TYLT Alin & Cloak Screen Protection Review for S4

TYLT Alin & Cloak Screen Protection Review for S4

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To give you a little background, I like to protect my gadgets and used to put screen protection on all my devices.  I’m not sure if it’s just me who is particularly awkward, but the fitting process rarely went smoothly and I often ended up with it not looking completely straight and with the odd air bubble here and there making the device look a mess.

On switching to Android I therefore decided to put my faith in Gorilla Glass, and relied on wallet-style cases to cover my screen when not in use.  While this solution has worked for me, this type of case isn’t for everyone and can be restricting with so many other cool cases available.

Now TYLT are offering a couple of screen protector innovations to help with the fitting process, so I decided to dip my toe back in the water of plastic screen coverings to see if our relationship could be rekindled.

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The Alin pack consists of 3 clear and 1 anti-glare screen protectors, a smoothing card and an application tool designed specifically for your phone.  Currently versions for the Samsung Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5/5s are available.  The idea is that you fit your phone into the application tool, and it helps you align the screen protector in exactly the right position.

With Cloak you get 2 “invisible” screen protectors, a squeegee and a spray bottle of special liquid that you use to coat your fingers and the back of the screen protector during application.  The Cloak is marketed as one of the toughest and most durable screen protectors with a lifetime warranty to protect your phone from scratches.

As the Cloak is TYLT’s premium screen protector, I decided to have the best of both worlds by having a go at fitting it with the help of Alin’s application tool.

Alin

I clipped my S4 (powered off) into the Alin, and then following the Cloak instructions I used a lint-free cloth to make my screen spotless and then laid the S4 down on top of it.

Next I used the spray bottle to wet my fingers, and then peeled back one of the Cloak’s and sprayed all over the sticky side.

Placing it on the screen the wet Cloak was easy to slide into place.  This is where the Alin tool proved useful, making it incredibly easy to line the Cloak up in exactly the right position.  It also kept the Cloak in position while I used the squeegee to push out all the air bubbles and excess fluid.

I then removed the Alin tool, padded the S4 dry with the cloth and let it sit for a while before powering back on.  I could see a little rainbow / cloudy effect caused by the moisture underneath the Cloak but as the instructions state this disappeared within 24 hours.

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Within a couple of hours I have to confess I was ready to remove it again.  A few stubborn air bubbles had appeared and the touch of plastic felt a little slimey compared to glass, especially when gaming.

However for the purposes of this review and my humble dedication to you Droid Horizon readers, I persevered.  Two weeks later and the Cloak is still firmly in place.  The air bubbles have disappeared apart from one small bubble near the bottom corner where a speck of dust got trapped underneath.  The screen is much more resistant to fingerprints than the bare glass, and while not invisible you would hardly notice that there’s a screen protector in place unless you look close.  My phone has been in heavy use and the screen has been uncovered, but so far the protector appears undamaged.

The true test for TYLT is whether they’ve managed to bring me back to the screen protector fold.  I can confirm that the Cloak will be staying on, even after this review.  Now that I’m used to how it feels, the near invisibility, fingerprint resistance and additional security makes having this screen protector fitted well worthwhile.

Both the Alin and Cloak are priced at $24.99 each.  While the Alin alignment tool is nice to have for precision screen protector positioning, despite my best efforts the dry application of the included screen protectors will undoubtedly leave me with a few air bubbles.  The wet application of the Cloak makes it easy to reposition and adheres to the screen better, so if you don’t want to shell out for both then for me that would be the better option.

Follow the links below to pick up the Alin and Cloak screen protection solutions from the TYLT website…

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Associate Editor and part of the team of gadget reviewers at DroidHorizon. Also been known to dabble in software development to pay the bills.

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