Best Tempered Glass Screen Protector for Nintendo Switch Lite

Do you happen to have a Nintendo Switch Lite? You’re likely not in the habit of buying a new one every few months. Though if you’re not careful, you can severely damage your screen and have to do just that. Otherwise, you end up having to play games through a hideously deformed screen, littered with scratches and buff marks. A bad visual experience drastically impacts the gaming experience. Scratches are a sure-fire way to ruin what would otherwise be a good time. To prevent that from happening, a screen protector goes a long way.

Choosing a Tempered Glass Screen Protector

When it comes to finding the right screen protector, you should factor in a few things. There is, of course, the glad hardness and thickness. Both of those factors drastically affect the screen protector’s ability to protect your screen from damage as well as its effect on your screen’s responsiveness. After those, you should be looking into the installation process and adhesive. Those factors are the first ones that become the foundation of your experience. Let’s dig in!

Glass Hardness

The hardness of tempered glass is the most important point for a screen protector. To measure hardness, there’s a scale referred to as the “Mohs hardness scale.” That scale measures the hardness of minerals in a range of 1 to 10. In this scale, normal glass is rated at a 5, whereas a diamond is a 10 for maximum hardness. It works by measuring the ability for minerals to scratch each other’s surface. That means glass can scratch any item rated below a 5 and can be scratched by anything above a 5.

Because tempered glass did not exist at the time the scale was created, the rating has changed a bit. After tempered glass was created and its use was seen, marketers got involved and pushed to get the hardness rating pushed up. You will often see a 9H rating, which suggests it’s only beaten by diamond. That rating places tempered glass well above minerals such as topaz or quarts. There’s a minor issue with this rating however, since 9H tempered glass doesn’t exist in those original terms. The hardness scale now refers to the pencil hardness test, not the mineral hardness one.

Keeping that in mind, the 9H hardness scale means a lot less than you might have thought. Despite this fact, a good baseline is to understand that the infamous “Gorilla Glass” is rated around a 7 on the Mohs hardness scale (not the pointless pencil scale).

Glass Thickness

If you’re trying to get a quick idea of the amount of protection you get with a screen protector, your first instinct is likely to see how thick it is. Thickness is a great indicator; however, it can also cause massive problems with the responsiveness of your touch screen. This alone makes it an incredibly important factor in the quality of a screen protector. Sure, you may get perfect protection with an incredibly think cover, but if you cannot use your screen, it’s pointless. So due to that, we will be going through the thickness of every screen protector covered today. After much practice, the industry seems to have reached an understanding of the perfect size. That size appears to be right around 0.3mm thickness to prevent any detrimental effects on responsiveness.

Installation Process

Installing a screen protector can be a breeze or the most frustrating process in the world. Surely every one of you has peeled off the plastic wax-lined cover from the adhesive and slowly applied it to your screen. Then, after being as careful as you possibly could, see that infuriating bubble that you can’t massage out. With the advent of curved screens, the application process has only become more difficult.

Adhesive

The adhesive is often the most overlooked element of a good screen protector. If your adhesive is too weak, it will peel off, rendering it utterly useless. If the adhesive is too strong, it can cause damage to your screen when you want to replace it. Some adhesive ends up being sticky to the point of peeling off without causing damage but still leave behind residue that is hard to remove. So, it truly is a science getting it right.

amFilm Tempered Glass Screen Protector for Switch Lite

The amFilm screen protector comes in a pack of three, designed specifically for the Nintendo Switch Lite. This means it will not work on the full-sized Nintendo Switch.

Build & Design

This tempered glass screen protector is ultra-thin. The size is that previously mentioned sweet spot of 0.3mm thickness. That makes it both resilient and still fully compatible with touchscreen sensitivity. For gaming, sensitivity is an increasingly important factor, especially if you’re gaming competitively. So many people completely forgo a protective screen entirely. This is because they need every millisecond of response time to get the edge over the competition. At 0.3mm, there’s almost no loss in response time.

The screen remains incredibly clear, and unless you look closely, it’s hard to see there’s a screen protector on at all. amFilm claims the screen is 99.9% transparent to allow a natural viewing experience. This screen is also highly durable and scratch-resistant. They, of course, rate the screen at 9h but go the extra mile with an oleophobic coating to minimize fingerprints.
The installation was very easy, simply peel and apply. Though we did not have to massage any air bubbles out on either of the three installations, we did take all appropriate precautions. Before installation, it’s recommended you clean your screen with the included microfiber cleaning cloth and the wet wipes. Doing so will prevent any installation issues.

Other Considerations

The package includes three screen protectors, wet wipes, a micro-fiber cleaning cloth, one squeeze card, and the easy installation guide. The entire screen will be covered with maybe a millimeter of space between the edge of the bezel and the end of the screen protector.

