Motorola and Corning embark on epic polar adventure

Corning scientist Po Ki Yuen was planning a new mission in his lifelong quest to photograph the world – this time, the North Pole. When his colleagues in Corning® Gorilla® Glass heard about his trip, they made connections with their partners at Motorola to give him an experience he could have never imagined – and expanded a decades-long partnership between the two technology leaders.

An opportunity presents

The senior engineer in Corning’s Thin Films and Coatings, recently retired, is an avid photographer who captured his colleagues’ attention with dramatic sunset photos of corporate headquarters in Corning, New York. Po Ki shares his images – often snapped with his mobile phone camera – of iconic Corning landmarks along with his landscapes and travel photography on social media.

“Sometimes when I post a picture on social media, people will comment that it looks like a painting or that it must be taken with a very expensive camera," he said. “You can take amazing photos with your phone.”

Early in 2024, Po Ki told friends at work about his upcoming plans to photograph the wonders of the Arctic. When his colleagues told their counterparts at Motorola about his trip, they hatched a plan to test their technology on Po Ki’s expedition. Motorola would provide Po Ki, an ideal candidate to showcase the technology in the harsh conditions of the Arctic, with their latest devices designed with Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus®.

Po Ki set out from Helsinki, Finland, aboard a ship bound for the North Pole, equipped with the motorola razr+/razr 50 ultra and motorola edge 50 ultra. Motorola sent a videographer to document their products’ performance in some of the toughest conditions on the planet.

When he arrived, Po Ki found landscapes shaped by towering cliffs, austere flats, and seemingly endless ice fields. The expedition crew was subject to freezing temperatures, powerful winds, and rough seas.

“There’s nothing but ice – ice bergs, ice mountains, ice fields,” Po Ki says. “Not only is it a physically tough environment, but the remoteness challenges you mentally as well. I was really eager to put these devices and Gorilla Glass to the test.”

The damage resistant Gorilla Glass on Motorola’s devices was ready for the challenge. Po Ki used the mobile phones’ cameras, along with his conventional digital cameras, to document his adventure.

In search of the perfect adventure photo

“There’s beauty everywhere on the planet, even in the toughest conditions,” said Po Ki. “I want to capture all of it.”

When it comes to adventure and travel photography, durability matters. Po Ki will tell you, taking incredible adventure photos on a mobile device relies on it.

“You can’t miss the moment,” Po Ki said. “You can take two photos from the exact same location, and they’ll turn out very different. You need to be in the right place at the right time, waiting for the perfect conditions.”

But if your device isn’t durable enough to make it to the perfect moment, you’ll almost certainly miss out.

“Corning and Motorola have a long history of collaborating to create devices that are incredibly durable – no matter where life takes you,” said Dave Velasquez, Vice President & General Manager, Gorilla Glass. “Whether you’re stepping out of your front door on your daily commute or setting off for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure like Po Ki, Corning has engineered Gorilla Glass to be tough enough to meet the moment.”

Po Ki captured stunning landscapes and wildlife images – from gorgeous, high-resolution landscape photos and videos to close-ups of polar bears – conveying the vastness and serenity of the Arctic.

A historic relationship

“Over the years, Corning’s advanced materials have played a critical role in helping Motorola deliver smartphones that not only combine strength and style but are also built to last,” said Ruben Castano, Vice President of Design and Consumer Experience at Motorola. “This latest collaboration at the North Pole is a testament to the shared values of our partnership as we push the boundaries of what’s possible when it comes to the performance of our devices in even the most extreme environments.”

The two companies have both played pivotal roles in shaping the ways modern technology connects us. From smartphones to telecommunications infrastructure, they have leveraged each other’s strengths to impact industries and our everyday lives.

In 1973, Motorola engineer Martin Cooper made the first public mobile phone call on a Motorola DynaTAC prototype, and the DynaTAC was officially released to the public in 1983. This first commercially available mobile phone, nearly unrecognizable when compared to the sleek smartphones of today, forever changed the ways we connect and communicate.

For more than 15 years, Gorilla Glass has helped enable the smartphone revolution. Motorola, among the first adopters of Corning’s tough cover glass, helped drive the revolution. Together, they have given consumers around the globe access to reliable, durable phones.

In 2009, Motorola entered the smartphone market with the Motorola Droid series. The Droid, one of the earliest devices to gain widespread adoption, integrated the first generation of Gorilla Glass into its display. The droid sold more than one million devices within 74 days of its launch. Since then, Corning and Motorola have worked together to put countless durable, modern smartphone designs in the hands of consumers all over the world.

In early 2024, Motorola announced their entire product portfolio will feature Gorilla Glass, ensuring that every consumer has access to the superior durability that comes with the cutting-edge cover glass technology.