The Best iPhone Screen Protectors
Why you should trust us
I’m a staff writer at Wirecutter covering smartwatches, smartphones, tablets, and their accompanying accessories. I’ve used screen protectors for every iPhone since the iPhone 4s.
For this guide:
I applied 13 glass screen protectors to the four iPhone 16 models I used for testing, and measured the ease of install and removing any air bubbles.
I also used our scratch test using a Mohs hardness test kit to measure the hardness of each screen protector for cracks, and landed on two picks.
Like all Wirecutter journalists, I review and test products with complete independence, in accordance with our editorial standards. I have no knowledge about the business implications of any of my editorial recommendations. Read more about our editorial standards.
Former senior staff writer Nick Guy established our testing process and wrote previous versions of this guide. He has been reviewing iPhones, iPads, and related tech since 2011.
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Who this is for
A glass screen protector is no guarantee against cracks. A number of factors—everything from the height of the drop to the angle at which the phone lands to the material it lands on to the humidity of the area (really!)—can cause a screen to crack. So it’s impossible to make such a promise. Even the tougher “ceramic shield” glass on the iPhone 13, iPhone 14, iPhone 15, and iPhone 16 isn’t unbreakable or unscratchable. Considering that, is a screen protector worth your money?
A good case is more important than a screen protector for keeping your screen intact.
“While screen protectors aren’t perfect, they definitely help,” said Computer Repair Doctor’s Matt Ham. “The basic science is simple. Adding an extra layer of tempered glass protects the original screen. The tempered-glass screen protector is not an impenetrable force field of protection; it’s an added layer of defense.”
That last point is key: A screen protector is only a bit of added protection—not an impervious shield. And a screen protector can’t do much to guard against blows to the phone’s corner or the edge of the phone’s body, which are far more common: Our friends at iFixit tallied the broken screens they had on hand and concluded that 75% of them had been damaged at the corner or edge. This means that when it comes to protecting against a catastrophe, a good case is even more important than a screen protector.
But scratch protection is a worthwhile investment, too. A phone with a scratched screen is less pleasant to use, and it will be worth less if you ever decide to sell it. More importantly, scratches weaken the structural integrity of the glass. “A major factor in glass breaking is if anything has already scratched it,” Kyle Wiens of iFixit told us. “It’s much easier to break scratched glass. So if the screen protector takes the scratch instead of your screen, then it reduces the likelihood the screen will break.”
How we picked and tested
We use a Mohs test kit to measure the hardness of glass screen protectors. Video: Sarah Kobos
The Mohs test evaluates the hardness of a mineral based on whether it can be scratched by a set of reference minerals, each rated on a scale from 1 (talc, the softest) to 10 (diamond, the hardest). This isn’t the test that screen-protector manufacturers use or advertise. Instead, they rely on something called the ASTM Film Hardness by Pencil Test, which is designed for coated materials, but even the hardest pencil in this test (9H) is softer than tempered glass, and many of the things that might scratch a screen or a screen protector are harder than a 9H pencil. The Mohs kit includes materials that can scratch tempered glass.
We spoke with Ivar Reimanis, PhD, Herman F. Coors Distinguished Professor of Ceramic Engineering and professor of metallurgical and materials engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. Though Reimanis said that the Mohs test wasn’t a perfect analogue to the pencil test, he concluded that “the ranking would be similar, since you are just evaluating the resistance to scratching with two different probes.”
In the Mohs test, we start with the number-1 stylus, holding it at about a 70-degree angle and applying a moderate amount of force as we drag it down the glass screen protector multiple times in various directions. For each screen protector, we repeat this test with increasing reference picks until a pick scratches the glass. We then record the number of the hardest stylus that didn’t scratch the glass, along with the number of the stylus that did. Because we don’t have styluses with hardness ratings between integers, in this guide we note for each protector the range of hardness (for example, “between 6 and 7”), which includes the actual scratch resistance of that model.
We don’t do drop tests with screen protectors because we don’t think such tests are particularly relevant. Dropping a heavy object, such as a ball bearing, directly onto the screen doesn’t represent a real-world scenario—not to mention that an impact that breaks a screen protector may not have broken the phone’s unprotected screen. (We can’t easily measure the strength and hardness of a phone’s screen, and proprietary data on screen glass isn’t available.) It’s also impossible to recreate every kind of impact that a phone may suffer, so no drop test can cover all scenarios.
Our pick for any iPhone 16 or iPhone 15: Spigen GlasTR EZ Fit Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection)
All the tools and materials to replace a Spigen GlasTr EZ FIT screen protector laid out on a beige surface.
Photo: Michael Hession
Top pick
Spigen GlasTR EZ Fit Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) for iPhone 15/16
The best screen protector for the iPhone 16
You can expect great glass, complete protection, and a foolproof installation tool for proper alignment.
