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.

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?

“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.”

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.

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.

Buying Options

$22 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.

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.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The GlasTR EZ Fit protector’s installation tray makes the process simple, but it also creates waste. (This is common among similar screen protectors.) You end up throwing away single-use plastic, and that’s a problem. We hope to see the concept evolve into something less wasteful in the future.

Runner-up

amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 16

A good alternative for the iPhone 16

This screen protector’s tray isn’t quite as good, but it’s a fine alternative if our top pick isn’t available.

Buying Options

$10 from Amazon

Also available for these iPhones:

• amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 16 Plus
• amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 16 Pro
• amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 16 Pro Max
• amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 15
• amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 15 Plus
• amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 15 Pro
• amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 15 Pro Max
• amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 14
• amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 14 Plus
• amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 14 Pro
• amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 14 Pro Max
• amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 13 and 13 Pro
• amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 13 mini
• amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 13 Pro Max
• amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 12 and 12 Pro
• amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 12 mini
• amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector for iPhone 12 Pro Max

The amFilm OneTouch Glass Screen Protector is another good choice for your iPhone, though we found the Spigen GlasTR EZ Fit (Sensor Protection) a little easier to apply.

It’s just as good as our top pick. If you were to compare the amFilm OneTouch protector and the Spigen GlasTR EZ Fit protector, you wouldn’t notice a difference in the glass quality. The two protectors are equally hard, and both cover the entirety of an iPhone’s display. We found Spigen’s installation tray a bit easier to use, however, and because we do compare screen protectors side by side, we did notice a difference in that regard. If the Spigen protector is out of stock when you’re shopping, the amFilm protector is a very good option.

Top pick

amFilm Tempered Glass Screen Protector for iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd generation)

The best screen protector for iPhone SE

This protector is as scratch resistant as any other. It’s also easy to install and very affordable.

Buying Options

$7 from Amazon

$7 from Walmart

Screen protector installation is easier on iPhones that have a Home button—including the iPhone SE (the 2nd-generation model, released in 2020, and the 3rd-gen version, released in 2022) and older iPhones. For these phones, amFilm’s Tempered Glass Screen Protector is the best choice, as it has the same high-quality glass as our iPhone 16 and 15 runner-up pick.

You shouldn’t spend more than $10 on a glass screen protector or buy any model that doesn’t come with a great installation system. At the time of our research, the following protectors either cost too much, lacked an alignment tool, or cracked when testing, and therefore we found no reason to consider them over our picks.

Anker’s HD screen protector has a surefire installation system but barely survived our testing.

Belkin’s ScreenForce Ultra Glass 2 screen protector offers an effective application process and a tough solution but only includes one in the box.

The CaselyGlass tempered screen protector was tough enough to survive our testing but its installation process doesn’t provide tools to remove air bubbles and only includes one in the box.

The ESR Armorite Screen Protector offered a simple and effective installation process but did not survive our scratch testing.

The Flolab OneTime screen protector is an affordable solution with a decent applicator but cracked easily during our testing.

The New’C tempered glass screen protector is a cheap and durable option but requires a free-hand installation process that leaves higher chances for a crooked alignment.

The Otterbox Drop+ screen protector is an expensive yet solid option. However, its poor installation process leaves too much room for errors and air bubbles, and the box only includes one protector.

The Rokform Tempered Glass Screen Protector appeared durable but didn’t offer the best installation process and cracked quickly during our scratch testing.

Smartish’s Tuff Sheet is affordable with a great installation frame that provides only a few errors, but our picks provided a better installation process.

Zagg’s Invisible Shield Vision Guard and XTR4 screen protectors are both tough options with a simple-enough applicator but our picks were cheaper.

This article was edited by Arthur Gies and Caitlin McGarry.