I have been using Apple smartphones for many years. Together with them, dozens of cases and protective glasses of very different quality and degree of ease of use passed through my hands.
And if in the case of cases I definitely recommend not to neglect this accessory under any circumstances, then with protective glasses it’s a completely different story.
I have gone through all the stages of acceptance and now I am fundamentally against any protective glass. Because many years of using smartphones have only strengthened my opinion that the harm and inconvenience they cause is much greater than their practical benefits.
Below I have listed all the pros and cons of protective glass. Alas, there are many more disadvantages, and I’ll start with the most obvious:
Less damage from falls
The fourth version was introduced in 2014. When creating it, the wishes of thousands of owners of mobile gadgets were taken into account. They all complained that the screens had a low level of protection in case of falls (and such cases have become quite common with the increase in display diagonal and the size of smartphones).
The manufacturer took these comments into account. As a result, the strength increased almost 2 times. ASUS ZenFone 2 and Samsung Galaxy Note 5 have successfully passed a number of crash tests, thanks to the “fourth Gorilla”.
The fourth disadvantage is that the accuracy of the touch screen decreases
After using many different smartphones and their touch keyboards, I can say with confidence: the iPhone keyboard is the most comfortable and accurate. Even when typing a message on the go, I hit exactly the letters I need.
No Android smartphone can boast the same accuracy of touch recognition: I tested it by typing the same text on the go, first on an iPhone and then on several other smartphones.
So, as soon as you put on the protective glass, you will make mistakes in typing words as if you were typing from an Android.
How to glue the loose corners of protective glass[edit]
Take a sugar cube and dissolve in two to three teaspoons of hot water. Make sure there are no hairs or specks under the peeled corner. If there are any, carefully pry up the glass and remove them, for example, using a toothpick. Next, you can use a toothpick again, drop a drop of sugar syrup under the corner of the glass and press it. Then we hold it for about five minutes, driving out the excess, and then we warm up the corner with a household hairdryer, pressing the glass tightly for 15 - 20 seconds.
In total, you need to wait 12 hours. The squeezed-out sugar mass tends to flow into all the cracks, you need to constantly soak up the excess with a napkin. The syrup does not spread evenly on the glass and tends to form droplets. The glass slides easily over the syrup and tends to move no matter how much you squeeze out. Due to the weak adhesive ability of the syrup in its raw form, you need to press the glass for a long time.
Under what conditions can it be used?
Before gluing the film material to the glass, you should understand for what reasons the coating can be used. The possibility of coating is not limited to gluing on windows; there are options for other products:
- The adhesive material on the double-glazed window is used for tinting, sun protection and heat insulation, and is used for decorating windows;
- For glass partitions, improves appearance;
- For gluing doors to windows, you can use products with sandblasting or a stained glass look. Thus, you can easily combine the doors with the new interior;
- Material for a sliding wardrobe, you can decorate the cabinet doors with a variety of designs, and it is not necessary to glue them onto glass, perhaps just onto canvas to create an addition to the design;
- A similar simple transformation of glass tables and other surfaces that people want to change without major expense is possible.
The possibility of coating is not limited to gluing on windows.
The arrival of Gorilla Glass
In fact, Corning Gorilla Glass is an advanced protective film. All modern smartphones already have this coating on their display. Gorilla Glass is tempered glass that is resistant to scratches, shocks, bending and other mechanical impacts. Corning is constantly improving this material. In 2013, the third generation of Gorilla Glass was introduced. According to the developer, it is 40% more reliable than Gorilla Glass 2.
The smartphone screen under such tempered glass has virtually no risk of being scratched. If you nevertheless stick a protective film on it, then after some time scratches will appear on it. Therefore, you might think that it protected the screen from damage. But this is not necessarily true. What can scratch plastic film will not necessarily leave a mark on tempered glass.
The latest generation Gorilla Glass will not scratch even steel keys. This material has a higher hardness than metals used in the manufacture of keys, coins and other household products. On YouTube you can find many videos demonstrating that even a steel knife does not leave any marks on Gorilla Glass.
The second disadvantage is completely different tactile sensations
No matter how much glass manufacturers claim that your finger slides on their accessory in the same way as on the screen, do not believe it. Most of all, this is reminiscent of touching the screen of an old Android smartphone: there is no pleasure, and your fingers leave marks that can even distort the picture on the screen.
And if some glasses have some kind of oleophobic coating, then you can simply forget about the hydrophobic one, which repels moisture.
There is only one way out: always carry a cloth with you and wipe the front of your smartphone with enviable consistency. Without protective glass, I do this much less often.
Coating features
Basically, everyone knows only the tint film, which appeared a long time ago. However, manufacturers are coming up with more and more options that can not only change the decorative side of the glass, but also serve as reliable protection. Another advantage of this product is the ability to glue the material yourself, which helps to economically upgrade windows and other glass surfaces.
Many are highly durable, practical and sustainable. But to get all these positive properties, you should know how to properly stick the film on glass.
Many are highly durable, practical and sustainable.
The fifth disadvantage is that glass will not protect the iPhone screen in most cases of fall.
Perhaps the most important argument, isn’t it? But indeed, if the gadget has survived an angular fall, the protective glass will not protect the screen in any way, but will most likely crack along with it.
And in the event of a flat fall, the iPhone will survive without additional protection, which, on the contrary, can increase the chance of breaking the screen by weighing the gadget down with additional grams.
