Asahi Glass AGC, also known as AGC, is a Japanese global glass manufacturing company. It was formerly called Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. The company produces various glass products and semi-finished materials, as well as a small range of chemical products. AGC serves industries such as construction, automotive, lighting, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), and solar energy. Their innovations include high-perfor tomance cover glass for in-car displays, which helps safeguard the precision “eyes” of self-driving vehicles, and materials for semiconductor breakthroughs.
The specific Asahi Glass made for mobile devices is called Dragontrail and is described by the company as “a light-weight, flexible, and scratch resistant glass with outstanding strength, used as a protective cover glass for electronic devices”.
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How strong is Asahi Glass AGC for mobile?
We do not know, for sure, right now. There have been no definitive tests to give us figures. This is perhaps because Asahi Glass isn’t as popular as Gorilla Glass yet. As we see more phones show up with it, reviewers and testers will put in the work to find out exactly how strong it is.
For now, what is clear is that a number of phone brands that use Gorilla Glass are also using Asahi Glass in some of their products. This might be a question of economics, but that is not say that Asahi Glass AGC is not as strong as similar products in the market.
Do note that Asahi emphasizes that its Dragontrail Glass is excellent at protecting phone screens from bending, so this might be the product’s strongest suite. The company also says it is an eco-friendly option to its alternatives in the market.
List of versions
- Dragontrail Glass was the earliest version of Asahi Glass ever introduced.
- Dragontrail Pro – Released in 2016, Asahi says it is 30% stronger than the original Dragontrail Glass.
- Dragontrail X
- AGC DT-Star2 – Asahi says the new DT-STAR2 has four times the strength of the original Dragontrail Glass. It was released in 2022.
- AGC DT-Star2 Plus
What phones use Asahi Dragontrail?
A handful of phone manufacturers use Asahi Dragontrail in their products. They include Google Pixel, OPPO, OnePlus, Realme, Vivo. Here are a few notable examples:
- Google Pixel 3a: Asahi Dragontrail Glass
- OnePlus Ace 2 Pro
- vivo V30 Lite 4G: AGC DT-Star2 Plus
- OPPO Reno12 F: AGC DT-Star2
Asahi Glass AGC vs Gorilla Glass
Asahi Dragontrail and Gorilla Glass have similar scratch resistance and hardness, but Gorilla Glass may have better drop resistance and durability. According to Corning, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 can withstand drops from up to two meters, while also offering double the scratch resistance of Gorilla Glass 6. There is not much technical detail available about the drop resistance and durability of Dragontrail, but some reviews suggest that it is not as good as Gorilla Glass and sapphire glass. So far, there has been no scientific tests comparing the two, so take any votes for either with a pinch of salt. Renowned phone brands across the world use both.
Asahi Glass AGC vs Panda Glass
Panda Glass, produced by Tunghsu Optoelectronic, offers high resistance to damage and scratches, similar to Dragontrail Glass from Asahi. Some of the phone brands that use Asahi Glass AGC products also use Panda Glass. There has been stiff competition between Asahi Glass and Panda Glass for marketshare, for some years now. There are no definitive statistics available to say who is in the lead at this time in 2024, but Corning’s Gorilla Glass still leads the market by a clear margin.
Other Competition
Apart from Gorilla Glass and Panda Glass, Asahi Glass AGC has other competition providing protection for cell phone displays. The competition includes: Dinorex Glass, Concore Glass, and Xensation Glass.