iPad Pro iPad Pro w/ Pencil: screen protector or not?

[Fattytail]

Just took off the screen protector on my iPhone and forgot how awesome it looked and felt without an extra layer of glass on top. Now thinking about doing the same with my iPad Pro. The effect will be even greater due to the anti-glare coating on the ipads. And yes, I've read threads about the Pencil scratching the screen, more due to little specks of dust getting picked up by the Pencil.

So not to rehash an old topic, but what are you all planning on doing?

 

[Kal-037]

I always get ZAGG glass for iPad, and especially wanted it for the iPP with the Apple Pencil. There is not difference in screen quality (except more reflection is there,) but saving my iPad from cracks or dents is far more important, (even though I baby my iPad) I still spent a large amount of cash and would rather not take the risk... Especially since I can't get Apple Care+ quite yet.



Kallum.

 

[Velin]

Never use a screen protector on iPhone or iPad. The screens are tough. They look fine years later, so long as you keep it reasonably clean. It's a complete waste of time and money using these plastic pieces to cover your screen. The screens are more than capable of handling heavy and significant use.

 

[iregret]

Never use a screen protector on iPhone or iPad. The screens are tough. They look fine years later, so long as you keep it reasonably clean. It's a complete waste of time and money using these plastic pieces to cover your screen. The screens are more than capable of handling heavy and significant use.

It’s different on the iPad Pro. Screens flex more.

 

[MrGimper]

It’s different on the iPad Pro. Screens flex more.

Also, the use-case is a bit different to an iPhone or non-pro iPad if you are going to use an Apple Pencil. So just because you didn't use one previously, doesn't mean you shouldn't now with a Pencil potentially attracting dirt and scratching the screen (as opposed to just protecting the screen from shattering from drops)

 

[MRU]

The apple pencil 'could' indeed attract particles of grit and scratch your screen. I have the 12.9" with apple pencil and I draw a lot on my device and I have scratched my glass screen protector especially when doing frequent cross-hatching and repetitive strokes. There is a monumental difference between a finger glancing off the screen and a pencil with a defined tip (albeit plastic) frequently & repeatedly hitting off it.

Save yourself a lot of headache and protect your $$ for the price of $15-20 it is more than worth it.
[doublepost=1497952544][/doublepost]

Never use a screen protector on iPhone or iPad. The screens are tough. They look fine years later, so long as you keep it reasonably clean. It's a complete waste of time and money using these plastic pieces to cover your screen. The screens are more than capable of handling heavy and significant use.

Yeah you have never lived in an environment where there is a lot of sand or grit particles have you ........ The smallest grain of sand can cause serious scratches. So a simple bit of sand or grit in your pocket if you are at the beach, with friction against the phone screen and you are looking at a mess of a device.

 

[sjleworthy]

never had an screen issues since day 1 with my 12.9 and Pencil combo, with has heavy use every day. Au naturale for me

 

[kazmac]

Nothing here. 12.9 stays at home. Should I buy another during a great sale, then yes screen protector because I would travel with it.

 

[Fattytail]

The apple pencil 'could' indeed attract particles of grit and scratch your screen. I have the 12.9" with apple pencil and I draw a lot on my device and I have scratched my glass screen protector especially when doing frequent cross-hatching and repetitive strokes. There is a monumental difference between a finger glancing off the screen and a pencil with a defined tip (albeit plastic) frequently & repeatedly hitting off it.

Save yourself a lot of headache and protect your $$ for the price of $15-20 it is more than worth it.
[doublepost=1497952544][/doublepost]

Yeah you have never lived in an environment where there is a lot of sand or grit particles have you ........ The smallest grain of sand can cause serious scratches. So a simple bit of sand or grit in your pocket if you are at the beach, with friction against the phone screen and you are looking at a mess of a device.

Whelp, that about does it. Guess I'm not taking my screen protector off. I also don't agree that these screens don't pickup scratches. My iPhone invariably gets micro scratches if I don't use a screen protector. It's not so much the glass as it is the oleophobic coating on the glass, I think. And speaking of which, that's the other thing. That coating doesn't last forever, which means after about half a year the screen starts getting smudgy.

Love the non-screen protector feel though. It's a shame there aren't better glass screen protectors out there.

 

[sracer]

Whelp, that about does it. Guess I'm not taking my screen protector off. I also don't agree that these screens don't pickup scratches.

It is highly dependent upon how one handles, treats, and transports their devices.

