New Delhi, Dec 1 (IANS): Smartphone glass manufacturer Corning Incorporated on Thursday unveiled its newest glass innovation, "Gorilla Glass Victus 2" with improved drop performance.

With a new glass composition, the Gorilla Glass better survives drops on rougher surfaces, like concrete.

"Smartphones are the centre of our digital lives, and the requirement for exceptional scratch and drop resistance has only increased with our growing reliance on clear, damage-free displays," David Velasquez, Vice President and General Manager, Gorilla Glass, said in a statement.

According to the company's extensive research, 84 per cent of consumers across three of the largest smartphone markets -- China, India, and the US -- cite durability as the number one purchasing consideration behind the brand itself.

"We challenged our scientists not only to create a glass composition that was durable enough to better survive drops from waist height onto rougher surfaces than asphalt, but to improve cover-glass performance for larger and heavier devices," Velasquez added.

In lab tests, the new Gorilla Glass survived drops of up to one meter on a surface replicating concrete, said the company.

Other manufacturers' glasses often failed when dropped from half a meter or less.

Furthermore, the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 survived drops of up to two metres on an asphalt-like surface and maintained scratch resistance up to four times greater than competitive glasses.

It is currently being evaluated by a number of customers and is expected to hit the market in the coming months, the company added.