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FrozenDarkness

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 21, 2009
1,755
989
I've tried using the glass ones but it like 2-3xed the screen reflections which was unacceptable. All the "paper-like" screen shields i've seen dulls the image a lot. I'd like to use my pencil more but I'm scared to scratch the screen (although i did get applecare+).

Is there a perfect screen protector?
 

mebehere

macrumors 65816
Sep 21, 2012
1,099
1,081
In my case, I’ve never used a screen protector on iPads or iPhones. I want to feel the natural, smooth oleophobic-coated screens and also not have something that may compromise the true visual quality of the screens

And either I’m lucky or it’s that I just don’t normally look for scratches. But I’ve never noticed any screen scratches on my devices, even if I actually do look for them. Sounds improbable, but I just don’t see any.

This probably doesn’t help you. Just wanted to maybe ease your mind a little if you decide not to use a screen protector.
 

sparksd

macrumors G3
Jun 7, 2015
9,166
29,095
Seattle WA
In my case, I’ve never used a screen protector on iPads or iPhones. I want to feel the natural, smooth oleophobic-coated screens and also not have something that may compromise the true visual quality of the screens

And either I’m lucky or it’s that I just don’t normally look for scratches. But I’ve never noticed any screen scratches on my devices, even if I actually do look for them. Sounds improbable, but I just don’t see any.

This probably doesn’t help you. Just wanted to maybe ease your mind a little if you decide not to use a screen protector.

Agree on this. Having removed my protectors, I have not seen any negative effects on the screen. I used them primarily for reduction of fingerprints and smudges and to make cleaning easier - which they exceled at. But the negatives of the reflections far outweighed the benefits for me.
 
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IngerMan

macrumors 68020
Feb 21, 2011
2,005
902
Michigan
I have never used a screen protection on my Apple devices from my iPhone 2 and iPad 2. Recommended from Apple “ not needed “ at that time. I agree it’s not needed and better play with out for several devices since then
 

jdb8167

macrumors 601
Nov 17, 2008
4,739
4,444
I have never used a screen protection on my Apple devices from my iPhone 2 and iPad 2. Recommended from Apple “ not needed “ at that time. I agree it’s not needed and better play with out for several devices since then
First time that I’ve used one but it is about trying to improve the feel of the pencil on the screen and not about protection. Total experiment on my part.
 

mebehere

macrumors 65816
Sep 21, 2012
1,099
1,081
First time that I’ve used one but it is about trying to improve the feel of the pencil on the screen and not about protection. Total experiment on my part.

Odd that a screen protector would offer better feel for the pencil than the naked screen.
 

iF34R

macrumors 65816
Jul 13, 2011
1,283
519
South Carolina
I'm using this on my iPad 11" Pro 2021 model.
 

mebehere

macrumors 65816
Sep 21, 2012
1,099
1,081
Naked screen is pretty much writing on glass. Matte screen protectors feel more like writing on paper. I can tolerate dulling but the rainbow effect gives me eye strain.

That is interesting. I don’t have a pencil. But I would never use a protector. I’m sort of a purist or something. iPad is naked. However, iPhone 12 has an Apple silicone case because I’ll surely drop it without. Learned from my naked 6.
 

winxmac

macrumors 65816
Sep 1, 2021
1,067
1,283
I have my iPad 9 fall from about 2 feet high face down to a tiled concrete floor and good thing that the glass did not have any cracks and I don't see any noticeable scratches on it... It does not have a screen protector but I am making sure that it will not fall face first again or fall at all to the ground...
 
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Puonti

macrumors 68000
Mar 14, 2011
1,519
1,140
If your goal is a more paper-like feel with the Apple Pencil, an alternative to screen covers are Apple Pencil tip covers. They add friction without the downsides of covers.

They can be fiddly though, and easy to lose.
 
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thedreamking

macrumors newbie
Dec 14, 2021
28
36
Are there any matte screens that dont rainbow?
The latest iteration of the Paperlike brand screen protectors have very little (if any) noticeable rainbow effect, especially compared to the last gen. They also provide a much more natural surface for drawing or writing with the Apple Pencil, and they do a good job of reducing glare/reflections. HOWEVER, as a heavy user (I'm a professional illustrator and use Procreate in my workflow frequently), I can say that these screen protectors do have a few flaws of their own. First off, the cost is quite high compared to other screen protectors. The writing surface is great initially but quickly degrades as oil from your hands accumulates. You can restore a bit of the texture by cleaning it, however you get diminished returns on this as the protector ages. Another big draw back is that in order to reduce the rainbow effect they had to make them a bit thinner, and as a result they accumulate scratches quite quickly. They aren't noticeable when the screen is turned on (for the most part), but your iPad does start to look beat to hell fairly quickly when turned off.

