How much do you know about your screen protector?
Screen protectors are made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), or tempered glass, similar to the device’s original screen they are meant to protect.
Even more, screen protectors vary in hardness. You may have seen the hardness rating on different packaging. Nonetheless, if you don’t know what this label means, then your probably asking yourself, “What is 9h hardness?”
In this article, we’re looking at screen protector hardness and what you need to know to purchase a reliable protector.
BREAKING DOWN TEMPERED SCREEN PROTECTOR HARDNESS
WHAT IS 9H HARDNESS?
Many people use the tempered glass today without knowing what 9h hardness is. 9h refers to the Moh scale of mineral hardness. Friedrich Mohs invented this scale in 1812, and it ranges from 1 to 10 with glass around 5 and diamond at the top of the scale.
9H hardness of tempered glass is not the Moh hardness. It really means the hardness of a pencil. To find a rating, you use the pencil test, which compares the relative hardness of a screen. When a manufacturer claims that their screen is 9h, it means the screen can resist scratches from the hardest pencil.
Of course, it makes no sense comparing a glass material with a pencil. Hence, we analyze the hardness based on the scratch the hardest pencil has on the screen. From soft to hard pencil, pencil hardness ranges from 9b to 9h. Testing various displays, we use pencils that have a lead hardness ranging from 6b to 9h, pressed against the surface at a 45-degree angle. The codes are given based on the hardest pencil that fails to scratch the surface.
Smartphones usually come with screens that are around 5 to 6 on Moh’s scale so that objects like knives, coins, and keys can’t scratch them. This is because they’re made of iron, copper, and steel(Moh’s hardness is under 5), which cannot scratch glass screen protectors of 6.5.
Fast Facts: You may ask why then do Gorilla glass above Moh’s 6 get scratched? Well, Corning has done an outstanding job in glass technology. With the introduction of Gorilla Glass in 2010, mobile screens have grown tougher, evolving this technology. The primary reason is sand, which has Moh’s hardness of 6 to 7.
