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Do you apply screen protector on IPad? If yes then which one?

does it in any way reduce iPad’s functionality?
Never applied screen protectors on any of my iPads and I have had 3. That being said, I am tempted to get one for my current iPad Pro, but I have not gone through with getting it done yet lol.
 
Does the paperlike protector has a texture? Is it not smooth? I don’t think I will like any texture on a screen protector. It has to be smooth…
It does have a slight texture. It feels like paper. The intent is to more closely mimic the experience of writing on paper, and the protector does that nicely.
 
Nope. Never. And I‘m an artist. I know a lot of artists apply a screen protector not for protection, but to give the screen a more paper-like feel when drawing. I prefer the look & feel of a naked screen. Bow-chikka-wow-wow. 😉
 
You guys have a pretty high standard for a scratch. No way on earth you don’t “ever get scratches”. I’ve run with and without protectors. I’m very careful with devices. However, it took less than a week for minor scratches and screen imperfections to appear on my iPads and iPhones when a protector wasn’t in use.

this is even worse when using an Apple Pencil.

if you mean ”deep scratch” or keyed - type scratches, sure. But I use a protector to keep even the micro scratches away. If you’ve used a device for more than a month and didn’t have a screen protector, there WILL be microabrasions and scratches visible when the device is clean when viewed in the right light.

I think these are misleading comments, especially for an average user.
I am pretty careful with my devices and every time that I’ve gotten a new iPhone or iPad and had to wait for a protector, the screen had micro scratches on it. Couldn’t notice them in normal usage but could see them on a black screen when held up to the light.

My favorite screen protectors for the iPad are Elecom if you like the paper feel and Power Support for a crystal clear protector. The Power Support comes with a premium price but the feel is better than a naked screen. Both protectors are film protectors which for me work the best for sensitivity.
 
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I typically don't on my iPads, however I did drop my 2018 iPad Pro and it cracked the screen. It is still working fine but I was afraid it was going to get worse as I could feel the breaks/cracks while using it. So I decided to see what would happen if I put the screen protector on now. I put it on and it worked perfectly. While I can still see the cracks, I can't feel them and have had no issues with sensitivity. I then used the second one on my iPad Air 4 and it works there perfectly to. I used the amFilm version from Amazon.

EDIT: Just a note I do NOT use a pencil, so can't comment on how that would work.
 
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I absolutely do. I'm too afraid of the screen getting a large scratch by accident. I have used AmFilm glass protectors 99% exclusively. However, with the new 11" 2021 iPad, I didn't have one available so I put a Zagg Glass Elite VisionGuard+ on it.
 
I’ve never used a screen protector on any of my iPads. It doesn’t go outside the house and I’m extremely careful when handling it. The only things that touch it are my fingers, so unless they cause micro abrasions, I’m all good.
 
Ever since my pro 10.5 I’ve started putting protectors on. Had paperlikes which are great for the pencil; for the 2021 12.9 it felt wrong to reduce the clarity and contrast on the amazing screen so I have a tempered glass screen. Considering a film protector as this one is very slippery.
 
iPad8, couldnt get used to it at the beginning, I had this impression that it was heavily impacted the sharpness of the screen, as its mat like paperlike for writing, after a month or so I didnt even notice it anymore and the really great thing is - it completely blocks all the reflections on iPad8 screen - thats the main benefit for me
 
Nope, tried it. Too much glare. iPhone has plenty of scratches, iPad less so.
replacement under apple care works out better for me than having to bother with these things
Same thought here.
 
Never used a screen protector and no single scratch.
I'm using a Smart Folio case all the time + AppleCare is enough for me.
 
I use a Spigen EZ fit glass screen protector on both my iPad Pro 12.9 (2021) and 12 Pro Max as I don't like scratches no matter how small they are. Doesn't effect how the device feels or looks at all, plus it gives me piece of mind that no matter how rough I may treat the protector it can be quickly replaced while my screen remains in pristine condition.

