8 Best Screen Protectors for iPhones UK 2024 | Spigen, Belkin and More

Tempered glass dominates the chart for iPhone screen protection! This is because it's a multilayered protector with superior shielding against all forms of damage, most significantly lethal hard surface drops. 

In most cases, a dangerous drop of the phone will only cause the tempered glass to shatter which yields an astonishingly cheaper repair than the iPhone's built-in screen. Despite the word glass in its name, the protector doesn't add extra weight to your device and keeps with the smooth feel of your phone's natural glass screen.

Prices are understandably higher than PET and TPU products due to their bigger scope of strengths and support for your device. But as popularity and demand have risen, there are more affordable options out there to help you get ultimate phone screen protection.

PET is a standard type of plastic that you unknowingly see every day. It's the plastic used in water bottles and food wrappers, as well as a viable option in the screen protection game. 

One of the benefits of PET screen protectors is the affordability, as they are typically the cheapest option out there. It is also a widely recyclable material, which means you can dispose of them in an eco-friendly way when you have finished with them.

The main downside of PET is that it doesn't offer 'shock protection' so it isn't likely to protect from drops and bangs, but it does claim anti-scratch protection. This is a good option if you are looking for something affordable as they usually come in reasonably priced multipacks, but in general PET protectors are slowly becoming harder to find as glass takes over. 

Finally, TPU. This is a sturdier plastic than PET as it is chemically enhanced and can offer you much more protection from scratches and dirt. Due to its elasticity, the TPU protection boasts 'self-healing' for minor damages. This means a small scratch, which would leave a permanent mark on your screen, can slowly revert to its original state.

The cost of TPU screens in comparison to PET isn't drastic, but the strengths you gain are conclusively greater. These screens do offer a level of security for drops but still can't guarantee total protection. 

Much like PET phone screens, they have fallen short in popularity due to the rise in tempered glass, meaning you may have more trouble finding a TPU product that is compatible with your iPhone.

You will often notice tempered glass screen protector packaging brandishes the tag line '9H hardness', and although this mysterious figure relates to a product's Mohs scale of hardness, it isn't a true representation of where it lands on the chart. 

The scale itself informs us of the scratch resistance of a smooth surface when a mineral makes contact, so this means a phone screen is typically rated around 5 or 6 Mohs.

 
To make things more understandable, 9H refers to the toughest type of standard pencil. The rating you will find on the box lets you know that the glass can withstand the pressure from a pencil at a 45-degree angle and, more importantly, shows us that the product has had some form of testing. 

This confusingly titled coating is one of the more desirable features that you will want when buying a screen protector. Oleophobic coating prevents the build-up of oils on your glass screen which makes cleaning fingerprints and other stubborn natural greases a much easier task.

 
If your protector fronts this coating, it means that a simple wipe with a dust cloth will return that new look to your iPhone. So while your fingerprints will still show up on your screen, a quick clean can remove all traces.

Whether it's mobile banking, checking emails or shopping, we are doing more and more private tasks on devices that we want to keep prying eyes from witnessing. Privacy layers are a new addition in the world of screen protection and offer something much more than damage control.

Typically these products contain a technology that only allows light from the screen to pass through certain parts of the tempered glass layer. That means when in portrait mode, your device's screen isn't visible outside of the viewing angle of 60 or 90 degrees.

 
You will have the choice of privacy layers with a two-way filter or a four-way filter, whereby the former allows you the option to share your screen in landscape and the latter gives you total protection from potential spying eyes.