TAP Intelligent Screen Protector by Armorz Is a Magical Accessory!

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The TAP by Armorz is an intelligent screen protector for iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, and 6s Plus. The TAP was made to allow for one-handed use of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus by including two touch-sensitive buttons on the bottom of the TAP to access touchscreen buttons that might otherwise require a second hand.

TAP Intelligent Screen Protector by Armorz is a Magical Accessory!

As of this writing, there are only 4 days left to back the TAP on Kickstarter, otherwise you’ll have to wait until at least November/December 2015 to get your hands on one. If you back the TAP before the campaign is over, you’ll be able to snag a single screen protector for $19.

Check out their Kickstarter promo video, below:

The most interesting feature of the TAP is the two touch-sensitive buttons on the bottom-left and bottom-right of the screen protector, located to the sides of the iPhone’s home button. You can’t see them, as the screen protector is completely see-through, but these buttons allow you to access the “back” and “menu” buttons at the top of the screen of many apps with one hand without having to reach to the top of the screen. Honestly, it’s magic. I have no idea how it works, but it’s really really cool.

TAP Intelligent Screen Protector by Armorz is a Magical Accessory!

The TAP is designed to work with many apps, including: Airbnb, Amazon, Chrome, Dropbox, Ebay, Facebook, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Line, Instagram, Mail, PayPal, Safari, Spotify, Skype, Snapchat, Twitter, Uber, Wechat, Whatsapp, Yelp and more. If the TAP becomes popular, I’m sure more apps will be designed to work with the two extra buttons that it provides, however the TAP will not work with every app, so you’ll need to keep that in mind.

The TAP is made with 0.2mm Corning Gorilla Glass for superior screen protection, as it has 9H hardness rating. It also has an oleophobic coating that resists water, so you don’t have to worry about water sitting on your screen. The installation of the screen protector is super simple; you just line it up with your iPhone and drop it on. The removable adhesive does all the work bonding the screen protector to your phone without gaps or bubbles.

TAP Intelligent Screen Protector by Armorz is a Magical Accessory!

The TAP is also completely plug-and-play; there are no additional apps or settings you need to configure in order to use the invisible button functionality. The TAP also won’t interfere with 3D Touch functionality on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus and is meant to improve touchscreen operability.

Armorz was kind enough to send me a prototype of the TAP prior to the end of their Kickstarter campaign for testing and review. Please note that the TAP that I’m using is still a prototype and has some kinks that will be worked out before it’s shipped out to backers and the general public.

TAP Intelligent Screen Protector by Armorz is a Magical Accessory!

As I mentioned above, the way these bottom buttons work is some kind of magic, as there are no visible connections from the bottom of the screen protector to the top. The screen protector is completely see-through so there must be some sort of invisible connectors from the bottom of the screen protector to the top of the screen where the “back” and “menu” buttons are located that transfer my finger’s touch.

Check out my video showing the TAP screen protector’s bottom button functionality, below:

While my experience with the TAP prototype was not 100% smooth, there’s enough here to see that Armorz has something special on their hands. The additional button functionality, when it worked, was really easy to use and helped to keep my iPhone usage one-handed. Unfortunately, since it’s a prototype, I was having some touch sensitivity issues in the areas where the “back” and “menu” buttons typically are on the top-left and top-right sides of the screen. I also did not get the bottom buttons to recognize my touches every time.   This could have to do with the apps I was using or the fact that the TAP I was using was a prototype; there’s no telling.

TAP Intelligent Screen Protector by Armorz is a Magical Accessory!

But, if Armorz delivers a perfected final product, I will absolutely be the first in line to purchase one. The new larger sized iPhones are difficult to use one-handed, but the TAP intelligent screen protector will help reign in the extra long reaches for those top buttons, while providing excellent scratch and drop protection.

You can back TAP by Armorz on Kickstarter now for your chance to get a screen protector for $19 before they’re available to the general public.
Source: The TAP Intelligent Screen Protector prototype was provided to me as a review sample by the manufacturer.

What I Like:  Great screen protection; Easy installation; Completely see-through; Bottom buttons work great, when they work

What Needs Improvement: Get the bottom buttons to work 100% of the time; Remove the touch sensitivity issues at the actual “back” and “menu” buttons when not using the bottom buttons

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About the Author

Perry Brauner
I'm an architect by trade, but the overarching theme of my life has always been trying to keep up with the newest, coolest technology. Ever since I picked up an NES controller, I've been hooked on the latest and greatest gadgets, gizmos, and toys. Whether it's gaming, mobile phones, and accessories, or PCs and Apple products, I'm interested. I use many Apple products in my daily life, such as the iPhone, iPad, and my MacBook Pro. I've also built a few PCs in my day, so I'd like to say that I'm a pretty well-rounded techie.

4 Comments on "TAP Intelligent Screen Protector by Armorz Is a Magical Accessory!"

  1. You know you can swipe left from the edge to go back in almost every app right?
    And you can double tap the home button to access these menu buttons you need occasionaly.
    Pretty useless imo, better buy a more resistant screen protector.

    • Perry Brauner | September 27, 2015 at 11:06 am |

      Thanks for joining the conversation onyarao.
      Yes, swiping from the left to go back is great, but I haven’t found it to work in too many apps in my experience. But I should try it more often!

      As for double tapping the home button, yes, it works but I think that’s a personal preference. I’m a daily iPhone 6 Plus user and I have absolutely never used that feature. I’d prefer to single tap a button to go home rather than double tap the home button, then move my finger to tap the “back” or “menu” button.

      As far as a more resistant screen protector, I’ve found that the gorilla glass screen protectors work well for me in terms of protection and touch accuracy and don’t feel the need for anything more robust.

      • Well, in my experience, it’s the contrary about the swipe back. I can’t find an app that doesn’t support it. It works in mail apps, safari, photos app, music apps, news apps, instagram, transit apps, any app that has some kind of navigation.

        And yes it would be more simple to access the top right more easily but you only need to go to these buttons occasionaly so the double home tap or just your second hand yo press this button once in a while is not really an issue.

        And with this screen protector, I can see myself pressing this special buttons accidentally too often. Not for me personally.

  2. Well. Everyone over at kickstarter is kind of freaked out about this campaign. Tons of promises, yet nothing delivered. Now armorz is not responding (to kickstarter messages, emails, or facebook posts)

    Early backer delivery was promised in October. Nothing delivered. Late backer in november, nothing delivered and now no response.

    Then with searching, other manufacturers in asia have been offering this same device for quite a while. (Was the prototype a competitors already on the market?)

    There is alot sketchy about this kickstarter campaign. Look at the comment history on kickstarter about their us corporate headquarters listed (which is actually a car wash/detail shop in so-cal.

    It would be great if the press, which drove so much business to kickstarter/backerkit for over $50,000 in backing of this product, would do some good and help find out if the backers have been ripped off as they all feel they have been

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