Can Screen Protectors Cause Phone To Crash

Tech Fix

Reality Check: What Does, and Doesn't, Protect Your Smartphone

Credit... Minh Uong/The New York Times

May 24, 2017

One time you go a smartphone, what'south the first thing y'all might want to go along with the device? For many people, it'south probably a instance.

That's because conveying a smartphone without a instance is similar driving a car without bumpers — and no one wants a new gadget to shatter, crack or become dented. Spending on mobile phone accessories is expected to accomplish $107.3 billion by 2022, according to Allied Marketplace Research, up from about $61 billion in 2014. Protective cases are the hottest sellers in the category.

Nonetheless here'due south the truth about those accessories: Some products that purport to protect your smartphones are useless. It'south unclear, for one, whether a screen protector — a sparse plastic or glass picture for your phone display — actually prevents glass from shattering upon impact. Sales clerks at cellphone stores as well often pressure people into purchasing expensive extended warranty plans for their devices, many of which can be skipped.

So here's a reality check on what does and doesn't protect your telephone. To achieve our conclusions, we interviewed repair and warranty experts and teamed up with The Wirecutter, the product recommendations site owned by The New York Times, which tested screen protectors and cases.

It turns out that in about situations, all you demand is a case or a screen protector, or a combination of both. And y'all should probably call back twice about buying extended warranty, merely consider an insurance programme if you lot are concerned nearly damage, loss and theft.

Screen protectors are a fractional solution

A shattered smartphone screen is ever a distressing sight. Makers of screen protectors, the plastic or glass films that can exist adhered to a smartphone brandish, say that their products will safeguard your screen from scratches and cracks when information technology falls face down.

Simply screen protectors are an incomplete solution.

A majority of broken smartphone screens come from bear upon on the corners and edges, according to a survey of smartphone owners past iFixit, a company that sells components for repairing electronics. When a smartphone's corners or edges hit the basis, the bear on is in a full-bodied area and more than likely to cause shattering, whereas if it had fallen face down on the basis, the impact would take been spread out over the width of the screen.

On the other manus, screen protectors help protect screens from scratches, which weaken the structural integrity of a brandish and may somewhen lead to large cracks. Only don't wait them to relieve your telephone if you drop it on the pavement.

Kyle Wiens, the chief executive of iFixit, said that people who care near the longevity of their phone should consider a screen protector because scratches from house keys in your pocket or general clothing and tear are commonplace.

"Every glass phone I've ever had has had scratches on information technology," he said. "I call up information technology'due south inevitable."

Fortunately, screen protectors are relatively cheap. After testing eight products, The Wirecutter recommended $viii drinking glass screen protectors from TechMatte. The TechMatte screen protectors were extremely scratch-resilient compared to others, including protectors that cost more than than $40.

Why you should buy a case

For overall device protection, a instance, which covers the corners, edges and back of a smartphone, is your best bet. A good example will protect your phone from scratches and absorb impact in those areas when your device is dropped.

There are hundreds of cases bachelor composed of different materials, including plastic and leather. The Wirecutter recommends $11 Silk cases, which are slim, inexpensive and equanimous of a flexible plastic that is piece of cake to grip.

There are merchandise-offs to cases and glass protectors. A case adds a chip of majority to the device, making it heavier and heftier in your pocket, and a screen protector adds some thickness.

If you were to go with simply ane accessory, a case is more important than a screen protector given the instance'southward attain over more than parts of the phone.

"We'd definitely recommend a case before the screen protector," said Nick Guy, the mobile accessories reviewer for The Wirecutter. "We don't think most people need a glass protector, merely because they're and so affordable, there'southward no serious downside to having 1."

Skip the extended warranty

Many smartphone manufacturers and vendors sell an extended warranty that can supersede or repair your phone if information technology is damaged. The downside is that the price of the warranty programs — roughly $lxxx a yr — oft exceeds the toll of doing individual repairs for broken devices.

Consider SquareTrade's iPhone warranty programme. The toll of two years of coverage, which covers drops, spills and malfunctions, is nigh $150.

"That's so expensive because if you drop information technology once and go it fixed locally, it'll cost less than that," Mr. Wiens of iFixit said.

If yous cracked your screen, the cost of repairing it at some San Francisco repair shops would be about $110. Paying $150 would be worth it only if yous expect to break your telephone screen multiple times over two years.

Eric Arnum, the editor of WarrantyWeek, a newsletter that publishes market research on warranties, added that extended warranty programs, including those offered by SquareTrade, Best Buy and Apple, do not cover device loss or theft — 2 common perils for smartphones since people carry them around everywhere.

That's where insurance comes in. Device protection plans that offering coverage for lost or stolen cellphones are insurance programs, and often these plans also include protection for damaged items. By contrast, warranty programs comprehend only damages or defects. The insurance programs offered past carriers like AT&T, Verizon and Sprint include loss, theft and impairment protection, but they are virtually double the cost of SquareTrade's warranty program.

"If information technology works when you open the box, chances are information technology's going to work fine for a long time," Mr. Arnum said. "Y'all really have to ask yourself, Are these perils that yous want to insure?"

To Mr. Arnum, the answer is obvious: If yous are going to pay for coverage at all, opt for an insurance program that includes loss and theft coverage.

Probably the strongest argument against paying for any protection coverage is information technology does not address one major problem with smartphone longevity: the battery. Warranties and insurance programs do not offer to supercede batteries free once they run out of capacity, which happens roughly every two years.

"Information technology's similar expecting your car warranty to comprehend your tires wearing out," Mr. Wiens said. Fortunately, repair shops typically charge between $40 to $80 to replace a worn-out bombardment with a fresh one — a worthwhile price to pay to requite your smartphone a second life.