The most common one are:
"Why do I need it?" "Do I really need one?" "Which type should I get?" "What is the differences?" And many more....
Today I would like to share about stuff that I know and hopefully it can helps you on making your decision.
There are many types of screen protectors in our market and I am sure readers would be familar with some of them.
1. PET film screen protector - Clear / Matte
2. Liquid screen protector
3. Tempered glass screen protector
4. Silicone screen protector
PET Film Screen Protector
Oleophobic PET Film Screen Protector by imos Taiwan
The most common type being used/sold/available in the market is the PET film screen protector. It's the cheapest among all and you can buy it in almost any mobile phone accessories shop. In general, these type offers scratch protection to your screen. There are few sub-types for the PET film protector. Here are some pros & cons.
Clear PET Film
Pros
- Available in 3H pencil hardness up to 5H pencil hardness.
- Offers high transparency leading to better viewing on the screen
- Some promoting it as shatter proof protector (misleading term)
- Easy to install and remove
- Dry installation
Cons
- Prone to fingerprint marks, facial oil stains and scratches. (it protects the screen from scratch but not on the film itself)
- While some called it shatter proof, it does not protect the screen from cracks
- Low or no protection on impact
- Difficult to clean
Matte PET Film
- Available in 3H pencil hardness up to 5H pencil hardness.
- Higher resistance on fingerprint marks
- Some promoting it as shatter proof protector (misleading term)
- Easy to install and remove
- Dry installation
Cons
- Poor visibility that impairs the viewing (bear in mind when using this type of protector, you will neglet your Super AMOLED, Retina Display and Super LCD3 screen)
- While some called it shatter proof, it does not protect the screen from cracks
- Low or no protection on impact
- Easily smudged and high retention of oil stains on the screen protector.
- Difficult to clean
Privacy PET Film
- Available in 3H pencil hardness up to 5H pencil hardness.
- Higher resistance on fingerprint marks
- Offers up to 360 degree of privacy
- Easy to install and remove
- Dry installation
Cons
- Poor visibility that impairs the viewing (bear in mind when using this type of protector, you will neglet your Super AMOLED, Retina Display and Super LCD3 screen)
- Some are too dark leading to very poor view even from 90 degree angle.
- Low or no protection on impact
- Easily smudged and high retention of oil stains on the screen protector.
- Difficult to clean
Oleophobic PET Film
- Available in 3H pencil hardness up to 5H pencil hardness.
- High transparency providing better viewing pleasure
- Higher resistance on fingerprint marks, facial oil stains and scratches
- Offers water spill-resistant
- Smooth surface
- Easy to install and remove
- Dry installation
- Easy to clean
Cons
- Cost more than normal PET Film protector
- Limited company offering this type
- Most brands have poor oleophobic coating, leading to the loss of the coating in a short period
Silicone Screen Protector
Pros
- Often claimed to made of military grade materials for helicopter blade
- Offers clear transparency for better view
- High durability
- Easy to install and remove
- Wet installation
- High Scratch resistance
- Most company offers lifetime warranty
Cons
- Wet installation poses high risk of damaging the phone for some people
- Longer installation time as a whole. Even after finishing the installation, you are advised to leave the phone unused for 24 hours to prevent any damage due to water.
- Difficult to clean
Liquid Screen Protector
Liquid Screen Protector with nano technology
Nano coating technology that shines and protects your portable device screen in liquid form. One simple application is claimed to repel dust and stains for up to 6 months.
Among other claims by most liquid screen protector company includes:
- Provides scratch-resistant surface for normal wear and tear
- Screen protection up to 2x stronger than traditional screen protection film
- Preserves touch screen sensitivity sharpness and vividness of screen display
- Anti-Static / High Gloss
- Water spill-resistant
- Smooth, dirt repellent surface
- Best to protect any glasses of Smartphone, Tablet PC, LCD/LED (Camera, Laptop, TV) Screen without size boundary
While these are the common features, there are no further proof that it really works. We tried one of the top liquid screen protector (made in Japan) and applies it on 2 devices, the iPhone 5 (gorilla glass with oleophobic coating) and Asus Fonepad 7" 1st Generation (tempered glass with no oleophobic coating).
Results:
iPhone 5 - it works like charm, after applying the liquid screen protector, the screen was smooth, repel dust and stains and scratch proof using a car key
Fonepad 7 - not working, while the screen looks shinier and smooth, there is no sign that it increases the protection against dust, stains and scratches
Conclusion: From our test, we are not able to determine whether the liquid screen protector really works as they claimed. The gorilla glass has the basic properties of being smooth, dust and stains resistance as well as protection against scratches. With the application of the liquid sp, it remains the same effect. So, if I were to make a position on this, I would rather said, it enhanced the features of the gorilla glass. It works with any devices with gorilla glass or oleophonic coated devices, but limited features on those normal tempered glass screen.
Tempered Glass Screen Protector
What is tempered glass?
