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Next generation phone screens could destroy bacteria and be viewable in sunlight

If you’ve never stopped to consider how gross your smartphone can get, think about it for a second: we use our smartphones while we’re eating, on public transit, and a few brave ones may even admit to taking it into the bathroom. Chances are, though, that not all smartphone users are fastidious about making sure they keep their device germ free, however.

Gorilla Glass, the company that makes the glass screens for many smartphones, is working on a product that will make the glass antibacterial. At a recent MIT Mobile Technology Summit talk, Dr. Jeffrey Evenson discussed the widespread use and popularity of Gorilla glass and demonstrated the next generation product we could all soon be using.

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According to Hot Hardware, Gorilla Glass 4 will feature antimicrobial coating. The example presented by Evenson showed a >106 reduction in bacteria over a two hour period, compared to a phone without the protective coating. For us non-scientists, that’s an awful lot less bacteria pressed up against your face or being transferred to your hands.

The other feature in development is an anti-glare technology. The picture above shows a pane of glass with the anti-glare coating in a circle. It may look like a hole in the glass, but really, that’s the anti-glare coating at work. It’s pretty impressive based on that picture, but we’ll have to wait for when the product eventually makes its way to us before we get too excited.

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The company is hoping that we’ll be seeing the advancements in the next two years. In the meantime, you might want to start wiping down your phone.

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