Screen Protectors: Types, Pros and Cons

We know that our smartphone screen was never safe even for the fatal fall as we always want to protect it from any unknown object hittings or scratches. So here comes screen protector, which comes in handy to save our precious smartphone display from damages or scratches.

What is a screen protector? A Screen Protector is a thin film of plastic that can be used to protect the outer glass of any touch-enabled device. According to Wikipedia's definition, "A screen protector is an additional sheet of material—commonly polyurethane or laminated glass—that can be attached to the screen of an electronic device and protect it against physical damage."

History of Screen Protector

If we retrace the history, Herbert Schlegel designed and patented the first screen protector in 1968 for use on television screens. After that, there were personal digital input assistants as we progressed into the age of smartphones that allowed us to input on the screen. It was called stylus. It used to happen that the tip of the stylus could scratch the sensitive surface of the screen, which could cause damage. This has since contributed to the concept of screen protectors that are still commonly used today.

Types of Screen Protectors

The types of Screen Protectors are mainly divided on the basis of the material used which are as follows:

Plastic Material - PET and TPU

1. PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate)

PET stands for Polyethylene Terephthalate. They consist of polyester film with a scratch-resistant matte coating on one side and a silicone adhesive on the other. On the Mohs level of hardness, they fall on 2 or 3 with the decent ones. They are very cheap.

2. TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane)

TPU stands for Thermoplastic Polyurethane. This is a chemically enhanced plastic whose properties include resistance to scratches, elasticity, oil and grease and more toughness. This material has limited self-healing abilities which give it an edge to absorb light non-extreme impacts and light scratches. It usually falls on the same level of hardness on the Mohs Scale like PET. But these TPU Screen guards are very rare to find.

Tempered Glass

Tempered Glass is also referred to as TG. A decent Tempered Glass is multi-layered, usually starting with shock absorbent silicon on the bottom layer, followed by PET Film, and a clear adhesive to paste the previous two layers with the next two, which are tempered glass and oleophobic coating. They are usually greater than 0.45mm or even thicker. They aren't cheap, unlike PET and TPU. 8-9H Tempered Glass are the recommended type of tempered glass. They are lifesavers especially if you boast a flagship. At the time of fatal fall, they take the whole damage and break/shatter into tiny pieces thereby saving your phone's display as well as your pocket.

Not only on the basis of material but even on the various finishes available, the screen protectors are classified such as Matte Screen Protector or a Glossy Screen Protector. Below is the guide on how to choose a screen protector according to your preference.

Which Type of Screen Protector should you choose?

Choose Tempered Glass if you:

Don't mind the extra cost.

Comfortable with the extra bulk

Want to protect your phone's display from drops. (chance)

Want to attract fewer smudges, fingerprint, unlike plastic ones.

Fine to sacrifice compatibility for few cases.

Choose Plastic Screen Protector if you:

Want some basic level of protection.

Minimal Bulk.

Don't want to sacrifice compatibility for cases.

Don't mind changing them periodically as they get old.

Can tolerate the heavy fingerprints or smudges at times.

Choose Matte Screen Protector if you:

Stay outdoors regularly than indoors.

Can't clean the display every time.

Prefer readability, sacrificing image quality.

Choose Glossy Screen Protector if you:

Stay indoors regularly than outdoors.

Click more pictures, consume multimedia content

Prefer image quality over outdoor use (readability).

Advantages of Screen Protectors

Better add-on protection to your phone's display.

A cheap and effective way to apply, thereby protecting from accidental heavy scratches.

An increase in durability for drops (Tempered Glass)

Prevent smudges and abuse on the main glass. (If no oleophobic coating)

Disadvantages of Screen Protectors

Increased thickness.

Less touch response (On poor quality screen protectors)

Not free from smudges or fingerprints if there's no oleophobic coating.

Also read:

5 Tips to Increase Smartphone Touchscreen Sensitivity

6 Tips to Keep Your Smartphone Touchscreen Safe

Do you really need a Screen Protector?

To understand this, you should understand the basics of Science. You might be familiar with the Mohs Scale of Hardness. If you aren't, here's a summary.

Mohs Scale of Hardness

Mohs Scale of Hardness is a qualitative ordinal scale characterizing scratch resistance of various minerals through the ability of harder material to scratch softer material. It is named after the scientist Friedrich Mohs who invented this scale of hardness based on the ability of one material to scratch another material. The scale goes on from 1 to 10. 1 is Talc while 10 is Diamond. A typical Gorilla Glass on your smartphone won't scratch until it comes in contact with a Level 6 Hardness on Mohs Scale. Sapphire is at a level 8/9.

Gorilla Glass is on Level 6 of Mohs Scale of Hardness so why should we use screen protector?

If you are one of those who stay near the beach or the construction sites, there are chances that you might end up scathing your Gorilla Glass. Sand contains Quartz which is a Level 7. As a result, when you go on a beach or construction site quartz might come in contact which may scratch your phone. Ideally, keys and coins won't do any damage on your phone as they fall on Level 2/3 on the Mohs Scale. The only culprit is Quartz.

Conclusion:

Screen protectors aren't very essential. But it is still recommend to use at least a PET to protect from the scratches on the beach. As the saying goes, Prevention is Better than Cure! And smartphones are the most abused pieces of technology on this planet, so we must take care of them.

What can you say about the different types of screen protectors, along with their pros and cons? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

Credits: Mi Community