The benefits of screen protection might seem straightforward, but there are several reasons to consider one if you haven’t already:
1. Scratch-Resistance
Even the toughest glass will show scratches and scuffs from daily use. Keys, coins, and other hard objects in pockets and bags will leave marks on your screen.
2. Shatter Protection
While screen protectors won't make your iPhone screen invincible, they can provide an extra layer that might prevent the glass from shattering upon impact.
3. Smudge and Fingerprint Reduction
Some screen protectors have what is called an oleophobic coating, which helps give it a smooth touch and reduces the appearance of fingerprints and smudges. This will keep your phone clean longer, and the screen will be visibly clearer. If you don’t use a screen protector, the natural coating on your phone can wear down quickly.
4. Enhanced Privacy
Privacy screen protectors prevent others from seeing your screen from certain angles, which is useful for protecting sensitive information in public places.
5. Blue Light Filter
Some screen protectors feature a blue light filter, which reduces light intensity and filters peak blue light.Filtering blue light can help improve eye comfort when starting at screens for extended periods. It also helps reduce the negative effects on your sleep by promoting the natural release of melatonin
6. Resale Value
Screen protectors help to keep your screen in pristine condition and can increase the resale value of your iPhone when you decide to upgrade.
Learn more here.
There are plenty of screen protectors out there to choose from. You’ll want to make sure that the claims being made about them are backed by testing, and not just some flashy marketing gimmicks.
1. Material
PET: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a clear, durable and versatile plastic. It's a thin and touch sensitive material that provides scratch-resistance and basic protection. You can also choose PET screen protectors that provide edge coverage.
Standard Tempered Glass: Tempered glass is strengthened to be stronger than regular glass. It provides multi-level protection, minimizing damage from daily wear and tear, as well as occasional drops and impacts, without causing deep-level damage.
Chemically Strengthened Glass: There are different types of glass within this group that can go through single and double ion exchange strengthening to provide an extra layer of protection that standard tempered glass does not.
2. Durability and Hardness
Look for screen protectors with the highest hardness rating (9H is ideal) to ensure maximum scratch resistance. And be sure to pay close attention to the data behind a screen protector’s strength claims. We always compare the strength of our screen protectors against tempered glass, using rigorous tests and consumer use cases. Be wary of brands that claim to be 10x stronger than others—this doesn’t mean much unless they are comparing themselves to the industry standard of tempered glass. Make sure they aren’t measuring themselves against a lower-quality glass to market themselves this way. InvisiGlass screen protectors are up to 62% stronger than tempered glass* and UltraGlass 2 is up to 2.7x stronger than tempered glass.<sup>†</sup>
3. Clarity and Touch Sensitivity
Make sure your screen protector doesn’t reduce the display clarity or affect the touch sensitivity. You’ll want to check the thickness of the screen protector as well—the thinner the screen, the more natural the touch sensitivity will be. High-quality tempered glass protectors usually maintain the original or “native” feel of the screen.
4. Hydrophobic and Oleophobic Coating
Look for a screen protector that is hydrophobic (fear of water) and/or oleophobic (fear of oil). Both will be resistant to liquids, so you won’t have to worry about damage to the screen from sticky fingers or small spills.
5. Installation
If you hate air bubbles and wonky placement as much as we do, you’ll want to keep the difficulty of screen protector installation in mind. Look for easy installation methods that include kits, alignment tools and cleaning wipes.
6. Edge-to-Edge Coverage
Some screen protectors only cover the flat part and viewing area of the screen, while others are designed to cover the edges. Edge-to-edge coverage minimizes the “rainbow effect,” or the streak of rainbow light you get when the screen protector doesn't cover the edge of the LED screen on your phone. Screen protectors like the UltraGlass use 2.5D technology to cover the entire screen, including the contoured edges of the glass.
7. Brand Reputation
Opt for reputable brands that offer comprehensive warranties with customer-centric missions. Reading reviews can also give insight into the quality and performance of the screen protector.
8. Sustainability
According to the EPA, less than 1/3 of glass is recycled in the U.S., and we're trying to change that. Search for brands that make products sustainably and leave a smaller carbon footprint. Many brands incorporate sustainability through plastic-free or recycled packaging. It's still a huge challenge to incorporate sustainability into a glass screen protector, but we’ve decided to make this a reality with InvisiGlass, our new eco-friendly screen protector made of up to 60% recycled glass* and 100% recycled packaging.**
Learn more here.
The following iPhone 15 screen protectors would also fit iPhone 16:
*Based on internal drop tests using rough sandpaper, 80% of screen protectors survived a drop height up to 1.07m compared to 0.4m for conventional single-tempered aluminosilicate glass.
†Based on internal tests, screen protectors can withstand up to 62% more force on average compared to conventional tempered glass screen protectors.