“According to sources, the ban will impact all forms of screen film, including completely clear film, anti-glare film, and mirrored film, regardless of whether the purpose of the film is protective, decorative, or both,” Starrett reports. “It will also prevent sales of film for iPods, iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers.”
Starrett reports, “One vendor speculated that the ban is an Apple marketing attempt to suggest screen durability…”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Could Apple’s move to oleophobic touchscreens that started with iPhone 3GS have something to do with this?
i have a anti glare film on my iPhone and it works…I think another angle on this “ban” would be to let Apple show how green they are not directly profiting by the waste generated by these non-reusable screen protectors
The Dude Abides (or so I assume)
Remember Apple Stores have a finite amount of space to display products, and they avoid clutter like the plague. So, if indeed Apple has decided to stop selling screen protectors in their stores, there will be space freed to sell other products. It could be as simple as this.
Adding iPad and its accessories to the typical Apple Store will take up space, and something has to give.
I’ve never used a screen film on either of my iPhones, and never had a problem with scratches over nearly 3 years of use… my 3G screen does get dirty/grimy from face and fingerprints, but a shot of iKlear and a few wipes with the microfiber and no more mess.
This is silly perhaps. I bought my daughter a new Sony compact camera with a large touchscreen. It worked very well in the shop and was very responsive to taps and gestures. They gave her a free clear protective cover. We fitted it and it’s really good except that it takes a few tries to get the camera to respond to taps and gestures. Often, you have to tap pretty hard to get a reliable, instant response.
Might this be a factor? Perhaps some covers effectively reduce the screen’s sensitivity to touch. I don’t know if the camera uses the same touch tech as Apple’s mobile devices. On those, you’d certainly lose the oleophobic coating’s effect.
For us the cover has spoiled a good camera. It’s coming off rsn.
Seriously are there people that are really stupid enough to pay the mark up for this protector from the Apple store? You can buy this stuff anywhere at a fraction of the price.
I think they are just getting ready for a new batch of socks!!
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Everything Apple says and does is perfect. I will only buy what they tell me to buy.
I use Invisible Shield for my iPhone 3GS and macbook pro. It’s been great for the laptop, but is kinda superfluous for my iphone. Still, the use of the word “ban” is rather strong here.
I use an anti-glare film, which I have applied perfectly.
These screen films are great and I need the antiglare film because my eyesight is poor and the glare hurts my eyes.
Apple should offer a service to apply these films and not allenate people with vision issues.
i agree with jobs, the screen covers are a waste. i had one for a while, all it did was get in the way a bit. the plastic back of my 3g is in tatters, but the screen doesnt have a scratch on it.
Could it be that the screens trap in heat causing the mysterious cracks in the screens?
I hate ads, but love the irony that most of the ads accompanying this article are for Invisible Shield.
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It’s their store and they can carry whatever products they want or don’t want. (The ban is silly but that’s their choice to make.) I’ll just walk down to the local Best Buy (in the same mall as the Apple store) and will pick up whatever protective screen film I like – or will order it online.
Whatever.
Peace.
One guy is suing Apple for millions of dollars because he got sweat on his Nano. I assume Apple is banning screen film because people will want to sure them because they might drop sweat on the screens.
The drooling zombie has spoken.
Way to go everyone for ignoring crap like Hazmatt and his Al Gore ranting. Take it somewhere else, ahole, we don’t care, it has nothing to do with this subjecrt.
It is possible that it has to do with the oleophobic coating of the newer displays (iPhone 3GS, iPad).
Such films might either not stick properly or damage that coating. And the device certainly loses the advantage of the coating that way which is really a pity and I could understand if Apple would not want to lose that.
I have never used extra protection for my iPod Touch or iPhone and have never had a scratch on the display so far (some on the steel back of the iPod Touch, though). I carry it in my pocket whenever I’m out of the house, but of course I don’t have keys, sand or other scratch-endangering objects in the same pocket.