It's a type of safety glass processed by controlled thermal or chemical treatments to increase its strength compared with normal glass. Tempering puts the outer surfaces into compression and the inner surfaces into tension. Such stresses cause the glass, when broken, to crumble into small granular chunks instead of splintering into jagged shards. The granular chunks are less likely to cause injury.
Corning Gorilla Glass protector for Galaxy S5 by imos Taiwan
A tempered glass screen protector is highly demanded type of screen protector in recent days. Many has chose to use the tempered glass screen protector for a few reasons, mainly
- Oleophobic coating to reduce fingerprint marks, stains
- better protection against drops and impacts
- everyone using it now, so I must use it too
- every seller recommend it
- and many more creative and innovative sales talk
While I don't denied the protection is better than a normal PET film, I do have some reserves against the other claims. For instance, I did try comparing an OEM tempered glass screen protector oleophobic coating with a PET film oleophobic coated screen protector and finds that the effect is better on the PET film. This shows that not all glass screen protector are better than an oleophobic PET film.
There are few sub types of tempered glass in the market.
- Soda lime glass
- Gorilla glass
- Asahi Glass
Soda lime glass
Most widely available in the market due to many factory around the world is offering OEM for it. You can differentiate a soda lime glass by looking at the side of the glass. You can see green or blue color on it. It's the least expensive type and many resellers are selling it in the market. However, a lot of the company/reseller took advantage of the limited knowledge of consumers by offering misleading information to them. Among those commonly found misleading information includes:
- SCRATCH proof
- EXPLOSION proof
- FINGERPRINTS & STAINS proof
- MADE FROM GORILLA GLASS
- MADE FROM ASAHI GLASS
The reason I said it's misleading consumers are, there are currently no screen protector which is scratch proof. The next time you are going to buy a screen protector, bring a piece of sandpaper with you. If a seller tells you that it's scratch proof, use the sandpaper and try scratching it and you will know if it's really as it claims. And if it does, do share with me the brand of the sp, I would like to have it for all my devices too. On "explosion" proof? How are they going to proof it? Setup a C4 on the phone? Fingerprints and stains proof? Ok, with most tempered glass sp coated with the oleophobic coating, it helps a lot in reducing the stains but for those with sweaty palm and oily hand, you might still have minimal stains on it.
As for the MADE FROM GORILLA GLASS and ASAHI GLASS claim, with the price that they are selling, it's hard to believe its made of the 2 most reputable glass provider in the world. Ask them of the proof and none will able to provide to you. And from the packing, if it doesn't mentioned anything about Gorilla Glass or Asahi Glass, just take it as a normal soda lime glass.
Gorilla Glass
Probably the best in the industry. With Corning being responsible for more than 33 brands for mobile devices screen, the corning gorilla glass is the world's most trusted protection with bulk of features and better protection. It offers more than twice the durability compare to a soda lime glass. As for their claim on superiority, this is the one that I find most impressive.
With almost all the major brand in mobile devices industry using Corning Gorilla Glass as their preferred screen, I see no other reason why it's not the best in the industry. I might be wrong about their quality, but I doubt the giants such as Apple, Samsung, HTC, LG, Xiaomi and others are wrong.
Now the question is, how do we differentiate between gorilla glass and soda lime glass? As mentioned earlier, on soda lime glass, you can see the green or blue color on the side. For Corning Gorilla Glass, it's clear, transparent glass on all sides.
Asahi Glass
Another big shot in the glass industry. Asahi is from Japan and we knows Japanese is one of the most hardworking group. We also knows Japanese companies always comes with quality product. Same goes with Asahi. In 2013, Asahi Glass Corportation (AGC) announced their Dragontail tempered glass. Said to be even stronger then the Corning gorilla glass 2, the Dragontail is one of the main competitor for Corning. Unfortunately, there aren't any news that any screen protector are made from Dragontail glass. If you come across any, do share with me, I would like to get to know more from the company.
Conclusion:
I hope with this lengthy article, it will helps you to know more about screen protectors. It's up to you to choose on which type to apply on your phone but at least you made the right choice based on the correct information. Due to the high competition in the market, it's normal for resellers to try their best to use creative and innovative statements to convince you to buy from them. If you are not prepared, then you are the one to be blamed for being a victim.
Final points to take note:
- No screen protector in the current market is scratch proof, don't buy from any seller who tell you that theirs is.
- Not all tempered glass have better oleophobic coating than a PET film. If oleophobic coating is what you looking for, make sure you search for the best one.
- Not all tempered glass are created the same. My best recommendation goes to Corning gorilla glass if your budget permited. It offers the most complete satisfaction.
- Going to a market place without any knowledge on the item you are looking for might leads you to potential lies. Do some research before going out of the door. This applies in our daily live too.
"Why do I need it?" "Do I really need one?" "Which type should I get?" "What is the differences?"
Hopefully you got the answer by now after reading the article. If you have any other questions, feel free to comment. Will try if I can answer or others can help too
