Seidio Shatterproofs Your iPhone 5 or Galaxy S III

The Gorilla Glass protecting the Galaxy S III and iPhone 5 may stand up admirably to everyday use and in-pocket key scratches, but it’s still susceptible to cracking if something lands on the phone’s screen—or if you drop your device on the ground. If you’re prone to butter fingers rather than sure hands, you might want to check out Seidio’s new Vitreo screen protector for those very phones, which claim to offer “unbeatable, shatterproof protection.”

The secret sauce lies in the Vitreo’s tempered glass design, which is rated for sturdy 9H hardness. That makes them more similar to an actual Gorilla Glass sheet than the flimsy plastic protectors that are so common today. The Vitreo protectors still stick to the surface of phones with a silicon adhesive, eliminating gaps between the protector and the phone’s actual display while adding just 0.55mm (or 0.02-inch) of thickness to the phone’s profile.


Seidio offers Vitreo screen protectors for the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S III for $39.95 a pop, while a Vitreo protector for the second- through fourth-generation iPad will set you back $69.95. That’s a whole lot more than a standard plastic screen protector, but a whole lot less than the cost of replacing a shattered screen.

It’ll be interesting to see how Seidio’s shatterproof claims hold up in the wild—Gorilla Glass is also said to have a 9H hardness rating and it doesn’t exactly take a direct blow like a champ—especially if you drop a phone on its corner edge. Of course, if your screen protector cracks from a withering blow but your phone’s display remains intact, that’s a win in our book.