Display and Rear glass durability - Still cracking?

[irgendwerhalt]

Hello all,

on the look-out for a new phone I came across the Z3 compact.

But across the net I found many reports from users with cracked glass, afair mostly the rear glass cracking - often even without considerable impact.

My question is, if anyone of you guys has experience with newer versions of the phone or knows is that is still an issue?

Apparently the phone was originally (is still?) manufactured with a Gorilla display, but only a regular mineral glass for the rear.

Maybe Sony acknowledged the problem and improved the built-quality in later versions?

If not that'd be a reason to not buy the phone... which would be a shame since it's actually the ONLY phone out there that combines a good size (<130mm in length) with a good performance (except the Z5 Compact which is uglier and more expensive).

Cheers for any answers

[CameronT]

Hi @irgendwerhalt,

Welcome to the community.

Gorilla Glass is tempered mineral glass, Gorilla is just branding for this type of glass from Corning. The glass on both the front and back of our handsets is made of this toughened glass. We do try to improve our designs with each handset, but please keep in mind that this is still glass, even if it is toughenened, and can still break with enough force. It could be from a drop, bending or pressure that causes the glass to break. 

[irgendwerhalt]

Thank you for the reply @CameronT

I am aware that dropping the phone or sitting on it is unrecommended.

I was rather referring to the phone apparently cracking for no obvious reasons - like having it in the pocket of your jeans, alone, no keys or anything else next to it - as mentioned in noumerous user reviews across the inet.

The Z3 Compact was mentioned - along the iPhone 6 - in that context to be extremely fragile in certain areas of the rear.

I am a rather active person and the phone should be able to withstand normal use.

No rough handling but I wanna be able to handle it without velvet gloves. 

[CameronT]

@irgendwerhalt,

There's no known defect that would cause the glass to break without some external force. I have seen a lot of people here reporting that it broke on its own, but when they provide images of the damage, there are visible impact points or signs of stress. It is generally from previous damage and microfractures that may not have been visible at the time, but weakened the integrity of the glass, like a chip on a car windshield. When extra force is applied the glass gives way.

If you are worried about it you can always apply a case and screen protector to your phone for that extra security.

[irgendwerhalt]

Any recommondation for a certain screen protector for the Z3 Compact?

There are hundreds of "Real glass"-foils on the market but considering the price differences there is probably a difference in quality.

Would you apply a protection foil on the rear as well?

I am not a friend of cases tbh, they make a phone fat and ugly.

[CameronT]

@irgendwerhalt,

I personally use my phone caseless and screen protectorless as I find the built in protection is enough for my use. Unfortunately I cannot recommend any screen protectors as we do not specifically manufacture any.

Have a look on the Sony online store for your local region, there may be third party products for sale there that would be recommended by Sony.