What is Tempered Glass?

Tempered glass is made by controlled chemical and thermal treatments to increase its strength. The glass is first first heated and then rapidly cooled with help of blowers. One surface gets cooled much faster thus putting it in compression and the other surface in tension. This difference makes the glass 5 to 10 times more stronger than it was in the first place. All the technical jargon apart, you can buy one for all popular smartphones from all leading online stores for a nominal charge.

More Durable

The biggest reason to choose tempered Glass is because it’s more durable. Most of these are 2.5D hardened and you won’t have to worry about your display meeting your keys or coins in your pocket. Tempered glass can also resist scratches from pointed sharp object and can even absorb shock when you occasionally drop your phone, thus protecting your display. With more severe falls, tempered glass will shatter in to small pieces but your display will remain intact.

Better Feel

The Tempered glass feels like a non-existent glass layer on top and while you touch it, it feels lot better than conventional plastic. Since its also more durable, the experience remains same in the long run. It is much easier to get rid of fingerprint grease as well. The conventional scratch guard on the other hand won’t feel like glass, but plastic.

Easier to Clean and Resistant to Smudges

With time Scratch Guard accumulates more scratches and is much harder to clean. You can simply wipe it from the corner of your tee or handkerchief. The Tempered glass can be easily cleaned as most of these come with oleophobic coating which also makes them resistant to finger prints.

Outdoor Visibility

Be it glossy or matte finish scratch guard, it noticeably affects outdoor visibility of your device. Tempered glass on the other hand won’t augment glare of any sort if installed properly. Matte finish screen protectors work better outdoors as compared to glossy ones, but Tempered glass is still better in this regard.

Sharpness and Clarity

The tempered glass won’t affect colors, image quality and sharpness from your display. Plastic screen protector can obscure light transmitting from your display thus affecting color gamut on your device. Thus if you like watching images and videos or are passionate about smartphone photography, Tempered glass is the one you should choose.

Conclusion

Besides these advantages, Tempered glass is quite safe as it fractures when pressure is applied to it. You don’t have to worry about it breaking in to shards. Before buying one, make sure that it comes with Olephobic coating, 2.5D 9-10 H hardness and silicon adhesive at the back so that it doesn’t affect touch sensitivity. Once you use a good quality tempered glass, it will be hard to get back to conventional plastic screen protectors.

Xiaomi Mi3 Screen Scratch & Smudge Test : Tempered Glass VS Generic Screen Protector