This is a review of Anker Tempered Glass premium screen protector for Galaxy S5. http://www.ianker.com/product/77SMGLXS5-1T1A
Let me start this review with a basic explanation of PET Film vs Tempered Glass screen protectors. Film is for scratch protection. Direct impact will shatter your display glass even with 4H hardness film screen protector. Tempered Glass offers scratch and impact protections where these are typically rated at 9H hardness and will absorb direct impact, shattering only in extreme case. If you want ultimate protection - tempered glass is the way to go! Until recently, tempered glass screen protectors used to be thick and heavy, and used adhesive which sometimes wasn't sticking on the edges (thicker glass, less flexibility, worse edge adhesion). Also, in the past you had not too many choices, and tempered glass protectors were very expensive. A lot of this has changed today, and Anker's new product is an example of it. Here is what I found.
It arrived in a very secure slim package with all the necessary installation instructions and accessories. I have dealt with other brand name premium tempered glass screen protectors in the past, and this package was as complete as any other which cost 2x-3x as much. You get your generous size micro-fiber cloth, bubble removal tab (plastic, not some cheap carton), a sticker for dust removal, alcohol prep pad, detailed instructions, and one tempered glass screen protector, very carefully packaged. Installation is very easy, a lot simpler than with a film protector. First of all, you need a dust free environment and a clean non-static surface. I use our kitchen granite top island, where I do all of my reviews. Make sure your hands are washed with a soap and dried afterwards. Another trick I use - ALWAYS install screen protector without my t-shirt (yeah, topless!!!
). You know how much you read on the internet about "go to your bathroom, let the shower run to get rid off dust in the air, blah, blah, blah". Sure, you get rid of dust in the air, and then you lean over your phone to install screen protector, specks of dust from your t-shirt get in there by static lol!!! So anyway, make sure hands are clean, phone display is wiped with alcohol pad to get rid off oil, and then still wipe it with a micro-fiber cloth so there is no dust.
The installation itself is easy because unlike thin film screen protector which bends in your hands, you can hold tempered glass by the edge with your fingers without bending so it's easy to align it with a phone. Be careful because you will have about a mil of margin to fit it between edges of the phone frame. But don't worry, if you mess it up, just lift the screen protector with your finger nail and apply it again. I did it 3 times with mine until I got it perfect. You will know when it's perfect when you can squeeze all the air bubbles from underneath (first time it wasn't sticking along right edge until I realized I overlapped it with a phone edge). Finally it went on like a butter, no bubbles, perfect adhesion around edges, and worked well with UAG case.
Now, about this glass protector itself. It's very thin, only 0.33mm thick. The touch feeling is like a perfect glass display, very smooth. Nearly perfect transparency. Anker has it in a spec as 94% light penetration, while to me it was like nothing on top of the screen. It has 9H hardness, anti-chip rounded edges, shatter proof so in case of direct hard impact it won't shatter into tiny sharp pieces. Also, it's smudge and fingerprint resistant, thanks to oleophobic coating.
Overall, I was very impressed with a quality of Anker's tempered glass screen protector and very pleased with end results after installation. It definitely has a premium spec comparable to other brand name tempered glass protectors, it doesn't distort or alter the color of the screen, it feels like a real smooth glass and thin enough not too add extra bulk to your S5, and the most important - it should give you a piece of mind beyond just a basic scratch protection. This one gets my high recommendation!
Here are the pictures.
Let me start this review with a basic explanation of PET Film vs Tempered Glass screen protectors. Film is for scratch protection. Direct impact will shatter your display glass even with 4H hardness film screen protector. Tempered Glass offers scratch and impact protections where these are typically rated at 9H hardness and will absorb direct impact, shattering only in extreme case. If you want ultimate protection - tempered glass is the way to go! Until recently, tempered glass screen protectors used to be thick and heavy, and used adhesive which sometimes wasn't sticking on the edges (thicker glass, less flexibility, worse edge adhesion). Also, in the past you had not too many choices, and tempered glass protectors were very expensive. A lot of this has changed today, and Anker's new product is an example of it. Here is what I found.
It arrived in a very secure slim package with all the necessary installation instructions and accessories. I have dealt with other brand name premium tempered glass screen protectors in the past, and this package was as complete as any other which cost 2x-3x as much. You get your generous size micro-fiber cloth, bubble removal tab (plastic, not some cheap carton), a sticker for dust removal, alcohol prep pad, detailed instructions, and one tempered glass screen protector, very carefully packaged. Installation is very easy, a lot simpler than with a film protector. First of all, you need a dust free environment and a clean non-static surface. I use our kitchen granite top island, where I do all of my reviews. Make sure your hands are washed with a soap and dried afterwards. Another trick I use - ALWAYS install screen protector without my t-shirt (yeah, topless!!!
). You know how much you read on the internet about "go to your bathroom, let the shower run to get rid off dust in the air, blah, blah, blah". Sure, you get rid of dust in the air, and then you lean over your phone to install screen protector, specks of dust from your t-shirt get in there by static lol!!! So anyway, make sure hands are clean, phone display is wiped with alcohol pad to get rid off oil, and then still wipe it with a micro-fiber cloth so there is no dust.The installation itself is easy because unlike thin film screen protector which bends in your hands, you can hold tempered glass by the edge with your fingers without bending so it's easy to align it with a phone. Be careful because you will have about a mil of margin to fit it between edges of the phone frame. But don't worry, if you mess it up, just lift the screen protector with your finger nail and apply it again. I did it 3 times with mine until I got it perfect. You will know when it's perfect when you can squeeze all the air bubbles from underneath (first time it wasn't sticking along right edge until I realized I overlapped it with a phone edge). Finally it went on like a butter, no bubbles, perfect adhesion around edges, and worked well with UAG case.
Now, about this glass protector itself. It's very thin, only 0.33mm thick. The touch feeling is like a perfect glass display, very smooth. Nearly perfect transparency. Anker has it in a spec as 94% light penetration, while to me it was like nothing on top of the screen. It has 9H hardness, anti-chip rounded edges, shatter proof so in case of direct hard impact it won't shatter into tiny sharp pieces. Also, it's smudge and fingerprint resistant, thanks to oleophobic coating.
Overall, I was very impressed with a quality of Anker's tempered glass screen protector and very pleased with end results after installation. It definitely has a premium spec comparable to other brand name tempered glass protectors, it doesn't distort or alter the color of the screen, it feels like a real smooth glass and thin enough not too add extra bulk to your S5, and the most important - it should give you a piece of mind beyond just a basic scratch protection. This one gets my high recommendation!
Here are the pictures.
