Screen protector options (Displayschutz)

I’m impressed by the brotect airglass screen protectors mentioned above. They fit the screen like a glove.

The only thing I want to say is that I was able to scratch the scrap pieces that came with them very easily. I used a scalpel, and with moderate to heavy pressure it made deep scratches that felt more like cutting. I felt as though with more pressure I could go all the way through.
I don’t know much materials science, so I can’t say as to why this happened. Several options spring to mind:

  • They aren’t actually glass.
  • They’re poorly tempered glass.
  • The glass is so thin that the scalpel was actually grinding through via brute force, not merely scratching.

I feel as though the last one is more likely, but if anyone can shine more light on this it would be great!

Overall these screen protectors fit well, are very flexible, thin and unobtrusive, and no doubt will perform well for light duty protection from all pocket scratches and normal drops.

However if you are expecting to drop your phone screen-down on a boulder, I would get a thicker screen protector. :wink:

While I haven’t tried to scratch my BROTECT Airglass screen protector or the scrap piece with anything I’m confident a scalpel should scratch most screen protectors fairly easily.

Scalpels are usually made out of tempered or hardened steel, or even more exotic materials, all of which would have no problem scratching glass or even tempered glass.

With that said I still believe the hybrid glass solution used in the BROTECT “Airglass” falls more around 3-5 on Mohs Hardness Scale, not 5.5~ like even regular glass. But without a Mohs Hardness Scale testing kit to test with I really can’t say.

Speculation on the nature of "Airglass"
The glass layer in “Airglass” is likely mostly on top of the film, providing the clarity, some scratch resistance, and feel of glass, while the rest of the film is probably some kind of plastic/TPU material that is great for impact/shock resistance, but would otherwise scratch easier or feel bad. This seems to be how a lot of other “hybrid glass” screen protectors that share a lot of properties with Airglass are setup.

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Thanks for the information. :slight_smile:
For what it’s worth the same scalpel couldn’t scratch the generic unbranded screen protector I previously got for €3 at a local shop.

was the no name plastic or glass protector, though?

I‘ve finally managed to get some fitting matte Brotect airglass protectors, so apparently they altered the size of the protectors.

So far, the protector is really nice. The only things I have to criticize are that 1) the cut-out at the top is rather big, so this particular protector is probably not ideal for those of you who want an “all matte” experience (like the “dipos glass” might offer (btw. I tried the dipos one first but that one, too, was too large. According to dipos, however, they also have improved the size of their protectors)). 2) The shape of the tear drop notch has a different angle compared to the phone. While this does not the user experience much, it still might bother some people who prefer a more symmetrical design.

I tried scratching one of the protectors that was too large with scissors, and it seems to me that the surface of the matte version is definitely made from some kind of plastic as it scratches very easily (compared to real glass). When you try to bend the protector you can hear some cracking noise, so there seems to be some kind of glass indeed between the plastic surfaces that touch the screen and that the user touches.

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It was thick glass. :slight_smile:
It shattered when something hit it.

Did you ever get around trying the A12 's screen protectors?

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No I didn’t. I felt that there was no point once I saw people here complimenting the screen protectors from https://www.protectionfilms24.com/ .
Who can resist specially cut glass protectors at reasonable prices with €1 shipping? :slight_smile:

Based on the limited information I have, I would say Brotect airglass for light duty and Savvies for heavy duty, but I haven’t tried Savvies yet.

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One thing that’s worth pointing out is that BROTECT, Savvies, and Upscreen are all made by the same company, Bedifol, and they’re the owner of the protectionfilms24.com and schutzfolien24.de web shops. They also seem to be the contractor for 3Ms “Vikuiti CV8” screen protectors.

