Click here. This just in; the new standard for smart phone and mobile phone screens is the plastic touch screen device; as rumoured. Why was it glass anyway? We don't see glass touch screen TVs.

 Click here.

This just in; the new standard for smart phone and mobile phone screens is the plastic touch screen device; as rumoured. Why was it glass anyway?  We don't see glass touch screen TVs. 

The shift toward plastic—often referred to in the industry as "polymer" or "polycarbonate" screens—has been a long time coming, especially with the rise of foldable and rugged devices.

To answer your question: glass became the standard for smartphones primarily because of **hardness and clarity**, but TVs have always operated under a completely different set of rules.

### Why was it glass anyway?

It really comes down to the "pocket test."

 * **Scratch Resistance:** Glass is significantly harder than plastic. If you put a plastic-screened phone in your pocket with keys or coins, it would be covered in micro-scratches within a day. Glass stays pristine much longer.

 * **Optical Clarity:** Glass allows more light to pass through (about 90%) without the "haze" or "rainbow effect" that older plastics suffered from. This made those high-resolution OLED and Retina displays pop.

 * **Touch Sensitivity:** Capacitive touch (the kind that senses the electricity in your finger) works most reliably through thin, rigid glass. Plastic tends to flex, which can interfere with the uniform electrostatic field needed for precision typing.

 * **The "Premium" Feel:** Let's be honest—glass feels cold, smooth, and expensive. Early plastic smartphones felt "mushy" and cheap by comparison.

### Why don't we see glass touch screen TVs?

The reason TVs didn't follow the glass trend is mainly due to **scale and safety**:

 * **The "Weight" Problem:** A 65-inch sheet of chemically strengthened glass (like Gorilla Glass) would be incredibly heavy and expensive to manufacture without defects.

 * **Reflection/Glare:** Large sheets of glass act like giant mirrors. TVs usually use matte or semi-gloss plastic films to diffuse light so you don't just see a reflection of your living room.

 * **Safety:** If a smartphone glass breaks, it’s a nuisance. If a 75-inch glass TV panel shatters, it’s a genuine hazard. Most large touch displays (like those in boardrooms) actually use a plastic "overlay" or a very specific type of acrylic for this reason.

### The "Pool Plastic" Shift

The "pool plastic" or advanced polymer screens you're hearing about are likely the next evolution of **shatter proofing**. While glass is hard, it is also brittle—it doesn't "give" when it hits the pavement.

You may have had this experience when you bend down to pick up a bottle of motor oil and your phone falls out of your coat pocket and cracks on your drive way; your drive way. 

Newer high-tech plastics are being engineered to be almost as scratch-resistant as glass while remaining flexible enough to bounce or bend. It’s essentially the industry finally solving the "shattered screen" epidemic by sacrificing a tiny bit of that "glass feel" for a phone that won't die the first time it meets a sidewalk.