Screen protectors can protect your phone’s display from accidental drops and scratches.
But you might wonder whether a screen protector will reduce your phone’s display quality.
So in this article, we’ll discuss how different screen protectors affect your phone’s display quality.
Here’s Whether Phone Screen Protectors Reduce Display Quality
Screen protectors absorb a fraction of light from a phone’s display, making it slightly darker; poor-quality ones can even diffuse light from the screen, making it look a little blurry. However, high-quality tempered glass or sapphire screen protectors won’t reduce the display quality noticeably.
Do Phone Screen Protectors Reduce Display Quality?
Poor-quality screen protectors can absorb too much light from your phone’s display, making it darker.
Some plastic screen protectors can also turn slightly yellowish over time, giving a faint yellow tint to the display.
Low-quality screen protectors also get scratched easily, and the display quality will suffer with too many scratches.
Some screen protectors also attract fingerprints and dust, reducing the display quality over time.
Glossy screen protectors can also cause glare, making it nearly impossible to use your phone outdoors.
Also, if you don’t install the screen protector properly, trapped air bubbles and dust particles can blur the display, reducing the display quality.
However, high-quality screen protectors don’t suffer from these issues and won’t reduce your phone’s display quality noticeably.
Do Phone Screen Protectors Darken The Display?
All screen protectors absorb some amount of light from your phone’s display, making it darker.
Their light absorption depends on their build material, and high-quality ones usually have negligible absorption.
Do Phone Screen Protectors Blur The Display?
Matte screen protectors can diffuse the light from your phone’s display and cause slight blurriness.
The severity of this blurriness depends on the build quality of the matte screen protector, and most people won’t even notice this with high-quality matte protectors.
Moreover, if you don’t install the screen protector properly, trapped air bubbles can blur the display.
Do Phone Screen Protectors Affect The Touch Sensitivity?
Unlike older touchscreens, your smartphone’s projected capacitive touchscreen doesn’t have a conductive coating on the surface.
Projected capacitive touchscreens can sense your finger through non-conducting materials. So they work with glass, plastic, or sapphire screen protectors.
However, thicker screen protectors can make your phone’s touchscreen slightly less sensitive.
Screen Protector Material And Display Quality
Tempered glass and sapphire screen protectors have minimal light absorption and won’t reduce the brightness of your phone’s display. On the other hand, plastic screen protectors have higher light absorption and can slightly darken the display.
Poor-quality plastic screen protectors can also cause a slightly yellowish tint over time.
Screen protectors of the same material can also differ significantly in build quality; for example, high-quality tempered glass screen protectors can have better light transmittance than lower-quality ones.
Matte Vs. Glossy Screen Protectors: Which Type Provides Better Display Quality?
According to the surface finish, there are two types of screen protectors: matte and glossy.
Matte screen protectors have a rough surface with microscopic cavities, which lowers the light reflection and reduces glare outdoors.
However, matte screen protectors can absorb more light from your phone’s display, making it slightly darker; they can also diffuse the light from the display, causing a slight blurriness and rainbow-like color separation.
Glossy screen protectors, on the other hand, have smooth surfaces and only absorb minimal light from your phone’s display, so they don’t reduce the brightness, sharpness, or color quality significantly.
However, glossy screen protectors cause significant glare, making it impossible to use your phone outdoors, especially in direct sunlight.
Glossy screen protectors also attract more fingerprints, although they are easier to clean than matte screen protectors.
How To Choose A Screen Protector For The Best Display Quality
Tempered glass and sapphire screen protectors have the highest light transmittance and won’t darken your phone’s display. They also provide the best protection against drops and scratches.
If you often use your phone outdoors, you might benefit from a matte screen protector, but they can reduce the display quality more than glossy screen protectors.
On the other hand, if you don’t often use your phone outdoors, glossy screen protectors will give you the best display quality.
You can read online user reviews before buying a phone screen protector to see whether it causes any display quality issues.
Also, install the screen protector properly: clean the display surface before installation and remove any trapped air bubbles after the installation.
Final Thoughts
Screen protectors can slightly reduce the brightness, sharpness, and color quality of your phone’s display, but this quality reduction isn’t noticeable with high-quality screen protectors.
Always read online user reviews before buying phone screen protectors to see if they cause noticeable display quality issues.