Orzly Screen Protector for Nintendo Switch Lite

Orzly has a well-deserved reputation for making premium quality electronics accessories. Along with cases, they deliver quality with their screen protectors. This protector pack was designed specifically for the 2019 model of the Nintendo Switch Lite.

A total of four screen protectors are included in this pack going beyond the traditional 3 pack, which isn’t a surprise given Orzly reputation for taking customer care up a notch. This is doubly demonstrated in the fact that they have a lifetime warranty. They guarantee that “once on your device, your glass screen protector won’t be visible and should not come off.” They offer a lifetime manufacturer warranty on any defects that impact their ability to make good on that promise.

Build & Design

Though we have previously discussed the low value of the 9h rating, it must be mentioned that this screen protector has that rating as well. We mention this mainly so that there’s no impression that one has it and another doesn’t. That said, this screen protector is the thinnest of the three being comparted today. Coming in at 0.24mm, this screen is both ultra-thin and incredibly transparent. With that degree of ‘thinness,’ you get essentially no reduction in the touch experience and responsiveness.

Other Considerations

This screen protector provides higher levels of transparency. The pack includes the previously mentioned 4 screen protectors, a set of cleaning wipes, a microfiber cloth, an application card, and dust stickers. The bonus screen protector is a nice touch. Unless you’re incredibly brutal with your Nintendo Switch Lite, you should not have to buy another pack for the devices lifetime (before becoming obsolete by the newer models.)

PLESON Tempered Glass Screen Protector for Switch Lite

The final contender on the list today is the PLESON tempered glass screen protector. This one comes in a 3-pack, which is the standard but still has 25% less than the Orzly. Again, like all of the previous protectors, this one is designed specifically for the Nintendo Switch Lite 2019 model.

Build & Design

A nice feature here is the hydrophobic element. It’s coated so that water experiences fear upon making contact (excuse my wordplay). The hydrophobic qualities mean that water rolls off it instead of beading on top and staying there. The precision laser cut tempered glass has 2.5D rounded edges and also reaches that 99.9% transparency. At 0.26mm thickness, it comes in as the 2nd most thin screen after the Orzly losing by only 0.02mm.

The PLESON is made from industry-leading Japanese special process glass and its unique adhesive glue. They claim their glass offers maximum protection from drop impacts though we did stop the tests one step before dropping our Nintendo Switch Lite. As far as scrapes or rubbing damage from keys, it holds up very well. The screen is also anti-shatter, so if you should happen to drop it, it will break into smaller pieces that are not sharp. This adds to the safety rating, and if you’re buying a screen protector for your kids will ease your mind a bit.

Other Considerations

Just like the Orzly, this screen protector comes with a lifetime warranty program. That stacks it up pretty close to the other in terms of customer care.

Choosing Between 3 Great Tempered Glass Screen Protectors

When it comes down to it, all of these screen protectors performed great. None of them had any defects that would cause issues with their ability to perform a protective function for your Nintendo Switch Lite. All of them adhered well and did not leave a residue when removed. None of them had any bubbles trapped under the screen when applied. Each of them was tested for response reduction, and we were unable to detect any decrease in response time. Even with the thickest screen with the amFilm at 0.33mm, there was no detectable reduction.

The amFilm was the thickest of the three, and despite that fact, it performed just as well. The additional thickness might help prevent damages to your screen when bumped. Despite that this was the least impressive of the three contenders.

The Orzly feels like it’s the highest quality out of the screen protectors we tested. Even though all of these performed wonderfully, there’s something about the experience when applying and using the Orzly, that just feels a notch above the rest. Though that is not a technical rating demonstrating its higher quality, if you were to buy all of these and try them out for yourself, we are sure you would agree with us here. On to of the mystically better experience, they also give you an extra screen protector should you need it. Also, the thin screen is almost seamless when applied to the Nintendo Switch Lite to the point that it feels like it’s the original screen.

The PLESON is a very close second. This screen has some great features, including the advertised safety anti-shatter function. That, along with the hydrophobia, makes this one the top pick for features alone. Along with it nearly matching the Orzly in terms of how “thin” the screen is, and it seems like we would pick the PLESON hands down. Somehow though, there was just an element of the experience that was slightly less fluid than the Orzly. If you have any siblings or friends, we encourage you to each buy a different screen protector and trade one each with each other so that you can try it for yourself. When you do this, we hope you will return here to perhaps put to words that mystical element that gave the Orzly a one up on the competition, or tell us how much you disagree.

Whatever decision you make, all three of these tempered glass screen protectors are amazing quality, and you will be well off protecting your Nintendo Switch Lite with any of them.