I'm hoping the company continues to improve their product. Right now they're good, but not perfect, but for the price point they offer them at you'd kind of expect perfection. They are however, in my experience, superior to other matte screen protectors I've tried.

Anyway I hope this helps. If you have any questions feel free to ask :)
 

jdb8167

macrumors 601
Nov 17, 2008
4,739
4,444
Naked screen is pretty much writing on glass. Matte screen protectors feel more like writing on paper. I can tolerate dulling but the rainbow effect gives me eye strain.

Are there any matte screens that dont rainbow?
The Moshi iVisor has some dulling of the screen but I don't see any rainbow artifacts. Is there are particular way to make it more obvious if the screen protector suffers from them?

The latest iteration of the Paperlike brand screen protectors have very little (if any) noticeable rainbow effect, especially compared to the last gen. They also provide a much more natural surface for drawing or writing with the Apple Pencil, and they do a good job of reducing glare/reflections. HOWEVER, as a heavy user (I'm a professional illustrator and use Procreate in my workflow frequently), I can say that these screen protectors do have a few flaws of their own. First off, the cost is quite high compared to other screen protectors. The writing surface is great initially but quickly degrades as oil from your hands accumulates. You can restore a bit of the texture by cleaning it, however you get diminished returns on this as the protector ages. Another big draw back is that in order to reduce the rainbow effect they had to make them a bit thinner, and as a result they accumulate scratches quite quickly. They aren't noticeable when the screen is turned on (for the most part), but your iPad does start to look beat to hell fairly quickly when turned off.

The Moshi iVisor claims that it can be washed using tap water and reinstalled. I have no idea how many times that will work but it was what attracted me to try their brand. I don't have any sense of how it compares to the Paperlike for writing though. It makes the friction a little better but I'm noticing that the pencil tends to skip a bit. If it isn't something that I can learn to avoid, that will make me abandon my experiment.
 
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rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,565
12,681
The Moshi iVisor has some dulling of the screen but I don't see any rainbow artifacts. Is there are particular way to make it more obvious if the screen protector suffers from them?

To me, the rainbow effect is very obvious. No need to look at weird angles just to see it. Of course, I prefer to read dark text on light background. Probably won't be as obvious if you're watching video or viewing light text on dark background.

My Kindle Paperwhite 3 also has a matte textured finish but that it doesn't have any rainbow artifacts like the $10 Amazon matte screen protectors I've used.
 
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thedreamking

macrumors newbie
Dec 14, 2021
28
36
The Moshi iVisor has some dulling of the screen but I don't see any rainbow artifacts. Is there are particular way to make it more obvious if the screen protector suffers from them?



The Moshi iVisor claims that it can be washed using tap water and reinstalled. I have no idea how many times that will work but it was what attracted me to try their brand. I don't have any sense of how it compares to the Paperlike for writing though. It makes the friction a little better but I'm noticing that the pencil tends to skip a bit. If it isn't something that I can learn to avoid, that will make me abandon my experiment.

On the original iteration of the Paperlike (as well as on a random matte protector I got off Amazon) the rainbow effect is noticeable if you look closely at the screen. I don't think there were any conditions I recall that made them more apparent. It wasn't SUPER obvious though, and I eventually got used to them. However, the difference was apparent when I got my hands on the newer iteration of Paperlike. They tackled that issue but it came at the expense of a thinner protector that more easily scratches.

When the Paperlike is new the texture feel is very obvious and rather pronounced. I actually enjoy it very much as a drawing surface, however as I mentioned in my previous post that sensation doesn't last very long. Wiping it down with either a a damp cloth and a tiny bit of dish soap or some screen cleaner restores the texture to close to it's "new" state, but it rapidly diminishes again. Even when the protector is "dirty" there's still a bit of texture feel happening, but it's nowhere close to when it's new.

Pros and cons to all options, but of the few I've tried the Paperlike was the best. I'm really hoping they come out with a new version at some point that solves the few issues I have with it, but who knows if that'll ever happen.
 
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