Got an iPhone 17 and slapped on a screen protector? You might have accidentally ruined one of its best features. According to testing from Astropad, standard screen protectors without anti-reflective coatings completely cancel out the iPhone 17’s improved Ceramic Shield 2 display, doubling reflectivity instead of protecting it.
Apple’s Ceramic Shield 2 cuts reflections by about 50% compared to the iPhone 16. That’s a huge upgrade for outdoor visibility and using your phone under bright lights. However, Astropad’s light-meter tests show that covering it with a basic tempered glass protector blocks the air contact the coating needs to work. The result? Your screen ends up more reflective than an iPhone 16, effectively making your upgrade pointless.
This isn’t just Astropad pushing their product, though they do sell Fresh Coat, an AR screen protector. Independent reports from 9to5Mac and MacRumors confirm the issue affects any non-AR protector.
The Trade-Off You Didn’t Know You Were Making
Here’s the problem: you bought an iPhone 17 partially for better outdoor visibility. When you’re reading texts in sunlight or checking maps while walking around, glare ruins everything. Standard protectors give you scratch protection but make glare significantly worse than older iPhones without the upgrade.
Astropad’s Fresh Coat claims to solve this by replacing the effect and cutting reflections even further than the bare iPhone 17 screen. Their data shows it achieves 4x less reflection than iPhone 16 glass and 2x better than the iPhone 17’s native layer. Other brands like Omoton offer similar AR protectors for less money, though reviews are mixed on durability.
Worth noting: Astropad obviously wants to sell you their $35 protector. However, the underlying issue is real. If you care about screen clarity outdoors, either skip the protector entirely and trust Ceramic Shield 2’s scratch resistance, or invest in one with proper AR coating. Anything in between just wastes the upgrade you paid for.
This isn’t just an iPhone problem either. Android devices with anti-reflective displays, like Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra or Google’s Pixel 10 lineup, likely face the same issue when covered with standard protectors. The physics don’t change based on the logo on the back of your phone.
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