My iPhone invariably gets micro scratches if I don't use a screen protector. It's not so much the glass as it is the oleophobic coating on the glass, I think. And speaking of which, that's the other thing. That coating doesn't last forever, which means after about half a year the screen starts getting smudgy.

Love the non-screen protector feel though. It's a shame there aren't better glass screen protectors out there.

If you are transporting your phone in your pants pocket then yes, scratches (micro or otherwise) will happen. I transport my iPhone SE in a holster, no screen protector. Over a year of use and no scratches.

The last iPad I owned that I used a screen protector on was the iPad 2. When I bought the iPad 4 (skipped the 3) I didn't buy a protector it was then that I noticed that the protectors would scuff up and get scratched but when using the iPad without one, it looked as good at the end of my ownership as when I started.

I've used a variety of styli on the iPad 4, Air 2, and 12.9 Pro. None of them had screen protectors. None of them have any scratches on the screens. I keep the screen and styli clean. That's me. If not having a screen protector scares you, then keep it on.

 

[MuGeN PoWeR]

what screen protectors are you guys using?? can someone share a link?

Thanks

 

[MRU]

Spigen glast.r here

 

[MuGeN PoWeR]

Spigen glast.r here

cant find it for 10.5 iPad Pro!

 

[MRU]

cant find it for 10.5 iPad Pro!

Isn't the 10.5 same dimensions physically as the 9.7 albeit with bigger screen - I wonder if the 9.7 would fit as it covers the whole surface of device, not just screen area.

https://www.spigen.com/products/ipad-pro-9-7-screen-protector-glas-tr-slim

Probably not ... but I imagine they will be releasing one sooner rather than later.

 

[MuGeN PoWeR]

Isn't the 10.5 same dimensions physically as the 9.7 albeit with bigger screen - I wonder if the 9.7 would fit as it covers the whole surface of device, not just screen area.

https://www.spigen.com/products/ipad-pro-9-7-screen-protector-glas-tr-slim

Probably not ... but I imagine they will be releasing one sooner rather than later.

i dont think its same. 10.5 seems to be a bit bigger. yeah lets see if they release or not!

 

[texasstar1981]

so in order to avoid micro-scratches (which you wouldn't even notice when the screen is on and backlight) ... folks install cheapo plastic / tempered glass screen protectors which will show micro-scratches even quicker and reflect more than the original screen....

what are you saving the screen for? look at a reflective and micro-sratched screen protector for years and then remove it and sell an absolutely pristine original screen to the next person? ok.....

 

[sracer]

so in order to avoid micro-scratches (which you wouldn't even notice when the screen is on and backlight) ... folks install cheapo plastic / tempered glass screen protectors which will show micro-scratches even quicker and reflect more than the original screen....

what are you saving the screen for? look at a reflective and micro-sratched screen protector for years and then remove it and sell an absolutely pristine original screen to the next person? ok.....

They're selfless like that.

 

[MRU]

They're selfless like that.

Plus a €20 glass protector means I may keep a higher resale value for a device that is pristine and more desirable when selling. The extra resale value far exceeds the cost of a screen protector.

A tempered glass protector will not scratch any more than the devices own screen as the other poster tried to intimate either.

 

[sracer]

Plus a €20 glass protector means I may keep a higher resale value for a device that is pristine and more desirable when selling. The extra resale value far exceeds the cost of a screen protector.

A tempered glass protector will not scratch any more than the devices own screen as the other poster tried to intimate either.

I suspect that the tempered glass protector is not as strong/durable as the iPad's screen itself.

 

[MRU]

I suspect that the tempered glass protector is not as strong/durable as the iPad's screen itself.

Possibly but it is just as scratch resistant at a similar mOHs level of hardness.

 

[44267547]

Yeah you have never lived in an environment where there is a lot of sand or grit particles have you ........ The smallest grain of sand can cause serious scratches. So a simple bit of sand or grit in your pocket if you are at the beach, with friction against the phone screen and you are looking at a mess of a device.

I read @Velin post. I think what they are saying, is that the iPhone/iPad displays are fairly durable (Considering the Oleophobic coating does wear off) and if one exercises enough caution with how they handle their devices and care for it, you don't necessarily need a screen protector on the device.

Now from my personal experiences of all my iPhones/iPads/Apple Watches, I have never used screen protectors and all of My displays are near perfect. And my preference, is screen protectors can make the device look shoddy and cheap, even though I understand they serve their purpose.

