Do you still need a screen protector? It depends what you expect it to do

Manufacturers have gained a great deal on break resistance: modern glass survives drops that a decade ago were a certain write-off. That progress is real and well documented.

On scratch resistance, though, the margin is narrow, because it depends on the hardness of the material. Cover glass still sits at around 6 on the Mohs scale and the quartz in sand sits at 7. While that gap exists, sand will scratch the screen — and no amount of marketing changes it.

Hence the uncomfortable conclusion: phones break less often than they used to, but they scratch exactly as much.

The case in favour is purely economic and fairly clear-cut: a protector costs a few pounds or dollars, a replacement screen costs a meaningful fraction of the phone. Even if it prevents one deep scratch across the life of the device, it has paid for itself.

The case against, worth knowing: a protector does not stop the screen cracking in a serious drop. The panel fractures from chassis flex and impact transmitted through the frame, not from pressure on the surface. A protector can absorb a little energy in a light knock and hold fragments together if the glass gives way, but it is not an airbag.

For drops, the case matters more — specifically one with a lip standing proud of the screen plane, because that is what keeps the glass off the ground when the phone lands face down.

One UK-specific point: if your handset is insured through your network or bank account, check whether accidental damage is already covered — it changes the arithmetic below.

Clearly yes: if you go to the beach or into the mountains, work on a site or in a workshop, if children handle the device, if you intend to sell or trade it in within two or three years — the screen is the first thing any valuation looks at — or if visible wear simply bothers you.

Probably not: if the phone lives between home and office, if the original oleophobic coating matters more to you than the scratch risk — almost no protector matches the feel of factory glass — or if your display already carries its own anti-reflective treatment that a protector would negate.

The special case: on watches with sapphire crystal, putting ordinary glass on top means swapping a very scratch-resistant surface for a less scratch-resistant one. There the answer is usually no.

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