Is tempered glass worth it?

Screen protectors have been around for a long time and have served very useful purposes of preventing scratches onto your smartphone. There are many different types of screen protectors available such as the standards plastic films, matte finishes, diamond designed and tempered glass screen protectors. Screen protectors made of glass? Yep, the new trend recently have been screen protectors made out of glass which are supposedly more durable and resistant than the typical plastic films. So do tempered glass screen protectors really live up to its name?

I think a good place to start is the differences when compared to the typical screen protectors. First of all, the material used to manufacture the screen protector- glass compared to plastic. As expected the glass screen protectors are much more durable. They can resist much more scratches and hits. I did a knife test comparing the screen protectors and the results were apparent that tempered glass is much better. The standard screen protector easily scratched with a permanent mark while the competition held up. The knife slide right across the glass and no scratches or damage were visible despite me applying a considerable amount of force. Tempered glass screen protectors are also much thicker but the thickness can vary. Currently they can range from different thicknesses but the most common are usually 0.33mm or 0.27mm. Because of this they are quite noticeable from the side of the smartphone. Also, sometimes this may result in it pulling away from the screen because it is ever so slightly protruding. However, with the more expensive types the glass is normally 2.5D which means that the screen protector is curved so the problem is eradicated.

There are an awful lot of videos show casing how durable these screen protectors can be. In fact, they claim to protect your mobile screen from cracking if you do drop it face first. People are also hitting these glass protectors with hammers to emphasis this! I myself did not test with an hammer but I have dropped my phone (accidentally) from about 3ft, granted its a small height, with no damage to my screen. However, I did drop my phone while sitting down and the protector cracked! I was rather disappointed as I had much more faith in the durability....

Screen protectors nowadays usually have olephobic coatings which prevent fingerprints on the screen (a very useful feature). Tempered glass screen protectors are no different. One thing to note is the hardness ratings which can be found in the product description. Lookout for a 9H rating as these are the strongest types of protectors you can get.

Prices can vary drastically. They can range from as little as 99p to £50!!! There are many manufactures which offer tempered glass. Big brands such as ZAGG™, ORZLY™,NILKIN™ and SPIGEN™ all offer the best out there. If you are looking for a cheaper option be sure to check on EBay or Amazon.

Tempered glass is a great way to protect your brand new smartphone. It’s relatively cheap and a good investment, I would definitely recommend it!