As for my iPad the Apple pencil 2nd gen works flawlessey on it, no issues whatsoever with sensitivity or accuracy. Never understood why some say they hate the feel of using a glass protector as the device your touching without one is glass as well.

And no matter how careful you are there will usually be tiny micro scratches on it under the right light, these are usually very visible under sunlight so no need to shine the device under a bright lamp at an angle to see the scratches.

I'm extremely careful with my devices and even then the glass screen protector on my 12 Pro Max almost one year on has a very tiny micro scratch that is only visible at the right angle, but at least if I wanted to I can swap that out in seconds cheaply enough for a new one.
 
I have run iPads with and without protectors. The main reason I would use a protector is when the iPad is being used by my grandchildren.
However to directly address the question, I have never seen an issue with a screen protector.
And putting that into perspective in my last job I supported iPads for a 44 school system that had over 5,100 school-owned iPads and the estimated on BYODD was around 3,000.
 
I've used Matte screen protectors in the past. Less visible fingerprints, less reflected lights/objects. Better writing quality, better screen protection from scratches. But lowered the display quality significantly - some noise, fuzziness, less saturated colors. I kept it on because I write a lot as a student, and appreciated how fingerprints were less visible.

After a few years of use, I took off the Matte protector to enjoy the display in its entirety!

As for my newer iPad, I'm undecided!
 
I have a glass protector on my 11" iPad Pro (2020). It works great. No problems with sensitivity, glaring, cowling, snarling, monthly bloating, or any other known protector issues.
I have the same on my 11” iPad Pro (2021) and my 12.9 iPad Pro (2020). I also have camera module glass protectors on both as well as Otterbox’d. Apple Pencil known for scratching the glass so best to protect it. Also when I sell them in the future they will be mint like all my previous i-devices which increases resell value.
 
I used one on my Air some years ago. But the scratches on the protector drove me to distraction, it was supposed to be scratch proof but working outdoors and using the iPad probably meant grit/dirt on fingers scouring the pad protector. I removed it and didn't have any mark on it when I traded it in for the pro many years later.
 
Don’t understand all “the bother’ a screen protector is, and how they “ruin” the iPad appearance or experience.
You will develop micro scratches without one, especially if you use a pencil.
It’s just common sense.
After reading many of these threads, I see most of the naysers bought cheaper (cheapest) screen protectors.
Even a good one can be relatively inexpensive. If you’ve never applied a large protector, I recommend have it applied by a reputable installer.
I always use one whether on the phone or iPads. Never an issue with Apple Pencil or third party pencil.
As to one of the early responders that stated people that use one are irresponsible with their devices, he has no idea what your usage case is. He needs to broaden his stunted experience.
 
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I use a Spigen EZ fit glass screen protector on both my iPad Pro 12.9 (2021) and 12 Pro Max as I don't like scratches no matter how small they are. Doesn't effect how the device feels or looks at all, plus it gives me piece of mind that no matter how rough I may treat the protector it can be quickly replaced while my screen remains in pristine condition.

As for my iPad the Apple pencil 2nd gen works flawlessey on it, no issues whatsoever with sensitivity or accuracy. Never understood why some say they hate the feel of using a glass protector as the device your touching without one is glass as well.

And no matter how careful you are there will usually be tiny micro scratches on it under the right light, these are usually very visible under sunlight so no need to shine the device under a bright lamp at an angle to see the scratches.

I'm extremely careful with my devices and even then the glass screen protector on my 12 Pro Max almost one year on has a very tiny micro scratch that is only visible at the right angle, but at least if I wanted to I can swap that out in seconds cheaply enough for a new one.
i tried spigen glass EZ fit on my 11 m1
anyway like i said ia lways put screen protectors on my phones
but for the ipad, its different story.
the tempered glass screen protector is thick, so when you use your apple pencil it's noticable that the tip of the pencil won't be exactly on the line of the letter that you write.
and also the glare is worse with a glass screen protector.
 
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I always had screen protectors on my iPhones and sometimes they saved my day. Currently I use one from ESR which is very high quality and doesn’t affect the image quality of the iPhone 12.

