Screen protectors aren’t as important as they used to be thanks to the advances in Gorilla Glass over the past few years. While they do give peace of mind, you may have given up on them after trying the plastic variety which are hard to fit without any air bubbles and just don’t feel as good as glass.
Over the last couple of years the tempered glass variety have become more common. Last year when I saw one for my S4 available for under £2 (around $3) with free delivery from China I thought why not. It arrived around 20 days later sandwiched between two polystyrene blocks.
I cleaned the phone’s screen, removed the backing, lined it up and set it on. The adherence automatically spread out from the centre until the bond was complete. No hassle, no air bubbles.
The glass is completely transparent and feels just the same as your naked screen. It’s still fitted 10 months later and if you hold it up to the light you can see one or two light scratches but overall there’s hardly a mark on it. It’s barely visible and the touch sensitivity is just the same so I really don’t see any disadvantage to having it fitted. I’ve heard people complain that the edges can get chipped, but since I usually have a case with a raised lip around the edge of the screen I think this wasn’t an issue in my case (no pun intended).
Of course when I upgraded to the LG G4 I wanted to try another tempered glass protector. This time I was able to get one from Amazon UK for just £2. It arrived quickly in a slim plastic case which prevented it getting damaged in transit.
Screen wipes and dust removal stickers were included and fitting was again really easy compared to the plastic variety with no visible marks. The slight curve of the G4’s screen wasn’t an issue. While the screen is completely covered, the protector sits a couple of millimeters inside the front glass of the G4 (which should help prevent it from catching on things and getting chipped).
While I admittedly haven’t tried some of the expensive alternatives available and it’s early days for this G4 protector, so far I really couldn’t fault these cheap tempered glass screen protectors. With these kind of throw-away prices is there any reason not to give them a try?
