Screen protector preferences

[Yossarian]

Looking to get a matte finish screen protector to help with glare and fingerprints. There are multiple options, so I thought I'd ask the community for their thoughts about PET vs glass. Would also be interested in hearing about installation, and the relative ease, or lack thereof, of the various types out there.

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[godfodder0901]

Looking to get a matte finish screen protector to help with glare and fingerprints. There are multiple options, so I thought I'd ask the community for their thoughts about PET vs glass. Would also be interested in hearing about installation, and the relative ease, or lack thereof, of the various types out there.

Go with glass. The cost isn't that much more, the feel is better, installation is really easy, and the durability is better. I went with the Spigen, but there are many other options from @AO_Pete, @twraps and others.

 

[twraps]

In terms of installation they are pretty similar (PET vs Glass). What I observe though is that many people will crack the glass in time (usually a small accidental hit and it's cracked), while no such issues with PET. With that said, Glass might be better for shock absorption and is more scratch resistant. In terms of how they affect the visibility/screen/fingerprints - they are pretty much the same. The matte finish is a coating applied during the manufacturing process. That coating creates the matte finish which also reduces fingerprints. The downside is that under direct sunlight it might create a strange haze/glare that some people hate. The glossy/clear ones lack that coating and as such once installed (properly) you can't tell it's there (doesn't change the visuals one bit) but they also don't provide fingerprints resistance.

I hope this helps

 

[MidnightRivian]

I like glossy glass

 

[Yossarian]

Spigen seems to be one of the few using tempered glass.

The Twraps website indicates that their protectors are made from PET and claim it lasts longer and doesn't scratch. EV Sportline says theirs are "non-glass" and made from PET.

Does one material offer any advantage over the other in terms of something like being able to remove it more easily? Glass seems like it may be more difficult to remove or even reposition.

 

[Yossarian]

Thanks for the helpful response Twraps.

 

[Mathme]

To each his own however, I've never seen the need for a screen protector. What are you protecting your screen from?

Reflected glare? In 17k miles of driving over the past year I can count the ZERO times I've had any glare reflected off of either screen. This time of the year I'm more likely to get glare off of my phone sitting on the charging pad on the center console...and that only lasts for a few months until the sun changes position again.

Fingerprints? Those are easily wiped off with the microfiber cloth I keep under the front of the driver seat (for just said purpose) while sitting at a stoplight.

Dust, pollen, & dog hair? A screen protector won't keep any of these off your screens however, the microfiber seems to do a good job.

Flying objects? If you have any objects flying toward your glass cockpit screens, I think you may have a bigger problem than what a screen protector could solve.

Again, to each their own, but this seems to be a solution without a problem.

 

[WattTruckMatt]

I prefer matte screens and tried a few brands when I first picked up my R1T 2yrs ago.

I finally settled on Screen ProTech and have been very happy with them:
https://screenprotech.com/collections/rivian

 

[godfodder0901]

To each his own however, I've never seen the need for a screen protector. What are you protecting your screen from?

Reflected glare? In 17k miles of driving over the past year I can count the ZERO times I've had any glare reflected off of either screen. This time of the year I'm more likely to get glare off of my phone sitting on the charging pad on the center console...and that only lasts for a few months until the sun changes position again.

Fingerprints? Those are easily wiped off with the microfiber cloth I keep under the front of the driver seat (for just said purpose) while sitting at a stoplight.

Dust, pollen, & dog hair? A screen protector won't keep any of these off your screens however, the microfiber seems to do a good job.

Flying objects? If you have any objects flying toward your glass cockpit screens, I think you may have a bigger problem than what a screen protector could solve.

Again, to each their own, but this seems to be a solution without a problem.

Before the R1T, I would have agreed on all of your points. Now (more than 2 years of ownership) I've had glare from the screen blind me more times than I can count. I bought the matte protector from Spigen for the center screen only and have been really happy with the purchase. Now if I could get one to reduce the glare form the hood...

 

[KBabione]

I went with the Abstract Ocean Matte Finish after trying to back out of a parking space between two large trucks when the sun on the screen made it impossible to see the cameras. I've been really happy with them (a set of three), but installation of the main screen was challenging. You really want the screen to be black when you're installing the protectors so that you can see dust or bubbles and, no matter how many times I put the main screen in "Screen Cleaning Mode," as soon as I touched it the screen came back to life. You want to be outside so you have a lot of light to see dust particles, but the AO instructions tell you to turn off the A/C to minimize air circulation while you do the install. Not the best thing when it's 100 degrees!

