Smartwatches are a great tool for tracking your daily health and fitness. You can use them to monitor your sleep and receive notifications from your phone, making them a versatile device for anyone who wants to keep tabs on their steps, heart rate, and stress levels. You view this information through the watch glass, which can be sapphire or Gorilla Glass. Both protect the watch but work in different ways.
Sapphire and Gorilla Glass are a type of watch glass, which is the transparent cover or screen that protects the moving parts underneath – the digital numbers or dials and hands of the clock. Sapphire glass is more scratch-resistant but can break more easily, while Gorilla Glass is sturdier, tougher and lighter, but less scratch-resistant. Sapphire is the best option for luxury clothing because it doesn’t scratch as easily, making Gorilla Glass the best option for workout clothing due to its impact resistance.
Sapphire and Gorilla Glass are one of the reasons why no one needs a smartwatch screen protector anymore, as both are designed to better protect the watch face. The types of glass used may function similarly but are constructed quite differently.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Gorilla Glass for Smartwatches
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Gorilla Glass is a strong glass developed by the Corning company and durable enough to withstand drops onto concrete. Its durability makes it a good choice for fitness smartwatches aimed at users who lead a more active lifestyle. If you are a runner, jogger or regular sportsman, this watch is recommended over watches with sapphire crystal.
The downside of a smartwatch equipped with Gorilla Glass is that it is more likely to have scratches on its screen. Gorilla Glass was tested on the Mohs hardness scale, a guide used to identify minerals and their strengths, and scored a Mohs hardness of about six to seven, which is about intermediate in terms of strength, matching objects like a knife, a plate of glass, or a steel nail.
If you’re interested in fitness and want to get a watch with a Gorilla Glass case, consider the Pixel Watch, Garmin Forerunner 970, and Xiaomi Watch Color 2. Gorilla Glass watches tend to be less expensive than sapphire, with the Forerunner 970 costing $749.99 versus the fēnix 8 – 51mm sapphire glass at $1,199.99. If you don’t want to spend those prices to track your fitness, you don’t necessarily need a smartwatch anymore.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Sapphire Glass for Smart Watches
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Sapphire glass smartwatches are more of a luxury option due to the premium material used to construct the screen. Sapphire is a durable mineral and one of the hardest on the planet, second only to diamond. This makes the watch glass harder to scratch, but makes it easier to break.
When it comes to the Mohs hardness scale, sapphire glass ranks nine out of 10. That’s three points higher than Gorilla Glass. Sapphire crystal also increases the price of a watch or smart device. Some users interested in a smartwatch with sapphire glass think that it is not worth upgrading from a Gorilla Glass smartwatch to a premium mineral one.
Choosing your watch crystal glass depends on how often you wear your smartwatch and what you do when you wear it. If you work out a lot, the one with Gorilla Glass will provide more durability in case you bump it against a weight or drop it. A smart watch with sapphire crystal is designed to show off your bling. Of course, you can always go old school with traditional watches, but the functionality and durability of today’s smartwatches are making traditional watches obsolete.
