Apple on screen protectors

The 8 Best Apple Watch Screen Protectors of 2021

Keep your wristwear looking spiffy

Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here. We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links.

Smartwatches are a pretty expensive proposition, so finding the best Apple Watch screen protector is a smart investment. The best protectors in this category not only protect your watch from scratches and nicks, they can also shield it from harmful UV light that can damage or yellow the screen.

Our top pick from IQShield, LiQuidSkin, is a great example that does both. It blends seamlessly with your screen, and can be used on your smartphone as well. Though the application is a little tedious, the resultant protection is well worth a few minutes of your time, and LiQuidSkin won’t interfere with touch sensitivity whatsoever. It’s the best Apple Watch screen protector, and a great complement to the best Apple Watch accessories.

Best Overall: IQShield LiQuidSkin Apple Watch Series 4/5 Screen Protector

Blends in naturally with your watch

Tedious wet application

IQShield is one of the best-known brands for phone and screen protection, and its LiquidSkin screen protector is a top choice with smartwatch wearers. Its LiQuidSkin Apple Watch Series 4/5 Screen Protector, the best Apple Watch screen protector out now, blends in seamlessly with your phone screen and allows for full touch control of your screen with no discernible lag.

Thanks to UV protection, the screen protector isn’t likely to yellow over time. Anti-scratch technology protects it from minor nicks. Safeguard your watch without hampering its appearance using this practical and unobtrusive screen protector. Keep in mind, though, that the wet application means the application process is cumbersome even if the results are worth the effort.

Best Self-Healing Technology: ArmorSuit Apple Watch 44mm Screen Protector + Black Carbon Fiber Skin Protector

Guards against scrapes and bumps

UV protection keeps it from yellowing over time

Only one screen protector included in the kit

Application can be a bit tricky and tedious

The ArmorSuit MilitaryShield is one of our top choices for screen protection. Its incredibly clear and resilient film will protect your watch screen from fingerprints, scratches, and bumps. UV protection prevents the film from yellowing over time, and it is laser cut to ensure it fits your screen completely as it should.

ArmorSuit claims to have self-healing technology, meaning it can repair minor scratches by itself. While you can’t expect miracles, the glowingly positive reviews for the product speak for themselves. Backed by a lifetime warranty, if purchased from an official outlet, this screen protector keeps your screen safe and allows for crystal clear visibility.

Putting it on can be tedious, but the MilitaryShield works well if all instructions are followed. Note, all products reviews here are available in both the 40mm and 44mm size, designed to fit Apple Watch Series 4 & 5.

Best from ZAGG: InvisibleShield HD Clear Screen Protector for Apple Watch Series 4 and 5 40mm — Clear

Effective and easy to install

High definition film ensures the screen protector doesn’t interfere with responsiveness

Edges can occasionally peel up after prolonged use

Zagg’s Invisible Shield HD Clear is an effective and easy-to-install screen protector. High definition clarity means your screen remains as easy to read and touch as if there were nothing on it, and it’s effective against scrapes, bumps, or drops. Built-in technology assists with self-healing small scrapes, and it’s a great all-rounder to protect your fragile investment. It feels like glass to the touch but is actually a durable and resistant film.

That said, the edges can occasionally start to peel over time, and only one screen protector is included in the pack.

Best Film Protector/Best Multipack: RinoGear RinoSkin Shield Apple Watch 44mm Screen Protector

High-quality, inexpensive screen protection

Performs well in tough conditions

Time-consuming application process

The RinoSkin Shield is one of the best Apple Watch screen protectors for those on a budget, with reliable screen protection you might only expect from a more expensive product. Made from a tough, translucent film, the RinoSkin Shield has undergone extensive testing from athletes and hikers, ensuring it performs well under tough conditions. It comes in a pack of six, so you’ll have plenty of extras in case you need them.

You can apply the RinoSkin Shield using a wet process, which works well to prevent air bubbles or peeling, albeit at a snail’s pace. Patience is a virtue, but if you follow the instructions clearly and take your time, you’ll be left with a dependable and high-quality screen protector. If you wear your watch while playing sports or going on hikes, it’s a compelling option.

