you to contact the manufacturer of your device.

Regards,

The Gorilla Glass Team?

Non-disclosure agreements, really? That makes no sense seeing that Essential is advertising Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5 publicly under “specifications”, as the cover of the Essential Phone PH-1. https://www.essential.com/#specifications . At that point, it is no longer a contracted secret! Of course, Essential’s response is; “yes, the PH-1 has Gorilla Glass 5, but they can still break.”

I purchased another phone with Gorilla Glass 5 for my wife, and yes, it is on Corning’s list of approved manufacturers. I will not say the manufacturer or the model because, I am not selling anything here. However, this phone, fell out of my wife’s coat pocket, bounced down some granite steps elevated about 6’, and survived without a scratch, or a glass break.

And to go from bad to worse, the Essential Phone PH-1 now costs $499.00 as of 10/22/2017, according to Essential Products, Inc. For those of you who did not know, you should check to see if you are under the requirement for a price match refund. $200, is $200!

If I knew a lab that could definitively say that my PH-1 broken Gorilla Glass, is in fact, Gorilla Glass 5, that would make me feel a bit better. Writing contracts and being in business since before I could work legally, has made me a legitimate skeptic, and not at all surprised at what some companies are willing to implement in the name of more profit. Anyway, I just thought people who own the Essential PH-1 should be aware, “It needs a case!”