If I were to do it over I think I'd have my wife take my phone and lock me in the Rivian so that the screen stayed blank while I did the cleaning and install - it was too frustrating with the car continuing to wake up when I wanted a black screen.

 

[AO_Pete]

Spigen seems to be one of the few using tempered glass....

It's all we use. In addition, our glass is aluminosilicate (i.e. the same as just about every cellphone) as opposed to soda/lime (basic glass). Spigen, and every other glass protector I'm aware of, is made from soda/lime glass.

There's a lot of differences, but the main one is in manufacturing - aluminosilicate glass is formed at the required thickness. Soda/lime is ground down to the required thickness, and then polished. This process, of course, stresses the glass, and makes it brittle, and far more prone to fracturing.

This is less of an issue in a car of course, but on a phone, you see it all the time. If you have kids with phones, you'll know they break their screen protectors all the time (at least, ours do!). This doesn't mean the protector saved the screen, it just means it's brittle.

So, now I'm a glass nerd, I set out to unapologetically make the best screen protectors available. There's so many ways to make cheap glass protectors, but making them from aluminosilicate glass, running them through a silver ionic process and providing a lifetime warranty are not three of them, lol.

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I ordered the TWraps matte ones one day after taking delivery of my truck. I like them and have definitely gotten some compliments from passengers that they liked the matte finish. Obv. ymmv. ?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CXMHNXTY/

 

[Ohm Boy]

Looking to get a matte finish screen protector to help with glare and fingerprints. There are multiple options, so I thought I'd ask the community for their thoughts about PET vs glass. Would also be interested in hearing about installation, and the relative ease, or lack thereof, of the various types out there.

Hi!! I have the Abstract Ocean Matt glass in my R1T screens. They are excellent quality and they sell a set for all three R1 screens. It’s really excellent. And AO is such an excellent small business as well with outstanding customer service.

 

[onesoil]

It's all we use. In addition, our glass is aluminosilicate (i.e. the same as just about every cellphone) as opposed to soda/lime (basic glass). Spigen, and every other glass protector I'm aware of, is made from soda/lime glass.

There's a lot of differences, but the main one is in manufacturing - aluminosilicate glass is formed at the required thickness. Soda/lime is ground down to the required thickness, and then polished. This process, of course, stresses the glass, and makes it brittle, and far more prone to fracturing.

This is less of an issue in a car of course, but on a phone, you see it all the time. If you have kids with phones, you'll know they break their screen protectors all the time (at least, ours do!). This doesn't mean the protector saved the screen, it just means it's brittle.

So, now I'm a glass nerd, I set out to unapologetically make the best screen protectors available. There's so many ways to make cheap glass protectors, but making them from aluminosilicate glass, running them through a silver ionic process and providing a lifetime warranty are not three of them, lol.

I’m glad I went with your matte tempered glass protectors!

Any plans on making similar quality iPhone protectors? After smashing my third $80 sapphire protector (the only ones I found that don’t scratch/crack within weeks), I decided to just go without a protector and immediately my screen is showing scratches from basic daily use ? iPhone screens have become so much softer and more susceptible to scratches as they’ve favored shock/crack resistance in recent years. I know it’s impossible to have ultimate hardness/scratch resistance (sapphire) without being more prone to cracking due to increased brittleness, but maybe as a glass nerd, you coulda better glass screen protector than the market currently has on offer for iPhones?

Back on the topic of this thread: I find the slight degradation in clarity/text crispness worth it for the improved smudge rejecting qualities and reduced glare. I also bought your little triangular microfiber/spray combo and it’s awesome for quickly wiping dust buildup. I mainly use the spray for smudges on the roof/side glass with a chamois’s I keep in the center console.

All in all, I’m glad I got the AO kit, and 10/10 recommend to anyone wanting matte glass. I also recommend you have a tint shop install if you happen to be getting any other work done, since I can’t imagine the frustration of trying to get a perfect dust-free install on such a large screen.

 

[AO_Pete]

I’m glad I went with your matte tempered glass protectors!

Any plans on making similar quality iPhone protectors?...

Hmm. No real plans. The iPhone screen protector market is beyond saturated, so it's almost impossible to get a worthwhile foothold. Because of the extra processing, the minimum order quantities are quite high, and phones upgrade once a year, so the whole thing becomes a bit of a pain to manage. About 8 years ago we had a range of phone cases with magnetic backs (pre-Magsafe), and they were awesome, but just offering the bare minimum for the current and prior year iPhones and the various Samsung's became quite the burden.

Wirth all of that said, almost 80% of our (US) audience is IOS, so I'll get a price for them, and see if it's viable. Would make an easy add-on for the screen protectors,

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