Best for Reducing Glare: IQ Shield Matte Apple Watch 44mm

Backed by a lifetime warranty

Matte design reduces screen glare

Edges tend to peel over time

If screen glare is a concern, consider the IQ Shield Matte. Effective at reducing screen glare, its matte design comes in handy if you’re often on your phone outdoors or in the bright sun. Moreover, this budget-friendly option uses durable film to protect your fragile screen against scrapes, drops, or bumps.

The outer layer of the IQ Shield Matte has a protective layer to resist fingerprints and smudges. While it’s an economical choice for protection, some users have reported that the edges start to peel up over time. But with six included in the pack, you’ll have plenty of replacements if needed. Using a wet kit, the application, works well enough, though it is a bit too complex for its own good.

Best Protection, Apple Watch Edges: Spigen Rugged Armor Watch Case

Soft rubber casing shields against bumps and scrapes

Easy to pop on and off

Adds bulk, making it tricky to use with sport bands

Should clear screen protectors not appeal to you, consider the Spigen Rugged Armor instead. This soft rubber case wraps securely around your watch screen, providing reliable protection against bumps and scratches. It comes in a matte finish, and its raised bezels improve its defenses. While it’s more of a case than a full screen protector, you can add a regular screen protector for enhanced coverage.

This case is a top choice for those wanting extra protection you’d only get from a film or glass protector, and the smooth rubber is pleasing to touch. However, it does add bulk to the watch, and some users have reported that it can be tough to wear sport velcro watchbands alongside it. The «Rugged Armor» branding on the front of the case might be offputting to minimalists, but it’s worth a look, especially for those who frequently find themselves bumping against sharp edges and hard surfaces with their watch.

Best Shell Screen Protector: Smiling Case for Apple Watch Series 4 & Series 5 40mm

One-piece case easily snaps on and off, providing complete coverage of the screen and sides of the watch

Provides more protection than just a screen protector

Humidity can sometimes get between the watch and the case, problematic for frequent gym-goers

The Smiling Case is more than just a screen protector. It provides complete peace of mind for all the delicate parts of your phone, covering the screen and sides with a one-piece cover made from high-quality TPU plastic. Application is much easier than with traditional screen protectors, as it easily snaps on and off and wraps around the back to make sure it remains in place.

If you’re worried about banging or knocking your fragile watch against household objects, desk ornaments, or gym equipment from day to day, you won’t regret snapping this up. It’s thin enough so that it doesn’t take away from the beauty of the watch on its own. While it’s suited for everyday use, humidity and moisture can sometimes get trapped between the watch and the case, so it may not be the best choice for frequent athletes or gym-goers.

Источник

The Best iPhone Screen Protectors

Spigen’s Glas.tR EZ Fit (Sensor Protection) is now our top pick because it includes the best installation tool and adds front-camera protection (which was missing from our previous Spigen pick).

Spigen’s Glas.tR EZ Fit (Sensor Protection) is now our top pick because it includes the best installation tool and adds front-camera protection (which was missing from our previous Spigen pick).

Our runner-up from amFilm offers the same protection, but its install tool isn’t quite as good.

November 12, 2021

Using a glass screen protector isn’t a guarantee that you’ll never break your iPhone’s screen. But a protector can prevent screen scratches, which affect the structural integrity of the glass and make cracks more likely. After testing dozens of iPhone-screen protectors over the past six years, we’ve found that most of the actual glass they’re made of is the same. The biggest differences are seen in the ease of installation, since there are few things more annoying than a slightly misaligned screen protector or a trapped speck of dust. Spigen’s Glas.tR EZ Fit (Sensor Protection) Tempered Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 13 and 13 Pro offers one of the most foolproof installation systems we’ve found.

Our pick

Spigen Glas.tR EZ Fit (Sensor Protection) Tempered Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 13 and 13 Pro

The best screen protector for the iPhone 13 and iPhone13 Pro

Expect great glass, complete protection, and a foolproof installation tool for proper alignment.