$19 from Amazon
Also available for these iPhones:
Spigen GlasTR EZ FIT Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) for iPhone 16 Plus
Spigen GlasTR EZ FIT Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) for iPhone 16 Pro
Spigen GlasTR EZ FIT Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) for iPhone 16 Pro Max
Spigen GlasTREZ FIT Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) for iPhone 15
Spigen GlasTR EZ FIT Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) for iPhone 15 Plus
Spigen GlasTR EZ FIT Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) for iPhone 15 Pro
Spigen GlasTR EZ FIT Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) for iPhone 15 Pro Max
Spigen GlasTR EZ Fit Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) for iPhone 14
Spigen GlasTR EZ Fit Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) for iPhone 14 Plus
Spigen GlasTR EZ Fit Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) for iPhone 14 Pro
Spigen GlasTR EZ Fit Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) for iPhone 14 Pro Max
Spigen GlasTR EZ Fit Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) for iPhone 13 and 13 Pro
Spigen GlasTR EZ Fit Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) for iPhone 13 mini
Spigen GlasTR EZ Fit Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) for iPhone 13 Pro Max
Spigen GlasTR EZ Fit Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) for iPhone 12 and 12 Pro
Spigen GlasTR EZ Fit Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) for iPhone 12 mini
Spigen GlasTR EZ Fit Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) for iPhone 12 Pro Max
The Spigen GlasTR EZ Fit Tempered Glass Screen Protector (Sensor Protection) is the best iPhone screen protector that’s affordable, tough, and easy to apply. It’s as clear and strong as any glass protector we’ve ever tested. Also, this Spigen protector covers the front-facing cameras, providing as much protection as possible. Plus, you get two protectors in each inexpensive package.
Applying this screen protector is extremely easy. Newer-model iPhones, including the 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 have edge-to-edge displays without a Home button to help align the protector, so an alignment tool is essential for good installation. Spigen’s screen protector installation is the absolute best we’ve found, and the included visual instructions make the process clear. Each box includes two plastic installation trays, with the glass already in place. Once you’ve cleaned your phone’s screen with the included alcohol wipe, dry wipe, and dust-removal sticker (if necessary), you peel off the backing from the screen protector and snap the frame onto your phone. This design ensures that you can’t misalign the glass. The instructions guide you to press and slide along a sticker on the front of the protector and then remove the frame.
This process allows anyone—not just those with experience and a steady hand—to line up a screen protector perfectly every time. As long as you clean the phone’s screen thoroughly before installation, you won’t have any air bubbles underneath.
An iPhone with a Spigen installation tray on top of it, a squeegee tool and an open screen wipe on either side.
A close shot of the screen on an iPhone, the lip of the screen protector barely visible along the edge.
The installation tray makes it much easier for anyone to achieve flawless alignment and a perfectly smooth result. Photo: Michael Hession
It offers full coverage. This GlasTR EZ Fit protector covers the iPhone’s display yet leaves enough room to avoid interference with most cases. We appreciate that the edges of the glass aren’t sharp—something we’ve seen on several glass screen protectors—since that can make a phone uncomfortable to use. This protector matches the size and shape of the iPhone’s display, and on the iPhone 16 models, it leaves only the earpiece exposed. We tested extensively to confirm that the cameras and sensors wouldn’t be affected by being covered with glass, and we found no issues; even a selfie that we took with the sun glaring over our shoulders looked the same as one that we took with an uncovered phone.
Spigen’s glass is as clear as it gets. We saw no problems with clarity or brightness, and we quickly got used to the GlasTR EZ Fit protector being on the phone. Although any glass surface accumulates fingerprints and oil from skin, we found that this protector’s glass didn’t show them too readily, and they wiped off easily. The touchscreen’s responsiveness was unaffected, since it still recognized even the slightest brush of a finger and still worked with touchscreen gloves.
It’s tough, too. In our Mohs hardness tests, the GlasTR EZ Fit protector measured between 7 and 8. That’s as high a rating as we’ve found on any glass screen protector we’ve tested, and it’s significantly higher than the results we got with some competitors. We also saw no damage when we tested the GlasTR EZ Fit protector by scraping it with house keys, a good sign of real-world protection. And after carrying the phone in a pocket for a few weeks, we didn’t see any significant buildup of dust around the glass’s edges, which is a problem with some adhesive protectors.
It’s a great deal. Not only is the GlasTR EZ Fit protector much less expensive than protectors from the big brands, but the low-priced package also includes two screen protectors. And since you’re unlikely to mess up the installation, that means you have a backup or an extra protector to share with a friend. If you break your screen protector, Spigen offers a one-year replacement program through which it gives you 50% off the full price of a new one.