This is a review of ZeroLemon Note 4 tempered glass screen protector. ZeroLemon » ZeroLemon Ultra Glass Armor – 9H Premium Tempered Glass Screen Protector for Samsung Galaxy Note 4 – Full HD
To be honest, I wasn't planning to create a separate review thread for this tempered glass protector after I confirmed that it has "halo" effect along the edges where it didn't stick to the screen of Note 4. As most of you already aware, Note 4 screen is slightly curved toward the edges and as a result a thicker screen protector, such as tempered glass, will not be able to flex and stick to that part of the screen. As a matter of fact, even some of the film screen protectors have problem with that, and I see some manufacturers pre-cutting them to cover only the display portion of the screen. Hopefully a robust solution will be available soon, but what do we do in a meantime?
I thought I will wait and see until a week after getting my Note 4 I discovered a small hairline scratch on a screen of my brand spanking new phone with Gorilla 3 glass. That quickly changed my mind and I figured to apply Zerolemon tempered glass protector while I'm waiting for a better solution. I didn't buy it and received it as a review sample in exchange for my honest opinion about it. But for $8.99 I think it worth every penny even as a temporary solution. Here is why.
Beside the low price, this is actually high quality tempered glass protector offering a typical 9H hardness rating, rounded edges, high glass clarity like original display, the same touch screen sensitivity for both finger touch and s-pen touch, and oleophobic coating to minimize fingerprints (which actually works quite well). And even so it has the same feeling like an original display glass, it feels less slippery when sliding your finger. The only problem, it doesn't stick to the edges and you can see this so called "halo" effect which is visible only with a black background. I demonstrated in my pictures below how it looks in both cases.
Also, I had no problem using it with my UAG Maverick case where the top of the glass protector doesn't even touch the bumper of the case, and the bottom of the glass protector goes underneath of it. I'm typically very anal about screen protector installation and will not allow a single speck of dust, so halo effect is not acceptable by my standards. But to be honest I had this screen protector since yesterday and totally forgot about those edges while enjoying a bit more of carefree tossing of my phone in the pocket.
Oh, and forgot to mention the most important part - installation took literally less than a minute. I used included alcohol wipe to clean the screen. Then, removed a protective film from a "sticky" part of the glass and laid it down pushing air bubbles out with my thumb after application. Of course, make sure you are working in dust-free area and have you hands washed with soap before starting. Though no specific instruction was included with this protector, if you don't have previous experience, just look up videos on YT.
Here are the pictures.
Unboxing, before install
After the install
With UAG case installed
With screen on (white and black background)
To be honest, I wasn't planning to create a separate review thread for this tempered glass protector after I confirmed that it has "halo" effect along the edges where it didn't stick to the screen of Note 4. As most of you already aware, Note 4 screen is slightly curved toward the edges and as a result a thicker screen protector, such as tempered glass, will not be able to flex and stick to that part of the screen. As a matter of fact, even some of the film screen protectors have problem with that, and I see some manufacturers pre-cutting them to cover only the display portion of the screen. Hopefully a robust solution will be available soon, but what do we do in a meantime?
I thought I will wait and see until a week after getting my Note 4 I discovered a small hairline scratch on a screen of my brand spanking new phone with Gorilla 3 glass. That quickly changed my mind and I figured to apply Zerolemon tempered glass protector while I'm waiting for a better solution. I didn't buy it and received it as a review sample in exchange for my honest opinion about it. But for $8.99 I think it worth every penny even as a temporary solution. Here is why.
Beside the low price, this is actually high quality tempered glass protector offering a typical 9H hardness rating, rounded edges, high glass clarity like original display, the same touch screen sensitivity for both finger touch and s-pen touch, and oleophobic coating to minimize fingerprints (which actually works quite well). And even so it has the same feeling like an original display glass, it feels less slippery when sliding your finger. The only problem, it doesn't stick to the edges and you can see this so called "halo" effect which is visible only with a black background. I demonstrated in my pictures below how it looks in both cases.
Also, I had no problem using it with my UAG Maverick case where the top of the glass protector doesn't even touch the bumper of the case, and the bottom of the glass protector goes underneath of it. I'm typically very anal about screen protector installation and will not allow a single speck of dust, so halo effect is not acceptable by my standards. But to be honest I had this screen protector since yesterday and totally forgot about those edges while enjoying a bit more of carefree tossing of my phone in the pocket.
Oh, and forgot to mention the most important part - installation took literally less than a minute. I used included alcohol wipe to clean the screen. Then, removed a protective film from a "sticky" part of the glass and laid it down pushing air bubbles out with my thumb after application. Of course, make sure you are working in dust-free area and have you hands washed with soap before starting. Though no specific instruction was included with this protector, if you don't have previous experience, just look up videos on YT.
Here are the pictures.
Unboxing, before install
After the install
With UAG case installed
With screen on (white and black background)