Buying Options

Also available for these iPhones:

Applying a Spigen screen protector is foolproof because the plastic guide tray is designed so that it can’t be lined up incorrectly. The tempered glass meets our expectations for clarity and scratch resistance. The Spigen glass covers the iPhone’s front-facing cameras with no ill effects, leaving only the earpiece exposed. And for about the price of a movie ticket, you get two pieces of glass, so you can have a backup or share one.

Runner-up

amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 13 and 13 Pro

A good alternative for the iPhone 13 and iPhone13 Pro

This protector’s tray isn’t quite as good, but it’s a fine alternative if our top pick isn’t available.

Buying Options

*At the time of publishing, the price was $12 .

Also available for these iPhones:

amFilm’s OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro is comparable to the Spigen protector in its glass quality and coverage area. The only real difference is that the applicator tool isn’t quite as easy to use (although it’s still far superior to most others). We think most people should stick with the Spigen, but if the price jumps or it’s unavailable, the amFilm is a good choice.

Everything we recommend

Our pick

Spigen Glas.tR EZ Fit (Sensor Protection) Tempered Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 13 and 13 Pro

The best screen protector for the iPhone 13 and iPhone13 Pro

Expect great glass, complete protection, and a foolproof installation tool for proper alignment.

Buying Options

Runner-up

amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 13 and 13 Pro

A good alternative for the iPhone 13 and iPhone13 Pro

This protector’s tray isn’t quite as good, but it’s a fine alternative if our top pick isn’t available.

Buying Options

*At the time of publishing, the price was $12 .

The research

Why you should trust us

I’ve tested screen protectors for Wirecutter since 2016 and other protection accessories since 2014. Before that, I was the accessories editor at iLounge for more than three years. During my tenure, I reviewed more than 1,000 products—including dozens of screen protectors across multiple models and generations of Apple devices—as well as the first glass screen protector (Spigen’s Glas.t for iPhone 4/4S).

While researching this guide, we interviewed Matt Ham, who has a master’s in mechanical engineering and is the founder and president of Computer Repair Doctor; Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit, likely the most well-known technology-repair advocate; Timothy Katsch, vice president of iDropped; and Mario Haas, head of development and application at Schott, which makes ultrathin glass.

Who should get this

A glass screen protector is no guarantee against cracks. A number of factors can lead to a screen cracking—everything from the height of the drop to the angle at which the phone lands to the material it lands on to humidity (really!). So it’s impossible to make this promise. Even the tougher “ceramic shield” glass on the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 isn’t unbreakable or unscratchable. Given that, is a screen protector worth your money?

A good case is more important than a screen protector for keeping your screen intact.

“While screen protectors aren’t perfect, they definitely help,” said Computer Repair Doctor’s Matt Ham. “The basic science is simple. Adding an extra layer of tempered glass protects the original screen. The tempered-glass screen protector is not an impenetrable force field of protection; it’s an added layer of defense.”

That last point is key: A screen protector may help prevent damage from a direct impact to the face of your phone (though it’s not clear how much the protector does to cushion blows, rather than just help avoid scratches). But it’s only a bit of added protection—not an impenetrable shield. And a screen protector won’t do much to guard against blows to the corner or edge of the phone’s body, which are far more common: Our friends at iFixit tallied the broken screens they had on hand and concluded that 75% of them had been damaged at the corner or edge. This means that when it comes to protecting against a catastrophe, a good case is even more important than a screen protector.

But scratch protection is worthwhile too. A phone with a scratched screen is less pleasant to use, and it will be worth less if you ever decide to sell it. More importantly, scratches weaken the structural integrity of glass. “A major factor in glass breaking is if anything has already scratched it,” Kyle Wiens of iFixit told us. “It’s much easier to break scratched glass. So if the screen protector takes the scratch instead of your screen, then it reduces the likelihood the screen will break.” Timothy Katsch of iDropped also said that microcracks can deteriorate glass. So it’s better for an inexpensive and disposable glass screen protector to take this damage rather than the phone itself.

