8 best screen protectors to prevent scratches and keep your phone looking brand new
You know that sinking feeling you get immediately after dropping your phone? As you watch it skitter face-down across the concrete like a £949 hockey puck, ricocheting off walls and grinding along kerbs? Will it be scratched to bits? Will it be miraculously unscathed? Has the screen been obliterated into a kaleidoscope of tiny glass shards?
Whatever the outcome, you might consider investing in a screen protector to help shield your precious phone from gravity and other threats. A sturdy phone case is the real hero when it comes to preventing a shattered screen, but the best screen protectors defend delicate glass displays from the slow accumulation of nicks and scratches caused by house keys, loose change and other pocket nuisances.
Most modern phone screens are already very resistant to everyday damage, but over time they can become scuffed by small, hard particles of sand and grit. Even if your phone doesn’t break when dropped, impacts can cause invisible microfractures that weaken the glass and make it more likely to crack next time. Screen protectors offer some protection against drop damage, but to survive serious impacts you’ll want a decent phone case, too.
With screen replacements costing hundreds of pounds, it’s well worth spending a little on protecting your device now, to avoid a much larger bill further down the road.
The best screen protectors are thin enough to be barely visible and are shaped to fit perfectly on top of your phone’s display, so as not to spoil the aesthetic of your device. Most come with mounting tools, too, for achieving the perfect alignment.
How we tested:
We tested these screen protectors on an iPhone 13 and Pixel 6 pro, as well as the devices mentioned below. We used coins and the business end of a house key to test each screen protector’s resistance to everyday abuse, and considered how easy they were to apply to our device without bubbles or misalignment.
We’ve mostly linked to the iPhone 13/iPhone 13 pro screen protectors below, but most brands make screen protectors for a range of devices from Google and Samsung too, as well as for older or larger models of iPhone.
The best screen protectors for 2022 are:
Best for Samsung – Zagg invisibleshield glass XTR D3O: £32.72, Amazon.co.uk
Best cheap screen protector – Eono premium tempered 3-pack: £9.99, Amazon.co.uk
Best for iPhone – Belkin screenforce tempered glass: £7.99, Amazon.co.uk
Best for privacy – Zagg invisibleshield glass elite privacy 360: £28.78, Zagg.com
Best for Apple watch – PanzerGlass for Apple watch: £20.99, Panzerglass.co.uk
Best for style – PanzerGlass camslider fashion edition: £29.99, Panzerglass.co.uk
Best for iPad pro – Paperlike for iPad pro 12.9in: £34, Paperlike.com
Best for Nintendo Switch lite – PanzerGlass for Nintendo Switch OLED: £29.99, Panzerglass.co.uk
Zagg invisibleshield glass XTR D3O
The InvisibleShield range of screen protectors is the best we’ve tested, and has options covering the top-selling iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones. The super-thin D3O tempered glass material offers a degree of extra protection against impact damage, as well as providing the usual protection against nicks and scratches, while the hydrophilic coating feels smooth underneath your fingertip.
Application is easy with the included kit, and the iPhone version is shaped to neatly cover the notched display while leaving the front-facing speaker clear.
Buy now £32.72, Amazon.co.uk
Otterbox Pixel 6 screen protector
Certain screen protectors can interfere with the normal function of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6a’s under-display fingerprint sensor, but Otterbox protectors are certified by Google for use with its phones.
Available for every Pixel model from the Pixel 3a through to the Pixel 6 pro (including XL sizes, but not the newest Pixel 6a), the superthin, anti-scratch and anti-smudge layer is straightforward to install and comes with everything you need.
Buy now £16.99, Otterbox
Belkin screenforce temperedglass
Belkin is a well-respected name in peripherals and tech accessories, and its range of screen protectors lives up to the brand’s reputation. This twin-pack of Japanese tempered glass covers is professionally packaged, virtually scratch-proof and designed to offer a degree of extra protection against drops and impacts.
Belkin screen protectors come with their own reusable alignment tool, which is custom-made to fit your phone and ensures a neat and bubble-free application.
Although we didn’t have to use it, the lifetime warranty covers cracks and damage to the screen protector, offering peace of mind in this perilous world of sharp table edges, jangling coins and pointy car keys.
Buy now £7.99, Amazon.co.uk
Zagg invisibleshield glass elite privacy 360
Worried about your fellow commuters peeking at your screen? Zagg’s privacy 360 screen protector can keep your WhatsApp messages, your bank balance, your Instagram DMs and Bejeweled high scores away from prying eyes.
