Smartphones are an expensive investment. When you buy a new phone, you automatically start feeling protective about it like it’s your newborn baby and naturally, you’ll do anything to make sure it stays far away from any kind of damage. From installing the best anti-virus software to sticking a new glass screen protector, your new smartphone’s gonna get a lot of pampering and attention as soon it comes out of the box.

Even though the majority of the latest smartphones are being made with increasingly durable glass, many of us still find it important to get hold of a screen protector for our devices. However, not every screen protector has the same kind of feature or functionality. A big plus to this is that your phone's display will continue to look good for a longer duration if you use a high-quality screen protector.

The important question is whether or not you have all of the information necessary to select the best screen protector for your smartphone.

What are phone screen protectors made of?

When searching for screen protectors online, you are going to find a wide variety of different terms and specifications, such as Gorilla Glass, 9H hardness, oleophobic coating, TPU, and many more.

We will discuss that at a later time.

However, now that we have that out of the way, let's discuss the two most common types of screen protectors that are categorised by the material.

TPU plastic screen protector

Thermoplastic polyurethane, a.k.a TPU, is a type of plastic that has been designed using chemicals to offer toughness, scratch-resistance, oil- and grease-resistance and elasticity, thanks to which this material comes with a special "self-healing" capability.

However, on the other hand, if your phone falls on any hard surface, the TPU screen protector is most likely to receive cracks on it permanently. They are also more likely to have poor resistance to fingerprints, and usually do not provide complete coverage of the screen.

One of the major reasons why these screen protectors are so popular is because they’re quite cheaper in price. One TPU plastic screen protector will cost around NZ$10 or even lesser. So you should buy a plastic screen protector if you wish to save money while still getting some level of protection for your device.

Tempered glass screen protectors

Tempered glass screen protectors are unequivocally the best picks in New Zealand right now, and it does an excellent job of protecting your phone’s display from damage caused by scratches and drops.

In any case, even though they might not last as long as the plastic ones, tempered glass screen protectors usually offer much better resistance against scratches and drops, and they even have the same feel as that of your smartphone’s screen. How cool is that!!

But on the other hand, plastic screen protectors tend to offer less resistance against scratches and drops. If you only consider these two benefits, it should now be clear opting for a tempered glass screen protector is the best option for your smartphone.

Still, there are so many different types of tempered glass screen protectors in New Zealand that it's really hard to choose the right one. Keep a mental note of the following terms that we discussed - Oleophobic coating, Gorilla Glass, and 2.5D/3D/5D screen protectors - what do these terms mean?

When it comes to choosing the right tempered glass screen protector, what factors should you consider?

Mohs Hardness

The Mohs scale measures the resistance of different materials to being scratched. It will tell you how hard the material is, as well as whether or not any of the materials could scratch the screen of your phone.

To better understand this point, let’s consider the hardness of a diamond and material glass. The hardness of the diamond is 10, while the hardness of glass is approximately 5.5. If you were to scratch a diamond along a piece of glass, it would cause damage to the glass but would not have any effect on the diamond itself.

The value that a screen protector receives on the Mohs scale when it is tested will indicate how well it can resist scratches.

What about the 9H Hardness?

9H hardness refers to the hardness of a 9H pencil, the most resilient of all standard pencils, that does not scratch the screen. Although the hardness may not withstand the sharp knife blade, it does provide extra protection to your phone’s screen.

2D/2.5D/3D5D screen protectors

Flat and transparent, a 2D glass screen is reminiscent of the early days of smartphone displays, which were also two-dimensional and flat. A 2.5D glass screen, on the other hand, has a very slight curvature towards the edges, although the middle area is the same as a flat 2D screen. In comparison, a 2D screen has no curvature whatsoever. The top and bottom of a 3D screen protector are still cut in a square format, despite the fact that the sides of the protector are completely curved. A 5D screen protector is curved in all directions, including the top and the bottom.

5D vs 3D screen protector

Screen protectors with a 3D effect are typically created for smartphones with rounded corners. Screen protectors with a 5D design protect the phone's display all the way to its edges, regardless of whether the phone's edges are curved or flat. They also provide a superior experience when touching the screen and a higher level of sensitivity, while being a bit pricey.

There is a widespread misconception that your phone screen will remain protected if the protector covers a greater portion of it. It actually depends. A screen protector will never provide the same level of protection for your phone and its corners as a case would. The four corners of your phone are the most susceptible to damage.

The oleophobic coating

Unlike screen protectors made of plastic, the tempered glass keeps fingerprints, so it needs an extra coating to keep them from showing. Since an oleophobic coating can resist oil, your fingerprints won't stick to it. Furthermore, they can be removed with a single swipe of microfibre cloth.

Good quality tempered screen glass protectors do a better job of preventing fingerprints from sticking to the screen than a cheaper one does, which keeps the fingerprints on the screen. The type of polymer that is used and the degree to which the coating adheres to the glass both play a role in this.

How to apply a tempered glass screen protector easily?

Clean your hands and your phone (clean the latter one preferably with a microfiber cloth), then check the position of the screen protector, apply the glass on your screen meticulously, then let the glass do its job. It should gradually set itself on the screen. You can read our blog on how to install any screen protector safely in this blog.

It is very important to clean your phone before putting it on the screen protector to ensure that there are no dust particles lurking on the surface of the screen.

The protection of your phone and its screen is an integral part of the Screenshield experience, which is designed to be as seamless as possible.

In conclusion, if you wish to protect your beloved phone from receiving scratches then you need to put a screen protector, with tempered glass screen protectors being among the most widely used ones.