Although the return rate explanation sounds like a plausible reason, too.
Never used them anyway. There is a great touch cleaner called iKlenz that takes care of the fingerprints and smudge.
In all actuality if the iPhone screen is really, really hard to scratch and you have a great cleaner solution with a microfiber cloth why do you need the screen protector, you have to clean those too anyway.
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WTF? There is no way in hell I am giving up my screen protector even if I have to buy it from unlicensed channels.
I dropped my iPhone from about 4 feet one time in SF on a jagged rock and I was devastated, thinking I had easily shattered the screen. To my surprise, the rock never pierced the protector. It left a huge pivot in the plastic (that looked like it had broken the screen before I took the protector off) but once I pulled that thing off, my screen was perfect.
Apple is getting more and more like the computing Gestapo. Why is Apple hellbent on us being blind followers of it’s ways no matter what the consequences to the consumer?
Why does Jobs hate his customers? If he asked Apple users (and fanboys alike) what we wanted, maybe we’d get a product that actually had the right features (hello, multi-tasking, web-camera, 16:9, MacOS on the iPad)…
@YipYipYippee …why do you not like the invisible shield? I think it is great.
Previous iPod screens got scratched (my 1st iPod touch and 80 Gb iPod) and with this protector, I never by a case anymore. It just works.
I fried one iPod applying it and Apple replaced it no problem. When I looked at the ipod however, the edge between the glass and the metal was not flush (like the replacement) so I am assuming that Apple may ship a bunch of these and THESE ones are the susceptible ones.
@YipYipYippee
What have you got against the Invisibleshield – I have had one on my iPhone 3G since the day I bought it, and it’s been just amazing. Whats more, recently I happened to be in California and there was a zagg stall in the mall I was in, I walked up, and showed them that some ofthe corners had come loose – they totally replaced the shield for only a $4 service charge – that’s a lifetime warranty for you.
This means that when I sell my 3G in a couple of months for a 4G – It’ll be in pristine condition – more £ for me
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HughB, let’s get some facts straight here since you’re basically calling me crap…
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Ray· said:
Is sun screen okay? I mean Al with “I-invented-the-internet-and-global-warming” Gore on Apple’s board that kind of screen should be in the iStore.
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Amazin1· said:
Ray, Ray — quite spreading the right wind, fascist line about what Al Core said. He never said what is attributed to him (I dare you to find actual quote in context) and he was in fact a major supporter of legislation that helped get the internet, as we know it, developed. So please, stop repeating the same lame stuff. I am sure you are better than that.
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HazMatt· said:
@Amazin1
Since you asked, here it is:
Al Gore’s exact quote is…
“During my service in the United States Congress I took the initiative in creating the internet.”
This was in response to the interviewer’s question of why should democrats nominate you over Bill Bradley?
I think an honest interpretation of that statement is that Al Gore is indeed taking full credit for “inventing the internet”. There is wiggle room and some truth in that statement, but let’s call a spade a spade.
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HughB· said:
Way to go everyone for ignoring crap like Hazmatt and his Al Gore ranting. Take it somewhere else, ahole, we don’t care, it has nothing to do with this subjecrt.
——————————————————————
But honestly, HughB… WTF? I wasn’t even ranting about Al Gore! Mr. First Post Ray was the one who started the off-topic political crap this time, not me, man. And as nobody else was responding with any empirical evidence, I “took the initiative” (so to speak) in reminding our dear MDN readers what Al Gore ACTUALLY SAID.
If your wrath is directed at me for continuing an off-topic conversation, I do apologize for that; off-topic political discussions drive me nuts too. But do yourself a favor in the future and freaking scroll up and gain some context before you start attacking people.
HazMatt
Love my Otterbox. You’ll never see my iPhones without one.
Power Support made the best films.
I suspect this is a CMA-type-thing so Apple employees don’t appear to us, the customer, as liable at when we ask them to put on the protector for us and they it screw up… just a thought… maybe wrong.