Corning announces first Indian Military-grade smartphone at INR 5,499 featuring Corning® Gorilla® Glass

- Lava's latest device is built, designed and manufactured in India

MUMBAI, India, Jan. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) today announced that Lava will be the first mobile device manufacturer in India to sell a Rs. 5,499 military-grade smartphone featuring Gorilla Glass 3. Slated for release on January 22, the Z1 smartphone is part of a new lineup of recently launched Lava devices that also includes the Z2, Z4 and Z6 smartphones which all utilize Gorilla Glass 3 and offer an entry point for many Indian consumers to move from a feature phone to a smartphone.

Originally launched in 2013, Gorilla Glass 3 is uniquely formulated as a high damage resistance glass, providing up to 4X improvement in scratch resistance when compared to competitive aluminosilicate glasses from other manufacturers. Gorilla Glass 3 is one of Corning's best-selling device glasses.

"Around 400 million Indian consumers are likely to transition from a feature phone to a smartphone in the near future and, in the last year, it's become apparent that smartphones are a key tool for everyday living," said Dr. Jaymin Amin, Vice President and General Manager, Gorilla Glass. "With Lava's extensive knowledge of its customer base, and their willingness to utilize Gorilla Glass on their latest device, they are providing a compelling solution for consumers buying their first smartphone. This new development is a really exciting opportunity for the future of our partnership and continued growth in the Indian market."

In addition to designing Gorilla Glass 3 into its latest Z Series smartphones, Lava has designed Gorilla Glass across a broad range of its portfolio over the past four years, including its best-selling Z81 and Z61 models.

The Lava Z1 is completely designed in India by Indian engineers, from its industrial design to its hardware and software. The Z1 was tested by Lava using MIL-STD-810H*. Lava was also the first brand to launch its 'Designed in India' feature phone in 2018.

"Based on our extensive research on the budget segment customers, we realized that an important aspect they aspire for in their device is durability," said Tejinder Singh, Head - Product, Lava International Limited. "This device is for consumers who are upgrading from feature phones and hence, consumer expectations of a longer lifecycle are a challenge considering their extreme environmental conditions. Our design engineers worked on that in detail and using Gorilla Glass 3, the Lava Z1 was designed with military-grade toughness to meet unmatched standards of ruggedness in the segment."

Gorilla Glass has been designed into more than 8 billion devices by more than 45 major brands. Throughout the company's Mobile Consumer Electronics (MCE) market access platform, Corning continues its legacy of innovation with its market-leading cover glasses as well as glass and optics for semiconductor products that enhance performance, deliver new connectivity features, enable new designs, and support immersive user experiences with augmented reality and 3D sensing.

For additional information, videos, and images please visit: www.corninggorillaglass.com

*MIL-STD-810 is a United States Military standard that emphasizes tailoring an equipment's environmental design and test limits to the conditions that it will experience throughout its service life, and establishing chamber test methods that replicate the effects of environments on the equipment rather than imitating the environments themselves.

About Corning Incorporated

Corning (www.corning.com) is one of the world's leading innovators in materials science, with a 169-year track record of life-changing inventions. Corning applies its unparalleled expertise in glass science, ceramic science, and optical physics along with its deep manufacturing and engineering capabilities to develop category-defining products that transform industries and enhance people's lives. Corning succeeds through sustained investment in RD&E, a unique combination of material and process innovation, and deep, trust-based relationships with customers who are global leaders in their industries. Corning's capabilities are versatile and synergistic, which allows the company to evolve to meet changing market needs, while also helping our customers capture new opportunities in dynamic industries. Today, Corning's markets include optical communications, mobile consumer electronics, display, automotive, and life sciences.

About Lava

#ProudlyIndian

We Make in India, We Make for India. Lava International Limited is a leading Indian Mobile Handset Company with operations in 20+ countries. In the international markets, the company is growing rapidly and is already among the top players in many of these countries it operates in. Lava has always been at the forefront of Govt. of India's 'Make in India' initiative. Lava was the first mobile brand to take a lead in support of this important nation building program and had set up a design team in India, becoming the first brand to design phones in the country. With this 'Design in India' initiative, Lava is now the only Mobile handset company that makes truly 'Made in India' phones with complete control on design and manufacturing within the country. With the vision to 'Empower people to do more, to be more' the company was established in 2009. Lava International Limited is headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The company has its manufacturing facilities and a repair factory in an approximately 300,000 square feet area in Noida. The manufacturing plants have a capacity of manufacturing 40 million phones per annum.