A privacy filter prevents light from leaving the screen beyond a certain angle, so that when your phone is viewed from anywhere other than straight-on, the display appears to be blacked out. Privacy screen protectors reduce the quality of the display, so they’re really only worth considering if you regularly view things in public that you wouldn’t want anyone else to see.
We like that all Zagg screen protectors (including the basic D3O version above) come with everything you need to achieve a neat and dust-free installation – including a microfibre cloth, a disinfecting wipe and plastic alignment tray.
Buy now £28.78, Amazon.co.uk
PanzerGlass Apple watch series 7
Apple’s smartwatch is made of tough stuff but it’s not invincible. This Apple watch screen protector from industry-leader PanzerGlass is fiddly to apply correctly, owing to the tiny screen size. That said, it’s still the best we’ve tested, encasing your smartwatch behind an extra layer of toughened and scratch-resistant glass.
The screen protector comes with a wetwipe and microfibre cloth to help ensure no dust or fibres get trapped between the screen and the protective layer. It’s also anti-microbial, which is great news if you hate microbes.
Buy now £24.99, Panzerglass.co.uk
PanzerGlass camslider fashion edition
PanzerGlass is the leading name in screen protection, offering tempered glass to fit a wide range of devices, including smartwatches, laptops, e-bike displays and some of the more obscure phones on the market. The company often collaborates with designers and artists to produce limited-edition phone cases, and recently teamed up with Swarovski to make the fashion edition of its popular camslider screen protector.
A single crystal adorns the top of this otherwise ordinary screen protector, which can be slid left and right to obscure the front-facing camera, adding a bit of unexpected sparkle to your dull little device. It’s perfect for those of us who are paranoid about phone hackers but also enjoy shiny things.
Buy now £29.99, Panzerglass.co.uk
Eono premium tempered 3-pack
If you’re particularly accident prone, this pack of three tempered glass screen protectors from Amazon’s own-brand, Eono, presents unbeatable value at £9.99. Inside the box you’ll find a reusable mounting tool for aligning the screen protector with your chosen model of iPhone, ensuring you don’t end up with any wonky lines or tiny overhangs that can get snagged on clothing. Unfortunately for non-Apple users, Eono doesn’t make screen protectors for Android phones.
The stated scratch resistance is an impressive 9H — the scale only goes up to 10, the hardness of diamond. In the absence of a pocketful of loose diamonds, we found the screen protector tough enough to deal with coins and keys.
Eono screen protectors even come with extras you wouldn’t expect at this price: dust removal stickers, an aligner, a microfibre cloth and a tiny squeegee for working out those air bubbles.
Buy now £9.99, Amazon.co.uk
Paperlike for iPad pro 12.9in
Paperlike is a screen protector designed to make using the Apple Pencil feel more like writing on a physical notebook. Made with artists in mind, Paperlike has a matte finish and a slightly rough, papery feel to it, offering more friction to the tip of the stylus as you drag it along the display. Pen strokes feel less slippery and more precise than on glass, and even sound like they’re being made on paper.
Because it’s engineered primarily to make drawing on the iPad more enjoyable, Paperlike doesn’t perform as well as other iPad screen protectors when it comes to general scratch prevention, and the papery matte effect also slightly alters how colours appear on the screen. But for professional illustrators who prefer the feel of pulped tree under their pens, Paperlike is an essential iPad enhancement.
Buy now £34.00, Paperlike.com
PanzerGlass for Nintendo switch lite
Defend your console against toddler tantrums and rogue house keys with this ultra-thin screen protector. The Nintendo Switch OLED collects scratches as a hobby, so a screen protector is an essential purchase if you plan on ever taking it out of the house, or even looking at it too hard.
Large screen protectors like these are especially prone to catching air bubbles, but we found that, with some patience and a steady hand, the PanzerGlass went on more easily than most. There’s no alignment tool, but the screen protector fits neatly into the frame of the Switch, and is thin enough that it doesn’t interfere with touch controls or change the look or glossiness of the display.
Buy now £29.99, Panzerglass.co.uk
The verdict: Best screen protector
For a premium screen protector to match your premium smartphone, we recommend the invisibleshield glass XTR D3O. If the kind of work you do puts your phone in constant danger, we recommend the Eono premium tempered screen protectors – they’re cheap but very effective and easy to replace when cracked or damaged.
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