I never had any screen protection on my iPads. My last iPad was a standard 6th gen. iPad with the pencil 1st gen. I heavily used it the last 3 1/2 years. I had it daily with me on movie sets and had no time to baby it. It didn’t took long till the first minor scratches and lots of micro abrasions were visible when holding it in the right light and angle. Then I took it with me to Sri Lanka where I traveled with just a backpack from beach to beach and from jungle to mountains. It had contact with sand and all kind of dust. More scratches happened. Using the iPad watching on it in normal angles, none of the scratches are visible or disruptive in any way. It just doesn’t look like new when screen is off.

Now I got myself a M1 12.9 iPad Pro 512gb with a pencil and magic keyboard. Total cost nearly 2000€. The mini led screen looks just amazing and the feeling using the pencil is way better than it was on my old setup. The display still looks like day one. First I don’t thought about using a protector but keeping the high price in mind and the fact that I just can’t baby it because I need it for my job, I bought the same ESR glass protector for it as I use on my phone. Well, the black isn’t black anymore, reflections are worse now and if you look closely you can see something I would describe as “multicoloured grain”. It’s best visible on white screen, a bit like the protector would break the light of the pixels into a green/red/blue grain all over the display.

I hardly can think about anything else… I must decide and set priorities. With the screen protector I don’t care about scratches, micro abrasion and the annoying dust possibly causing all this. But the display quality looks bad, cheap and just not what I bought this device for… Should I just rip the protector off and enjoy my wonderful iPad like I did in the past without worrying about scratches? Probably the scratches and micro abrasion that are coming with normal usage wouldn’t even be visible under normal conditions. It’s just the little voice that keeps screaming “the next time you touch your unprotected iPad could result in the first minor scratch!” And I just want it to stay so wonderfully flawless.

I mean I know that all those little scratches time would bring, wouldn’t affect my usage and overall quality of the display but I still try to avoid them and ruin the display with a protector instead. Stupid isn it?

I guess I will keep the screen protection until I made peace with the fact, that the future scratches won’t affect my experience and the non protected screen image quality makes me happier than a protected screen looking cheap.

I am ashamed that such a first world problem bothers me so much….
 
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The screen protector I use for my new iPad Pro is...the Smart Folio! I also use the Smart Cover for my iPad Air 2. I considered getting an actual screen protector for my new Pro since it was a bigger investment, but I had a closer look at my Air 2 that I've been using for nearly 7 years and there are hardly any scratches on it. So I decided to continue going without one. The Smart Cover/Folio does its job for me. It's always shut and protecting the screen when not in use.

I plan on getting the Apple Pencil at some point, and still probably won't put a screen protector on. After talking with friends and co-workers, they haven't had any issues with their pencil scratching the screen.
 
apple care + is your friend
Here in Germany there is now way Apple changes your iPad under apple care+ just because of some ugly scratches.

The screen protector I use for my new iPad Pro is...the Smart Folio! I also use the Smart Cover for my iPad Air 2. I considered getting an actual screen protector for my new Pro since it was a bigger investment, but I had a closer look at my Air 2 that I've been using for nearly 7 years and there are hardly any scratches on it. So I decided to continue going without one. The Smart Cover/Folio does its job for me. It's always shut and protecting the screen when not in use.

I plan on getting the Apple Pencil at some point, and still probably won't put a screen protector on. After talking with friends and co-workers, they haven't had any issues with their pencil scratching the screen.
I use the smart folio as well. And the magic keyboard. I love to easy swap between them thanks to the magnet. But in my experience that doesn’t prevent the scratches I mean. Those happen while using the iPad. I guess there are some hard particles in the dust. And when you use the iPad those get stuck between the finger and the glass and cause tiny scratches.

It is the second day now with a protector on my iPad. It’s awesome to not thinking about scratches anymore and on dark backgrounds like the macrumors page it really doesn’t distract me. But there still is this muddy mushy feel and look… White bright screen like YouTube is horrible. I think I can’t get used to it.
 
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