Have you got a new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus? If you do, then I can’t recommend immediately putting a screen protector on it highly enough. All that Gorilla Glass; sure it’s stronger than glass, but you can still scratch it or crack surprisingly easily. How can a glass screen protector like the Armorz Stealth Extreme Lite help?
Well, do you keep your phone in a pocket or bag with your keys? Do you ever have sand, dirt, or grit in your pockets? Gorilla Glass is fantastic, but it isn’t scratch-proof; unfortunately I’ve seen that first-hand. Covering your display with a glass screen protector gives you a disposable layer that can be tossed in the trash should it get too marked up.
The main reason I buy screen protectors has to do with drop protection. While today’s touchscreens are much tougher than the pre-Gorilla Glass displays made in the early 2000s, as many of you know it is still very possible to drop a current generation phone and crack its screen. There are a plethora of cottage industries that have sprung up where enterprising people are actually making a decent living doing nothing but replacing broken screens on dropped phones.
I’ve dropped plenty of phones over the years, but I have never — not even once — cracked a screen. I believe that the reason for this is clear: I may not always have my phone in a case, but I have always had a screen protector on every phone I’ve ever used.
There are lots of styles of screen protectors available — ones you apply with liquid and squeegee over the display, silicone-based plastic films — but by far my favorite type are the glass protectors which have become popular over the last few years. It’s totally a personal preference; I just happen to like the way glass feels under my fingers — it’s like touching the original screen of the device.
Including the Armorz Stealth Extreme Light, I’ve actually tried three different glass screen protectors on my iPhone 6 Plus, and two film protectors on Kev’s iPhone 6 since receiving them. Here’s what they all have in common: Because of the sloping edges of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus glass, none of the protectors go all the way to the edge of the screen. I knew that going into this review, and it’s something that I’ve come to expect with any iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus protector — glass or film.
In other words, when any screen protector is installed, you end up with something that looks like this:
The Armorz screen protector just barely covers edge to edge across the black portion of the display, and it stops a few millimeters away from the top and bottom edges of the screen, where it starts to curve down. If you are disappointed that the screen protector doesn’t cover the glass from edge to edge, think about it this way: if it did, the protector would not only trap garbage under its edges, it would be more prone to lifting up.
I haven’t yet dropped my iPhone 6 Plus (but that day is coming, trust me), so I can’t tell you if the Armorz Stealth Extreme Lite will offer the same corner drop protection to the the display that I’ve seen protectors do in the past. Even so, there is one benefit that has become immediately evident: cases fit better with these protectors that don’t come all the way to the edge; there is no lifting of the protector’s edges from case pressure.
From the Armorz Amazon page:
- Corning Gorilla 0.2 Glass
- Unique properties provide unrivaled protection
- Compatible with most types of cases
- Oleophobic coating reduces the appearance of fingerprints
- Please Note: The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus screens have curved edge design that most screen protectors do not cover 100%. Dust may be trapped and the screen protectors may peel off over time. However, our engineers did couples of tests and measurement analysis on dozen of phones so that our screen protectors provide maximum coverage on your device with ease of installation and durability.
Kev has his iPhone 6 in an Otterbox Commuter Series; that case actually wraps a bit over the edges of his phone’s screen, as you can see here. You’ll note that there is a little bit of lifting on the film screen protector that came with the case (upper left corner), because it is cut to almost touch the edges of the case where it covers the screen.
Obviously Kev has had some lifting issues with his film screen protectors as a result. I didn’t expect there to be any lifting issues with the Armorz glass screen protector in place, because it is cut to fit the display width rather than as much of the screen as is possible.
Here is Kev’s iPhone 6 with the Armorz Stealth Extreme Lite Glass Screen Protector installed and inside his Otterbox case.
My iPhone 6 is in an Orbino Pantera case; it has leather that covers the edges of the phone’s screen. I have no issues with lifting or funk collecting between the Armorz screen protector and the Orbino case.
The Armorz protector is thinner than the other two versions I have tried, but it seems to be just as protective. I can tell you that installation is easier on a white iPhone versus a black one, because you can see the ear speaker and straight edge of the screen more easily on the white than you can on the black. I’m just not sure why all of the corners didn’t seem to have quite the same adhesion to the screen on the iPhone 6 protector.
Update: I received this comment from my Armorz contact, Morgan:
Great review! And you did point out a good point for the iPhone 6 in Black color, our engineer found that part of the iPhone 6 Black color do have a larger tolerance with the glass panel.We did some test and figure out the curved edge is much larger than the other colors which might result the air bubbles issue.
With the Armorz installed on my iPhone 6 Plus, I feel confident that my screen is protected from anything that might scrape it or crack it, but I can’t vouch for a full-on corner drop … yet.
The Armorz Stealth Extreme Lite Glass Screen Protector for Apple iPhone 6 retails for $34.99 and for the iPhone 6 Plus at $39.99; Armorz also has glass protectors that will fit many other popular devices.
Source: Manufacturer supplied review samples
What I Like: Easy to install; protection over most of the screen; glass protector feels just like the device’s original screen
What Needs Improvement: The screen protector is trickier to install straight on a black iPhone versus a white iPhone; I had issues with corners not sticking properly on the iPhone 6 screen protector