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Apple Stores will now apply iPhone screen protectors for you

Belkin and Apple have teamed up to add an easy way to add a protective layer on your iPhone. Would you buy one?

Scott Stein Editor at Large
I started with CNET reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR/AR, tablets, gaming and future/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles, board games, cooking, improv and the New York Jets. My background includes an MFA in theater which I apply to thinking about immersive experiences of the future.
Expertise VR and AR, gaming, metaverse technologies, wearable tech, tablets Credentials
  • Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps
Scott Stein
2 min read

Shattered phone screens aren't fun. Don't feel like paying the $99-$150 that Apple charges for an iPhone screen repair? You could always just add a screen protector. It won't necessarily keep your phone screen from breaking, but it might help. I've never been a screen protector person, but Apple Stores are going to make it easier for people on the fence with a Belkin machine that applies it in-store.

Belkin is installing Screencare+ Application Systems in worldwide retail Apple Stores starting today. The hardware, designed specifically for Apple, applies a protective glass or antiglare screen protector onto iPhones, helping remove air bubbles and ensuring what Belkin promises is a perfect fit.

Belkin already has something similar in place at many Target stores with its TrueClear Pro Advanced Screen Care, a screen protector for a range of phones that can be applied by machine in-store.

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Belkin's iPhone care system and its application hardware.

Belkin

The Apple Store-installed system is a different variant, and will only be available for the iPhone 6, 6S, 6 Plus and 6S Plus. The two options are a $35 Invisiglass shatterproof glass protector, or a $20 Anti-Glare protector (it's a little odd there are two choices; I'd prefer one that does both).

Screen protectors have been sold in stores for years, and some people find them a hassle to put on. The added application service, much like other places where Belkin's offered the machines, is included with the purchase. Now that it's something that can be applied in-store, will it encourage more people to get them? Maybe as people buy a extended care, battery packs and cases, they'll throw a screen protector in the mix, too.