Is it worth putting a protective film on your phone, smartphone or tablet?
Is it worth putting a protective film on your phone, smartphone or tablet? Many of us, after buying a new expensive device with a touch screen, have often thought about how to keep it looking as beautiful for longer. So that there are no scratches on the screen, but it looks bright and natural.
Often, when buying a smartphone, consultants suggest that we buy a special film to protect the screen from scratches. But we think that this is just pumping money out of our pocket, or we simply don’t have extra money for it, since high-quality film is relatively expensive (although this rule is not always true).
Let's try to figure out whether a protective film is needed on your device. We’ll also dispel a couple of myths that I personally often hear from my friends.
The film does not stick well to the screen and leaves a lot of bubbles that only interfere and spoil the picture.
This factor depends only on you; if you do not have experience in the field of film gluing, entrust this matter to a professional. Tell me dearly. Let's calculate what you save on: firstly, the person himself will stick it on for you, with high quality, without bubbles and dirt. Secondly, a high-quality film will not fall off in a couple of days, and you will not need to buy another one.
The film leaves a layer of adhesive on the screen. And spoils it.
Perhaps, but friends, here again everything depends on you. If you buy an expensive smartphone, then buy a film of decent quality. Which is easy to stick and when you remove it, it will not leave any traces behind. In addition, now, as far as I know, not a single film leaves marks, and the layer adjacent to the screen is made of silicone.
The film is scratched more than the screen.
I actually saw this, the film was so scratched that it hurt to look at the phone. And it scratched even from simply rubbing a finger over it. But the only thing here is that the owner of the phone simply saved money and bought a cheap film that no one needed.
I have Gorilla Glass or other protective glass.
I must disappoint you - your glass is also scratched. But I want to admit that it scratches much harder than usual. It all depends on what else you carry in the same pocket with your smartphone. There are some craftsmen who put the keys to the apartment in the same pocket with the phone, and they say that there is no need to glue the film to the screen. Yes, I know people like that myself.
A case is better than a protective film.
I can’t argue with you, the case is a really necessary thing. And it protects the phone and body well, especially if it is made of glossy material. But if it goes like this, then the phone is not always in a case and then the film will not hurt you in any way. In addition, there are people who find the case inconvenient; they have so many calls and things to do with their smartphone that they don’t have time to take it out of the case.
The film spoils the colors of the screen, the picture becomes less bright.
Again, it all depends on what kind of protective film you choose. If good color rendition is important to you, then buy transparent and glossy film. There is no need to buy matte and then talk about it.
I have a resistive screen, it doesn’t work well with film.
Not true! The film will not impair the performance of your sensor in any way. Moreover, a resistive screen requires more, because such a screen uses a stylus, which scratches faster than a soft finger.
Conclusion. Do I need to put a protective film on the screen?
I think it's definitely worth it. Since the film is of good quality, and if it is applied by a person who knows how to do this, it really fulfills its purpose - it protects the screen from scratches and other damage. Ask which ones? I personally know a person who managed to put a boiler on his smartphone, it’s good that the film was glued. Whatever you say, it’s cheaper than a new screen. So, friends, if you have already decided to buy a new, not cheap phone, also decide to get a film sticker...
You can write your opinions on this matter in the comments to the article. Good luck to you!
Yes, thank you very much to the commentators for pointing out a bunch of errors in the article - I corrected many of them.
The third disadvantage is that glass can literally harm your smartphone.
I ran into this problem last summer when I was spending a lot of time outdoors in the sun and my iPhone, even in my pocket, was so hot that it refused to work.
The smartphone body doubles as a heat dissipator, and the glued thick glass significantly interferes with this process. If your smartphone is also in a case, be prepared for the fact that it can heat up to extreme temperatures.
I solved this problem simply - I removed the glass. Until the end of summer there were no more problems with the iPhone overheating.
Topic : Why I removed the protective glass from my iPhone in May, and I advise you
Why the screen of modern smartphones needs additional protection
The displays of flagship gadgets are protected from scratches much better than the first phone models with plastic or regular glass. To assess how reliable the protection has become, let’s give a few numbers.
- The hardness of ordinary glass on the Mohs scale is no more than 5 units.
- The hardness of the metal is 5.5, which allows keys or a knife to leave scratches on the screen of a phone with regular glass.
- The hardness of fourth generation Gorilla Glass is about 6 units (according to some sources - 6.5H). He is not afraid of metal objects.
But the strength of quartz, the main element of ordinary sand, is 7 on the Mohs scale. Is it any wonder that scratches on even the most durable screen protection become noticeable over time?
The second aspect of the problem is the smartphone falling to the floor. It is especially dangerous if the gadget has fallen face down. In this case, the expensive display and touchscreen unit must be replaced. And you are left without a phone for a period of from a week to 1.5 months. The exact time required for replacement depends on the availability of spare screens for your gadget model at the service center. The wait for new models, of which there are still few in Russia, may be seriously delayed.
Removing film coating from glass
The film material is not durable, and after a few years it is necessary to replace it with a new one. To make the process go quickly and without flaws, choose one of the options described below:
- Using a sharp tool, you need to remove the film from the corner, then carefully pull it;
- Heat the surface to 40 degrees and remove the coating;
- Using a product containing ammonia, spray the surface. The substance promotes the removal of the film.
The film material is not durable, and after a few years it is necessary to replace it with a new one.
