"We have been surprised and impressed that the rates of broken screens on the original iPad seems to be the lowest for any of Apple's mobile devices to date," Vronko said, referring to Rapid Repair's past year of experience with the original model.

And while the design change may translate into more broken screens, the iPad 2 may have the advantage at times because of the thinner glass's greater flexibility.

"For slower collisions with a larger point of impact, like dropping the tablet from a low elevation, say onto a corner of a coffee table, the thin glass can provide more time for deceleration by safely flexing further, which could result in fewer broken screens," Vronko said. "However, as the actual point of impact gets smaller or the speed of impact gets faster, it becomes more likely to break."

In the latter scenario -- dropping something atop the iPad 2, for example -- the thinner glass the isn't able to flex enough at the point of impact.

Others were certain that the thinner glass will mean fewer problems for owners, however.