Screen protectors that were made out of glass started to popup a couple of years ago, and while their advantages are known, their price was usually what held them back. Since then, prices of such products have decreased quite a bit, and many more players have made their way up. Armorz has their own, called the Stealth EXTREME R. The model that I took a look at is made specifically for the iPhone 5, priced at $39.95 (Amazon).
Video Review
Review
To be clear, this was my first foray into these tempered glass screen shields, and I’ve always been wanting to take a look at one. Now that I’ve finally tried one, I know why they are what they are.
The Stealth EXTREME R is, simply put, a tempered piece of glass that’s extremely durable. It has a hardness rating of 9H, which might not mean anything to you. But, simply put, it’s hard as heck. I gave the screen shield a key scratch test, and absolutely nothing happened to it. Its durability also explains why it’s thick. This makes your home button feel a bit recessed, but the slightly curved glass edges around the home button make it seem not as noticeable. The same curve can be found ever so slightly around the edge of the entire film.
Installation was a breeze, but you really need to make sure that your display is cleaned 100% before doing this, since you’re practically only allowed one shot to get everything aligned and installed perfectly. Once you do that, you’ll be left with results that are pretty stunning.
The actual display of your device isn’t impacted whatsoever, with everything remaining crisp and clear. This screen protector doesn’t feature any fancy anti-fingerprint or anti-glare coating of any kind, so expect it to attract fingerprints just as when you don’t have anything installed.
And now is when things start to go downhill. Why? In the lower-right portion of your screen, you’ll noticed an Armorz logo, laser-etched right into the screen shield (can be seen in our video review above). This could be a huge deal-breaker for most people, as the simple fact of that being there could drive them away in flocks. However, during my testing, I found that it didn’t interfere with things, practically at all. In certain lighting conditions and at certain viewing angles, it’s either more noticeable or less noticeable, but regardless, I didn’t see it being a big deal in the long-run. One thing to keep in mind is that many competitors, some with slightly lower prices, don’t do this.
In the end, it all comes down to whether or not you want to shell out this much money for a screen protector. For what it is, it’s not cheap, but it’s competitively priced compared to its competitors. I think that the deciding factor here is whether or not you want to put up with the logo of the company that’s always there on the screen protector itself.
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