Nope. Whenever the screen on my phone breaks it’s because it fell on the corner and a screen protector wouldn’t have saved me. I don’t have any noticeable scratches so I’m not worried about that

I don’t even get cases. Buy a sleek new shiny phone to cover it in bulky plastic, rubber or some kind of crappy cloth?

Your argument is crappy just because of that. You like cases so they’re alright but screen protectors aren’t? Please…

I like the feel of a matte screen protector. Rubbing my finger directly on the glass feels weird and heats up quickly.

Hard agree. I work construction. Those protective glass things shatter in my pocket like the day I get them. Then I have a broken glass look until I get annoyed and peel it off. I haven’t used a screen protector for a year and a half on my stupid iPhone ten and no scratches or breaks. Screen protectors seem like a scam to me at this point, especially when if my screen does break I can replace it for like 100 bucks.

I put one on my wife’s phone, she drops it a bunch, and tosses it around (it’s in a phat case too). I’ve been doing OnePlus the last few phones and they come with a soft protector already installed. i leave that on because it’s perfectly applied until it gets too scratched or starts to peel away. I then go without. My screen does have a bunch of little scratches, and a couple larger ones, but you can’t tell unless you look for them so 🤷.

I think it depends on your use. If I knew I was clumsy or just rough on my phone, I’d get the protectors. I’ve seen them take some nasty hits from dropping on gravel and whatnot and I KNOW my screen would have at least cracked if not severely scratched.

For applying, certain brands do better with the application tools. My favorites have been ones where there’s a larger sticker that acts like a hinge on your phone so you can place it perfectly, put the hinge on, then pull the backing. Lays back down exactly where you had it.

I get matte finish screen protectors so my screen doesn’t look streaky all the time, and I have less glare issues too.

I’m not gonna disagree with the people saying “I’ve dropped my phone a million times and it’s fine”. I was there once too. Then, I dunno what my luck became, but suddenly dropping my phone almost always ended up cracking the screen. So I started using protectors.

Now, on those times I drop it just right to shatter the screen, instead just the protector cracks. Peel it off, stick on a new one for cheap(or free if you buy ones with a warranty), and continue on.

I treat them like crumple zones. The force being applied to the phone has to go somewhere. The protector, being outside, takes it first. Does it guarantee the phone will survive? Nah. But does it add something else that has to break first? Yup. And have I managed to crack a phones screen since using protectors? Nope.

It may just be anecdotal experience, but an extra $10-$50 to protect a $800-$1000 phone seems like simple insurance imo. Same with an Otterbox case(which also have lifetime warrenties).

I was like you until I found the spigen screen protectors.

Made of glass, little box thing to align it correctly, no complaints

Spigen Tempered Glass Screen… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9RX4MLV

I’m using a Pixel 7a, and the first thing I bought after the phone was a Spigen case and Supershieldz screen protector. The behind-the-screen fingerprint reader sucks balls, and is even worse with a screen protector. I still use a screen protector. The one on my phone right now is cracked from dropping it on a construction site and it landing on some gravel. But the screen beneath is fine

This thread is mostly confirmation bias.

People who use screen protectors see them get scratched up and think ‘oh wow, thank God it saved my screen’, and then buy replacements, not realizing that their screen protector, be it plastic or cheap glass, is not remotely as strong as the Gorilla Glass underneath.

In reality they’re mostly just putting a scratchable surface on top of a relatively unscratchable one, and then get the impression they’re doing something when the scratchable surface gets scratched.

Yes. And I use only rugged phones.

I work in an environment where not having one would be very unwise but even before I’ve used screen protectors. It became standard practice from the moment the usable screen area became too large to not being worthy of protecting by my own means and efforts.

I’ve used those flexible anti scratch protectors, the hard, glass like, and the new generation gel films. I personally prefer the hard, supposedly tempered, screen protectors.

It is a learned skill to apply a screen film properly, I’ll admit, as I will admit I have ruined my share of it. I used to just buy it in bulk to allow for mistakes.

There are quite affordable vaccum machines that do wonders for those who are less apt at applying those films. Only work for hard glass or flexible; the gel ones have to be precision cut.

If you wear a lot of films, it may be a reasonable expense. Applying one protecting film can cost me anywhere between €8 to €20. The machines I’ve seen cost around €60.

Never use it, never had a scratch

I’ve had some good ones and bad ones. Most of the thin plastic film ones are a total waste of time, but there are some really nice gorilla glass screen protectors that will stand up to a whole lot of abuse.

Yeah, the screens are really tough, but they’re still glass. They will still break if you manage to drop/hit them at the right angle with enough force. A screen protector makes sure that force isn’t directly on the screen. A broken screen protector is much easier/cheaper to replace than the screen.

A really good one, applied properly; you should essentially never even notice is there, but adds an extra layer of protection for when you do inevitably drop the device.

Poor quality or poorly applied protectors can be a PITA; interfering with touch detection, air bubbles, scratching really easily, crappy glue, sometimes even comming off during use. You get what you pay for.

I haven’t really noticed scratches on any device with a decent protector in several years, but I don’t keep things like keys in the same pocket either. They aren’t perfect though; I’ve broken at least two phone screens through the glass screen protector without breaking the protector itself…

Still, better to have that little bit of extra protection.

Every phone these days have gorilla glasss 5 anyways

You live in some funny walled garden? :) here it’s the other way round: cheaper phones come without one, and…

“screen protector” thing that comes with the case, since those are just a thin fimsy layer of plastic and gets so oilly and greasy

… and these are the good stuff.

Screen protectors FIRST THING EVERY TIME. Case is much more optional. Get tempered glass, the plastic films are useless.

Scuffs and scratches in the glass never go away, and I don’t want to look at them for the next five years or however long I end up keeping my phone. If my screen protector becomes a mess, it’s an easy replacement.

If you ever put anything in the same pocket as your phone, it will eventually scuff the screen.