Should you buy a screen protector for your iPhone? There is no doubt, absolutely yes. Even though the new iPhone 12 has a ceramic shied glass for its display, which is reasonably stronger than the glass in iPhone 11, it still can scratch, and it can break. So buying a screen protector for your iPhone is a must.
So how can you select the best screen protector for your iPhone? Well, there are different varieties of screen protectors, by various manufacturers, different prices, starting from less than 1 USD to even more than 100 USD.
How can you select the best screen protector for your iPhone? This post will help you to find you the best screen protector that will give you the best protection for your iPhone screen.
Plastic VS Glass screen protectors
There screen protectors that are more like a plastic film. They stick to your iPhone’s screen with or without the need for an adhesive. They are easy to apply and easy to replace. The plastic screen protectors are relatively inexpensive.
The plastic screen protectors more often than not protect your screen from scratches. And don’t protect your screen from falls. Your iPhone screen will break underneath the plastic screen protector.
Glass screen protectors are relatively difficult to apply, and they can be more expensive than plastic screen protectors. But they often provide you with more protection than a plastic screen protector, both from scratches and falls.
Therefore if you have to select between a plastic and a tempered glass screen protector, always go for a tempered glass screen protector.
Even in glass screen protectors, you will often find screen protectors on AliExpress that are around one dollar or less. However, even though they advertise as tempered glasses, most of the time, they are just normal glass, and they will not protect your screen from a fall. Therefore I would avoid buying these cheap screen protectors from AliExpress.
The tempered glass has multiple layers, and manufacturers use special techniques to harden the glass when compared to plain glass.
Adhesive VS non-adhesive tempered glasses
Some tempered glasses require special adhesives that you need to apply on your screen before putting the tempered glass, while some tempered glasses apply without the need for any adhesives. Some apply with just static electric force.
These adhesive chemicals can be difficult to apply. They may have an unpleasant odor or can be bad for your screen.
Therefore always make sure you select a tempered glass that doesn’t require any special adhesives and instantly apply out of the box.
2D VS 2.5D glass
When you shop for a tempered glass on the internet, you might have seen some tempered glasses are 2D, some 2.5D, and sometimes they can even go up to 9D, 11D, etc.
Most regular customers believe that the D stands for the hardness of the glass, and the higher the number, the stronger the glass gets.
Most online sellers know this. And use this as a selling point to get more consumers to buy their glasses.
The D stands for dimension, and there are at the moment only four types of glasses, according to this classification. They are 2D, 2.5D, 3D, and 5D glasses.
The 2D tempered glasses have straight edges that abruptly end. They usually don’t cover the edges of your screen. Instead ends 1-2 millimeters before the edge of your screen. And your screen will break if your phone hits the edge when it falls to the ground.
2.5D glasses have curved edges that blend with the edges of the screen. They give an edge-to-edge cover, and when properly applied, you will not notice that there is tempered glass on your iPhone.
The 3D glasses curve all the way to cover the curved edges of some high-end Samsung devices. Other than that, you will not find any 3D glasses for iPhones.
When buying, make sure your tempered glass is a 2.5D glass and gives edge-to-edge protection.
5D glasses are still under research and are not available on the market. Apart from these four dimensions, all other Ds are just fake numbers.
I hope this post gives a comprehensive guide on how to select the best-tempered glass for your iPhone. The same ideas apply even to an Android device.
So do your research and select the best tempered glass for your phone, apply it and use your phone with peace of mind.
