The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active smartwatch’s screen is made of Corning Gorilla Glass with curved edges. The usual 5D 9H glass or PET screen protectors will not protect the screen well so I bought the IQ Shield screen protector for Galaxy Watch Active as it contours well to curved surfaces.

Why screen protector for Gorilla Glass?

The Gorilla Glass is pretty tough/resistant against scratches by most materials but it can still be scratched. As with most gadgets I own, I like to keep them in near pristine condition – protecting them from scratches or blemishes while not bogging it down with bulky protections.

Screen protectors. Glass? PET? IQ Shield? Film?

I think most of us have used screen protectors on our devices at certain point in time. Nowadays, we commonly see glass screen protectors being sold. They are not actually made of glass but they are pretty tough and hardy. The PET (polyethylene terephthalate) screen protectors are those that looks like plastic sheets.

IQ Shield or thermoplastic urethane film protectors are softer than PET and they contours to curved surfaces well. They are also scratch resistant. However, they are not as smooth as glass or PET protectors. You will see the results in the later part of this article.

IQ Shield

According to them, IQ Shield is a revolutionary protective film designed to prevent damage to your device. It was originally manufactured by the US Army to protect military helicopter blades from high-speed damage, the film is specially formulated to keep your digital devices scratch-free and protected. Constructed of specialised thermoplastic urethane film.

So if it protects military assets, it should protect your device well.

The IQ Shield screen protector for Galaxy Watch Active

The IQ Shield for Galaxy Watch Active

I bought the IQ Shield from Amazon (US). It is also available from their online store (www.iqshield.com) but I got it from Amazon as I was purchasing some other stuffs.

Tamper-evident sticker for the package

Not sure if there are counterfeit copies of IQ Shield but the packages comes sealed with tamper-evident stickers at the openings.

The protectors, cloth, squeegee and instructions.

Inside the package, you will find the following:

IQ Shield protective film for your device

Cleaning cloth

Squeegee

Lifetime warranty information

Instruction sheets

Installation result of IQ Shield

The installation of the IQ Shield on the Galaxy Watch Active is pretty straight-forward. Just follow the video and everything should be fine. As the surface area of the device is small, the chances of having dust being caught up in the installation should be low.

The IQ Shield film contours round the curved edges but covers the screen more than regular screen protectors

The IQ Shield protector covers majority of the screen. Just shy of 1 to 2 mm from the watch case.

The IQ Shield film protector is not as smooth as PET films

Like what I mentioned at the earlier part of this article, the thermoplastic urethane film is not as smooth as PET films. You can see that the reflection is slightly pebbled or orange peeled.

The display still looks stunning!

Despite the characteristic of the thermoplastic urethane film, it does not affect the display or image quality of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active.

Conclusion

The installation process involves misting the device’ surface so some people might be apprehensive at first. Generally, light misting should not cause water damage unless you spray into the open ports or liquid seeps into the device.

Lastly, if you have a device with curved surface that needs protecting, IQ Shield is probably one of the better choices. Do check them out.