After repairing their device, many satisfied Shatter Buggy customers have asked me, “what’s the best case to prevent cracks?” Cases are definitely helpful, and the merits of a good case are detailed here. But if you’re really about protection, a screen protector/case combo will provide the most protection possible. Sadly even with the best case/screen protector combo, it is still possible for your phone to shatter. They are made of glass after all, and even the strongest glass can break. However, with the assistance of a tempered glass screen protector, your phone’s chances of surviving a drop are significantly improved.
Why Tempered Glass Screen Protectors?
Shatter Buggy has teamed up with the best tempered glass pros in the business, Red Zombie. Red Zombie’s glass rates 9H on the hardness scale, has an oleophobic coating and it’s hammer tested. It’s a great product! Which is why we chose them. But what do all those specs mean for protecting your phone?
Glass is pretty strong. Tempered glass is even stronger. In order to temper glass, it is usually treated with chemicals, be it acid or salts. Red Zombie’s glass is not only tempered, it’s also 9H tough. 9H is the highest rating awarded on “pencil” scale. The pencil scale is used to tell how resistant a surface is to scratches or abrasions, not necessarily a materials overall toughness. The toughness is the tempered part and the scratch resistance is the 9H bit. Keys, knives, coins—none of it can scratch Red Zombie glass. Even if you do manage to find something that can scratch 9H glass, Red Zombie’s glass has a self healing nano coating that can “heal” minor scratches and abrasions.
Oleopho-what? Oleophobic coating is a fancy way of saying there is a layer on the glass that resists the oils that create fingerprints and smudges. Most modern smartphones have this coating, so naturally, their screen protectors should as well. What about the hammer test? Easy. Put red zombie glass on your phone, hit it with a hammer. The Red Zombie glass may break, but your phone will not. ***DO NOT DO THIS, JUST TAKE MY WORD FOR IT*** If you don’t believe me, there are several YouTube videos of other people willing to hit their phone with a hammer.
The Science Behind Tempered Glass Screen Protectors
These glass screen protectors really work. That’s why Shatter Buggy now offers them. Shattering your phone sucks so, anything that is proven to help prevent shattering, we’re happy to promote. But how does more glass help keep your phone safe and sound? The short answer is physics. While I enjoy myself some physics, my eloquence pertaining to the topic is not quite up to par. However, in my research I found a helpful explanation from Michael Vogel on Quora.
“When you drop something it has kinetic energy. As it falls it collects more and more until it reaches terminal velocity. When it impacts, the part that impacts absorbs the energy until it reaches a breaking point and then shatters. So if you put a tempered glass cover on your phone and the amount of energy that is imparted from the fall is less than the energy that it takes to break, it won’t shatter. If it does shatter and the amount of energy remaining is less than the amount it takes to shatter the screen, your cover will shatter but not your screen.”
While it is possible for your screen to Shatter from a drop, it becomes less possible with a good case, and even less possible with a Red Zombie tempered glass screen protector. And if all else fails, there’s always Shatter Buggy.
-Daniel
-Shatter Buggy, Denver
