Apple puts Belkin screen protector for iPhone X back on sale after earlier recall

Posted:
in iPhone
Belkin's InvisiGlass Ultra protector for the iPhone X is once again available through Apple, following a December recall due to quality problems.




The new version of the accessory is 0.29 millimeters thick versus the original's 0.21 millimters. Buyers of the latter were sometimes complaining that the Ultra was cracking during everyday usage, as opposed to the incidents it was meant to safeguard against.

Belkin was hit with a wave of negative online reviews, likely leaving it little choice but to issue the recall.

Both Apple and Belkin have been offering refunds to people who bought the first-generation protector, according to MacRumors. The product costs $39.95.

Some form of screen protection can be critical for the iPhone X, since it uses an edge-to-edge display and lacks any kind of physical home button. A broken screen can potentially make the device even less usable than when the same damage hits other Apple devices, and the company is charging $279 for out-of-warranty screen replacements.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,911member
    I never understood the need for a screen protector - it's unclear to me how a 290 micron thick film will keep the screen from breaking if I drop my phone, and I have never had a scratched screen on any of my iPhones - the screen on my 6s looks as good as the day I bought it. They seem more like profit sales for the stores and kiosks than a useful product.

    If you're going to drop $40, a good case seems like a much better investment.
    hammeroftruth
  • Reply 2 of 10
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,192member
    The notch is unprotected from scratches that could interfere with Face ID operation.
  • Reply 3 of 10
    MplsP said:
    I never understood the need for a screen protector - it's unclear to me how a 290 micron thick film will keep the screen from breaking if I drop my phone, and I have never had a scratched screen on any of my iPhones - the screen on my 6s looks as good as the day I bought it. They seem more like profit sales for the stores and kiosks than a useful product.

    If you're going to drop $40, a good case seems like a much better investment.
    The screen protector does help protect from drops.  It usually shatters so the impact is distributed across the device rather than localized... similar to a bulletproof vest.

    My current iPad has a screen protector on it, and there is a scratch on the protector from my cat.  I’ll swap the protector at minimal cost.  It’s a great way to protect the trade-in value.

    The screens on Apple devices have a coating that is extremely easy to damage.  Even though the “glass” is fine, it’s the coating that’s the problem.  That’s why you’re not supposed to use glass cleaners...

    Bulkin is smoking something trying to charge $40.

    Here’s the one I have on my 6s, it’s $3.50 each with no tax and free shipping (Amazon Prime).  That’s so cheap, I’ll sometimes swap the protector than trying to clean it.

    JETech 2-Pack iPhone 6 6s Screen Protector Tempered Glass Film for Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s 4.7 ($6.99)


    P.S All my devices have cases also.
    edited February 2018
  • Reply 4 of 10
    MplsP said:
    I never understood the need for a screen protector...
    Neither did I, until the iPhone X. A split second encounter with a key in my jacket pocket caused a visible scratch on the face of the phone, less than three weeks after I bought it. I was livid.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 10
    MplsP said:
    I never understood the need for a screen protector - it's unclear to me how a 290 micron thick film will keep the screen from breaking if I drop my phone, and I have never had a scratched screen on any of my iPhones - the screen on my 6s looks as good as the day I bought it. They seem more like profit sales for the stores and kiosks than a useful product.

    If you're going to drop $40, a good case seems like a much better investment.
    I've dropped phones with screen protectors on them and the protector cracked but the screen didn't, thats kind of the point of them, to protect the screen..
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 10
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,911member
    mavemufc said:
    MplsP said:
    I never understood the need for a screen protector - it's unclear to me how a 290 micron thick film will keep the screen from breaking if I drop my phone, and I have never had a scratched screen on any of my iPhones - the screen on my 6s looks as good as the day I bought it. They seem more like profit sales for the stores and kiosks than a useful product.

    If you're going to drop $40, a good case seems like a much better investment.
    I've dropped phones with screen protectors on them and the protector cracked but the screen didn't, thats kind of the point of them, to protect the screen..
    But would the screen have cracked if it didn't have the screen protector? I have dropped my phone many times without a screen protector and it didn't break, while I know someone whose screen broke despite having a protector. Does that prove that the protector caused it to break? That's my point. There are plenty of anecdotes about screen protectors that saved screens, plenty about screens that broke despite a protector, and still more about screens that didn't break when they didn't have one.

    Protecting from scratches and/or protecting the surface coating on the screen I can believe, though in my experience it isn't necessary. Protecting the screen from shattering is another thing entirely. 
  • Reply 7 of 10
    Glass protecting glass makes sense. 🙄
    A screen protector is ok for scratch protection, but if you're counting on it protecting your screen from shattering when you drop your phone, you're playing with fire.
    The tapered corners of the iPhone 6 and newer have made the screen more fragile. 
    A corner impact usually breaks the screen. 
    Look at spending money on a good case before you pin all your hopes on a screen protector. 
  • Reply 8 of 10
    The 99 Cents Stores (and Dollar Tree) now Carry iPhone X screen protectors (the exact same ones Belkin sells for $40] for, you guessed it, 99 cents. (They also carry versions for the iPhone 5/SE, iPhone 6, and iPhone 7)

    ... and yes, tempered glass screen protectors DO protect the iphone’s Screen - both from scratches and from breaking. My clients’ screens have been consistently protected from cracking after a fall by the protector sacrificing itself.

    MplsP might not understand the need for one, but if he drops his iPhone and faces the $150 repair cost for a new screen, he wishes he’d had one, instead of not spending 99 cents. 


    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 10
    Mine broke – but my iPhoneX screen did not – so I figured it was useful protection.

    But when I went to the Apple Store for a replacement the product had been withdrawn. Belkin sent me a replacemen protector but not one of the caliber of either the product that was withdrawn or the new product. I was told I would not get a replacement unless and until until the interim protector broke. That doesn’t seem right to me:  I feel like I’m now getting less protection than what I paid for. I’m waiting to see if that policy changes. I’d expect to get the new 29 mm protector to replace the 21 mm one that broke on me. 
  • Reply 10 of 10
    Haven't busted your chops in a spell:

    "Because of" and "owing to" are both legit grammar. "Due to" is not.
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