I’ve tried several glass screen protectors, and I can say without reservation that they are my favorite type. What better way to interact with your glass touchscreen than by touching glass? What better way to protect your screen than by offering a surrogate when a sacrifice must be made? The $34.99 Ventev Toughglass is my latest test subject.
Inside the package are a few items that you’re probably used to seeing come with all screen protectors — a small microfiber cloth and a squeegee. I been applying screen protectors to my devices since the early days, and I generally won’t use either of those items because I have better tools at my disposal. Also included inside a protective sheath is the tempered glass screen protector.
The first step to getting the glass protector onto your iPhone 5 (or Samsung Galaxy S4 — they make those, too) is to thoroughly clean your phone’s screen. This is the point where I pull out my bottle of Digital Innovations Screen Dr Screen Cleaning Solution and its included microfiber cloth (which is larger than the scraps usually provided with screen protectors), and I go to town. With your screen properly cleaned and prepped, it’s now time to pull the protective backing off the glass screen protector; it’s the side that is labeled “1”.
Unlike other traditional screen protectors where I’d suggest that you ease the protective backing off the sticky portion and press down as you go, pulling the backing out as you make your way down the device’s screen, I’ve found that the easiest way to do a glass application is to remove the entire backing. While holding the exposed protector on the sides, I line up the hole around the home button and then let it drop sticky side down; 9 times out of 10, that’s all that’s necessary to get it right. But the cool thing about these protectors is that if you manage to get one mis-aligned somehow, you can simply pick it back up by putting tape on one of the edges and lifting; re-align, drop it again, and hopefully you’ve got it. My final step is always spraying the installed screen cover with Screen Dr again, smoothing out any bubbles as I wipe the screen clean.
The result is a perfect glass surface lying over your now perfectly preserved glass screen.
Because a glass screen protector is a bit thicker than the usual film types, it will reduce some of the face-down protection that certain protective cases afford; don’t freak out about it, your screen is totally protected!
Why do I like glass screen protectors so much? I’ve already covered how easy they are to apply compared to standard film protectors, but there is one more thing that makes them so superior in my opinion: the way they feel.
Our touchscreen phones have big, beautiful screens that were designed to have fingers gliding across them, tapping them, and touching them. Glass screen protectors feel as close to a naked glass screen as any protector could ever feel; they do not drag on your finger or have any kind of weird finish that might take away from the touch experience; using a glass protector is the closest thing to touching a naked and unprotected touchscreen. When you are using a glass screen protector, you get the best of both worlds — a protected device screen that can handle bumps, scrapes, and drops, and a screen that feels the way it is supposed to. Using the Ventev Toughglass Screen Protector is a win-win situation.
The Ventev Toughglass Screen Protector is available directly from the manufacturer for both the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S4. You can also purchase them for a pretty significant savings ($24.99!) from our Amazon affiliate store.
MSRP: $34.99
What I Like: Easy to apply; excellent protection of your glass screen from scrapes, bumps, and drops; perfect feel on your fingers — none of that rough filmy screensaver feeling
What Needs Improvement: Nothing