Here is a list of their product segments, going through though the different offerings and which brands are the most/least premium of their offerings.
https://www.bedifol.com/products/

Judging from that table and what I’ve read about the different versions I think we can make these conclusions:

Worth Considering

  • Upscreen Hybrid Glass Clear: Listed as a film. Presumably somehow better than the BROTECT AirGlass, but sure sounds a lot like the same thing? From some quick digging it sounds like it might very well be the same thing, but with a few more application tools included to ease installation?
  • BROTECT AirGlass (Clear/Matte): Is a film. I’ve given my thoughts on the Clear version of this above, here.
  • BROTECT HD-Clear: Listed as a film. Not really sure what makes this different from AirGlass but one review I found suggests its slightly more clear, but they otherwise preferred the AirGlass version?
  • Savvies HD33 Clear/Matte Glass: Listed as Tempered Glass. This one is listed as “slightly smaller” than the screen due to the “curved edges” which doesn’t make much sense on a flat screen like the FP4, but probably just copy/pasted from other products. Its supposedly 0.33mm thick and should have rounded edges. I would be very interested in a review of this or a comparison to BROTECT/Upscreens Hybrid/AirGlass options.
  • Savvies Full Cover Glass: Listed as Tempered Glass with “edge-to-edge full coverage” whatever that means. I suppose this one is meant to be precision cut to the exact specs of the FP4 screen and camera etc? Or if the pictures are to be believed it might even go over the camera? I would be very interested in a review of this or a comparison to BROTECT/Upscreens Hybrid/AirGlass options.

Probably Avoid?

  • Upscreen Scratch Shield Clear: Listed as a flexible film. Claims “2H” rather than the “9H” of the Upscreen Hybrid Glass. A quick scan of their press releases suggests this is one of the oldest of their products, and the Hybrid Glass is a much newer and improved product.
  • BROTECT Flex Clear/Matte: Listed as a flexible film. Appears to be designed for screens with curved edges? Since no Fairphone has curved edges this feature would be pointless over the cheaper regular AirGlass.
  • Savvies SU75: Listed as a film. This one seems to be the super budget option. Not necessarily bad but probably better to spend a few € more to get the more premium ones? When its this much cheaper I can only assume its more like the plastic film you get on the screen out of the box on most phones than a “proper screen protector”, but I could be wrong.
  • 3M CV8: Listed as a film for “curved displays”. I suspect its the same as BROTECT Flex only contracted as an OEM for the 3M brand? Its also the most expensive, probably due to the 3M brand name?

Privacy Options?
I don’t personally like these as their impact on usability and screen clarity is far to big for my tastes. Usually they also require boosting the backlight brightness to get a decent experience and thus eats more battery and partly counteracts the purpose. Being mindful of your surroundings and using slightly less brightness is probably more effective. But only you know if you need this kind of additional privacy/protection so its up to you.

Anti-bacterial?
The kind of anti-bacterial coating used on screen protectors will almost certainly wear off within months and be of limited effectiveness. I don’t feel comfortable recommending any of these over the regular ones for their supposed “health benefits”. Instead I would just get the best of the regular options and make sure to wash your hands often and use hand sanitizer. :slight_smile:

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And this is exactly what happened 😵‍💫

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It doesn’t have the cutout for the sensors right of the selfie camera, the official screen protector does have that, as well as a cutout for the earpiece. This doesn’t create problems?

No idea. If I order it eventually, I’ll let you know.
My speculation is that if it’s clear enough the sensors should be fine? Can’t say the same would be the case for the ear piece, that’s certainly odd.

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The BROTECT matte film (not glass) which I use hase the cutout
Should be the same on the glass versions

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@Dezponia thanks for the research! that’s some super useful info.

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I use the same and fit my screen perfectly

I got the matte variant of Brotect (thanks @AlphaElwedritsch for the link!) two days ago. some of the layers were a bit too difficult to peel off (the external protecting layer was sticking to the actual protector so hard that when I tried to peel it off for the first time, it came off with the protector itself), but the final effect is pretty nice. it’s been years since I’ve had a phone with a matte protector and I missed both the look and the feeling.

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Nice! I looked now to get a screen protector but seems Elgiganten does not have it in stock snd cant find it anywhere else. Do you use the screen protector? Is it even needed? :face_with_monocle:

I totally recommend, because I trusted the marketing blabla with super hard glass and I have after a few weeks already feelable scratches.

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You can find more about screen protectors

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Nooooo. Im ordering mine tonight even before the phone :smiley: