To Protect, or Not to Protect: That is the Question...

[stickstickus]

I’m wondering if anyone here is using their Pixel 8 Pro without a screen protector and would be willing to share their experience.

I am pretty careful with my phones (at least as careful as I am with my prescription glasses) and seldom used a screen protector with any of my non-Google phones (including many BlackBerrys, Motorola’s, Samsung’s and a OnePlus – if I tried a screen protector, I took them off in pretty short order). I never had any major scratches and only a very few micro-scratches on any of my unprotected displays. However, when I moved to the Pixel 6 Pro, there were so many negative reviews and threads about scratched screens that I began using a screen protector and keeping it on regardless of how much it taunted me and dared me to take it off. The Pixel 8 Pro has also been subject to a lot of negative noise regarding the Victus 2 Gorilla Glass display.

I have nothing but disdain for the many screen protectors I have tried, both TPU and tempered glass, from well-known manufacturers and Chinese “alphabet soup named” companies, costly and cheap. It just seems like every single screen protector is a problem in one way or another – (pick your poison) bubbles, lifting, too small, too big, fingerprints, biometric issues, yellowing, too slippery, diminished functions, impossible installation, expensive as heck, etc.

I would really like to hear from someone who doesn’t have a habit of throwing their phone in their pocket with their keys and loose change every day, who doesn’t leave their phone on the kitchen floor for Fido to chew on and the kids to jump on, and who doesn’t drop it every other week after one too many beers – you know, someone who doesn’t have a boatload of money and treats their phone (and all it contains) like a significant investment.

So what say you? Have I been sold a bill of goods by people who don’t really treat their phones with much in the way of respect and then complain when they have an issue or do I need to continue to use a vile screen protector because Gorilla Glass Victus 2 is really just a step or two above Saran Wrap when it comes to scratch protection? TIA

I have never used a screen protector on any of my phones and that's going back to my first one, a Phillips phone! I always use: Protectology Liquid Glass Screen Protection which I get from Amazon. I have a OnePlus 9 5G and no marks or scratches on the screen or indeed, anywhere on the phone. I don't use a case with this phone which I have had since it's release. My OnePlus 12R and Pixel 8 Pro I do use cases on as both are 'slippery' Phones but again no screen protector except for the Liquid Glass.

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[sulla1965]

It all depends on if you usually resell the phone to recoup, Selling a phone in "mint" condition add value. Having to sell one with a cracked screen, or ones with multiple scratches, lessons that value.

But if you hold on to phones for a couple of years then regulate it to a draw. One doesn't have to worry about not using a screen protector.

Or just use a cheap plastic one. THose won't prevent cracked screens, but will protect against micro scratches.

 

[SeeBeeEss]

Thanks to all who weighed in. I appreciate hearing your diverse experiences and perspectives. I decided to go screen protector-less and, one month in, do not regret the decision - using the phone without a screen protector just makes for a significantly better experience IMHO. When all is said and done, I realize that I could inadvertently scratch my phone's display at some point and be more than a little disappointed, but I am no longer overly-focused on that possibility - in part thanks to some of the replies to this thread. Truth is, I don't have a lens protector on my prescription glasses or sunglasses (both with fragile anti-glare coating) or a screen protector on my 8-month-old Pixel Watch and none of them have scratches, micro or otherwise (yes, I realize the glass properties are somewhat different in each of the aforementioned items). I pretty much use the same care in the handling of all glass.

We all use our "stuff" differently and in a way that works best for us. Environment also plays a role in how we handle "stuff" in a way that works (not a lot of sand where I live, I am retired and don't have to deal with some of the workplace hazards others might have to deal with on a daily basis, and I even take off my watch and use an old pair of glasses (or safety goggles) when working on projects where there is any chance that a foreign object might fly into my face or arms, etc. - hey, I was being honest when I said that I was pretty OCD and anal retentive.

One of the reasons I was concerned about the seeming overabundance of horror stories concerning scratched displays on the Pixel 8 (and Pixel 6) series was that I have always made sure that my used phones have been in pristine condition when I gifted or resold them every year or two. Well, I have a feeling that I am going to be using this amazing phone for more than a year or two (last phone I felt that way about was a Blackberry Passport and I actually used it for about four years) and I am less concerned with the resale value than I might have been with some other phones - let's be honest, Pixel phones do not have the highest resale/trade-in value, anyway (at least in Canada and even with Google, itself, Canadians get significantly less in trade-in [irrespective of condition] when buying a new Pixel phone than our counterparts in the U.S. get [unfortunately, as a Canadian, you get used to being treated as a marketing afterthought ]).

Rest assured that I'll be posting again on the subject if I get a scratch or two (micro or otherwise) on my Pixel 8 Pro display and end up in a psychiatric facility because of them.

 

[hannsoft]

Never have used a screen protector since the first cell phone, which was very long ago. Never had an issue.

Same here. Never, ever used one and don't plan to. Only screen issue I've ever had was when my Droid Eris took flight across the room and hit the closet door. Screen protector would have provided me nothing then though.