A slip, a drop, a fall – a drunken mistake: far too many iPhone screens in this world have been smashed and cracked.

Indeed, it's the feature – not to mention the €150-repair bill – that most irritates users of the Apple device. 

However, it seems there is some good news on the horizon for those who are prone to dropping their mobile: namely that the forthcoming latest model will be 'indestructible' – or pretty much so.

Step forward Gorilla Glass; the manufacturer of millions of glass displays for mobiles. 

It's just about to release its fifth iteration, and promises that it's as made of tough stuff.

Yes, lab tests reveal that Gorilla Glass 5 displays remained intact during 80 percent of drops that occurred at heights as high up as 1.8metres. What’s more, Gorilla Glass 5, which is being touted as four times as resilient as previous designs, holds up extremely well even when dropped onto rough surfaces.

“With each successive generation of Corning Gorilla Glass, we have taken cover glass technology to new levels,” John Bayne of Corning, its parent company, said in a press release.

“With many real world drops occurring from between waist and shoulder height, we knew improving drop performance would be an important and necessary advancement.”

Excitingly, Corning expects Gorilla Glass 5 to show up on commercial products “from leading global brands later this year” – a statement which is being widely inferred as referring to the iPhone 7.