“I do think glass protection glass films are a great invention,” Mario Haas of Schott told us. “Such glasses form an additional protection shield against outside influences. … If the protection glass film cracks, the display glass underneath stays intact. When that occurs, the protector can be easily replaced.”

How we picked and tested

We focused on glass screen protectors because protective plastic films are less scratch resistant, and detract from the look and feel of the iPhone’s display. Also, plastic films have been largely supplanted by affordable glass protectors.

We skipped testing glass from well-known brands, including Belkin, BodyGuardz, and Zagg (Zagg also owns the InvisibleShield line). These protectors are widely available, but they’re almost always expensive. And over years of testing, we’ve found their glass to be of the same quality at best—and sometimes worse. Pricier protectors offer no benefits over the cheaper ones we recommend.

For each screen-protector model we tested, we followed the instructions in the box to install it on the iPhone 13, 13 mini, and 13 Pro Max. We evaluated how clear the instructions were and how helpful any installation tools proved to be. Once the screen protector was in place, we visually inspected it to look for any obvious degradation of screen quality or brightness, and we ran our fingers along the perimeter, checking for obnoxiously sharp edges. We used the phone in a normal fashion to confirm that the protector didn’t interfere with the touchscreen. During this use, we also observed how readily fingerprints showed on the protector, and then wiped off the screen (using a cotton T-shirt) to see how easily we could remove those fingerprints.

We then broke out our Mohs hardness test kit. The Mohs test evaluates the hardness of a mineral based on whether it can be scratched by a set of reference minerals, each rated on a scale from 1 (talc, the softest) to 10 (diamond, the hardest). This isn’t the test that screen-protector manufacturers use or advertise. Instead, they rely on something called the ASTM Film Hardness by Pencil Test, which is designed for coated materials. We don’t think the pencil test is the best way to evaluate screen hardness because even the hardest pencil in this test (9H) is softer than tempered glass. So any decent glass screen protector will get a 9H rating, and thus won’t reveal differences in scratch resistance among models. More important, many of the things that might scratch a screen or a screen protector are harder than a 9H pencil. The Mohs kit includes materials that can scratch tempered glass.

To confirm that the Mohs test would be valid, we spoke with Ivar Reimanis, PhD, Herman F. Coors Distinguished Professor of Ceramic Engineering and professor of metallurgical and materials engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. Although Reimanis said the Mohs test wasn’t a perfect analogue to the pencil test, he concluded that “the ranking would be similar, since you are just evaluating the resistance to scratching with two different probes.”

In the Mohs test, we started with the number-1 stylus, holding it at about a 70-degree angle and applying a moderate amount of force as we dragged it down the glass protector multiple times in varied directions. (We couldn’t guarantee precisely consistent pressure across trials, but we did our best to use a similar amount of force each time. Unless two protectors were very close in hardness, the variance in pressure was unlikely to hide the difference, as we saw little ambiguity in the tests: When something scratched, it was very evident.) For each screen protector, we repeated this test with increasing reference picks until a pick scratched the glass. We then recorded the number of the hardest stylus that didn’t scratch the glass, along with the number of the stylus that did. Because we didn’t have styluses with hardness ratings between integers, in this guide we note for each protector the range of hardness (for example, “between 6 and 7”), which includes the actual scratch resistance of that model.

We didn’t do any sort of drop tests with the screen protectors because we don’t think such tests are particularly relevant. Tests in which a heavy object, such as a ball bearing, is dropped directly onto the screen don’t represent real-world scenarios—not to mention that an impact that breaks a screen protector may not have broken the phone’s unprotected screen. (We couldn’t easily measure the strength and hardness of that screen, and proprietary data on screen glass isn’t available.) In addition, it’s impossible to re-create every kind of impact a phone may suffer. So the results of a particular type of drop test can’t be generalized to cover all scenarios.

Источник