That said, I do understand that debris that can't be detected and or visible by the eye, can easily scratch a device without the use of a screen protector, but again, a lot of this is user based and how one cares for the device.

 

[barkomatic]

so in order to avoid micro-scratches (which you wouldn't even notice when the screen is on and backlight) ... folks install cheapo plastic / tempered glass screen protectors which will show micro-scratches even quicker and reflect more than the original screen....

what are you saving the screen for? look at a reflective and micro-sratched screen protector for years and then remove it and sell an absolutely pristine original screen to the next person? ok.....

Well of course that's a good point. However, I think the idea many people have is that if the screen protector gets so scratched that it's annoying you can just replace it and you have a nice screen again. Can't do that if the scratch is on the screen itself. Weirdly, scratches are a lot more tolerable if you know they aren't on the bare device.

 

[spiderman0616]

I can give you an opinion on this based on personal experience--

I have owned several iPads in my life: iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad Air, iPad mini 3, iPad Pro 9.7", and now iPad Pro 10.5". I have never used screen protectors on my iPads because they're not sliding in and out of my pocket all the time like my phone does, and they always have a cover on them when not in use. I do baby them though--I've always kept my iPads in some kind of case, never use them with dirty hands, never wipe them off with anything but clean microfiber.

Except for issues I've had with screens coming with hairline scratches already on them, I have never put a scratch on an iPad screen myself UNTIL I started using the iPad Pro 9.7" with Apple Pencil. I must have gotten a piece of abrasive grit or something caught in between the screen and the Pencil, because I did manage to put a small scratch in the screen while sketching. Nothing major that I could feel with my fingernail or anything, but a scratch nonetheless.

Once that happened, I put a tempered glass screen protector on the iPad Pro 9.7", and I also put one on my 10.5" as soon as I took it out of the box. Yes, it cancels out the anti-reflective effects of the iPad's screen and it makes the Pencil a bit more slippery, but I don't care. Scratches in the screen are something I will avoid at all cost. I want peace of mind, and I want to be able to sell the iPad for the maximum amount when I upgrade.

EDIT: Case in point--when I sold my iPad Pro 9.7" on Swappa, the buyer commented on its pristine condition when he closed out the sale--he was very impressed. I suppose he didn't notice the small scratch or didn't care about it since it was a used iPad.
[doublepost=1498143380][/doublepost]

Whelp, that about does it. Guess I'm not taking my screen protector off. I also don't agree that these screens don't pickup scratches. My iPhone invariably gets micro scratches if I don't use a screen protector. It's not so much the glass as it is the oleophobic coating on the glass, I think. And speaking of which, that's the other thing. That coating doesn't last forever, which means after about half a year the screen starts getting smudgy.

Love the non-screen protector feel though. It's a shame there aren't better glass screen protectors out there.

Anyone who says their iPhone or iPads have never picked up at least hairline scratches even after daily heavy use has never inspected their iPhone or iPad under the kind of lighting that exposes them. Most of the time, if you look at the right angle under bright light, you will see at least hairline scratches in the oleophobic coating. That's just the way it is with no screen protector. It's way better than it would be with a plastic screen though, and some people just don't consider those to be real scratches.

 

[Billinmn]

Never use a screen protector on iPhone or iPad. The screens are tough. They look fine years later, so long as you keep it reasonably clean. It's a complete waste of time and money using these plastic pieces to cover your screen. The screens are more than capable of handling heavy and significant use.

I am a photographer and at times I will have 50 different people reviewing their headshots on my iPad. Some with rings on... some with diamonds on those rings. I have had my last iPad scratched multiple times by what I believe are rings. While they did not impair the visuals I always knew they were there especially when cleaning the device. On my updated iPad Pro I put a screen protector on (tempered glass).

 

[spiderman0616]

I am a photographer and at times I will have 50 different people reviewing their headshots on my iPad. Some with rings on... some with diamonds on those rings. I have had my last iPad scratched multiple times by what I believe are rings. While they did not impair the visuals I always knew they were there especially when cleaning the device. On my updated iPad Pro I put a screen protector on (tempered glass).

My wife put a hairline scratch on my Apple Watch when her diamond ring brushed by the screen one night. It's not something you can ever see unless you're really looking for it, but it's there nonetheless. I will accept a certain amount of that kind of damage on a watch, since it's something you wear on your body and is going to take some hits here and there, but I just wanted to corroborate your story--rings DO have the capability of inflicting damage.