Moved phone to a different case with an exposed camera plateau, so finally got around to installing the protectors I ordered from Aliexpress, as well as a different one for the main screen.
For the plateau, I was only looking for something to mitigate light scratches and other minor surface blemishes, not one of the full glass canopies that cover everything. But I did order a couple of those out of curiosity, as they're dirt cheap as well. I might have considered installing those if they left the lenses uncovered, but they don't, and I did not want to potentially compromise camera performance.
The one I did install are labeled as "DIXSG" brand in the listing, as well as a Brand+ item, which presumably means something, but in practice, they came unbranded in one of the ubiquitous small ziplock envelopes, and are available from a multitude of sellers. They claim to be glass, which is plausible, but could also very well be some kind of rigid plastic film. They do have sharp edges and aren't floppy like the old PET film screen protectors.
In short, regardless if they are, or aren't glass, I'm satisfied that they'll serve as desired, and were little risk, costing about 50 cents each in a five-pack.
The only minor thing I might wish for is if they were matte, not glossy. Those are also available, but I couldn't find ones cut in a pattern that fully enclosed the camera turrets, and that took priority.
Installation was straightforward, and I even managed to get the alignment pretty close on the first attempt. A tip -- one of the squeegees that are now included with some protector kits was very useful to help get the confined areas around the camera turrets to adhere properly.
For the main screen, I took a chance on a protector from a brand called AmazingThing, which seemed to offer some pretty polished products at a decent cost.
Scant reviews can be found about them, but they looked good on paper, having "full" coverage, all the usual bullet points, as well as AR coating, at a acceptably reasonable cost in the $10-15 range. Higher than I normally would pay for something of this nature, but you only live once…no?
Initial impressions are that this protector turned out to be fine, but a bit disappointing for two reasons --
1) the coverage area isn't truly full, which is what motivated me to replace the prior cheap amFilm. It's better, but still leaves more of dust collecting gap around the perimeter than I'd like, and despite being described as 3D, the edges aren't as progressively rounded as hoped. Though as pictured, it does have the bump to cover the top speaker area.
2) Upon installation, there were a few stubborn minor bubbles. Certainly nowhere nearly as bad as with the one reviewed above, but it didn't lay down completely cleanly as the amFilm did at half the cost. But, the real issue is the three small splotchy areas that didn't go away, and aren't bubbles, but flaws in the adhesive or other layers. They can only be seen on a black screen, but paying more for disappointing results wasn't in my game plan.
I contacted the company with a question prior to purchase, and they responded quickly, and clearly. I'll contact them about this issue, and see how they respond.
Still, even if they provide a replacement unit to try, I suspect I'll reluctantly pony up and order the Nimaso pictured above for its coverage area and edge profile.
