Only Certain Screen Protectors Will Be Compatible with iPhone 6s

When the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus models were announced on September 9, 2015 we were introduced to an exciting new iPhone feature we had never seen on any phone before.

The 6s and 6s Plus have a built in capacitive layer beneath the touch screen which will allow the phone to determine how firmly you’re pressing on the display; this new technology is more commonly known as 3D Touch.

Juli Clover, from Mac Rumors, explains how 3D Touch works in more detail.

3D Touch works through capacitive sensors embedded in the backlight of the devices, measuring microscopic changes in the distance between the glass cover of the display and the backlight, combining signals from the touch sensor and the accelerometer to respond to finger pressure.”

Naturally, with new technology come new questions. We have grown used to the way screen protectors work on modern smartphone displays, but what about 3D Touch? 3D Touch operates on a completely original technology, and it only makes sense that old screen protectors wouldn’t be compatible, right?

Well, this isn’t completely true. A short article was published on September 16 by the tech blog, 3d Techtronics, as they followed up with Philip Schiller, the senior vice president of marketing at Apple. Zaheen Hafzer sent an email to Schiller inquiring if normal screen guards would work properly with the operation of 3D Touch. Schiller responded, “Yes. Screen overlays that follow our guidelines will continue to work with 3D Touch.”

Apple’s Case Design Guidelines state “if a case design requires the Apple device’s touchscreen to be covered with an overlay, the overlay must not exceed 0.3 mm in thickness, introduce air gaps between the touchscreen and overlay, or be electrically conductive.”

It isn’t totally clear if Schiller was referring to Apple’s guidelines as mentioned before, or if Apple will be revising and publishing an updated guidelines document. However, Schiller did use the statement “continue to work” which leads us to believe approved screen protectors by Apple’s older guidelines will do just fine.

Apple features several cases and individual screen protectors for sale that have been individually inspected to meet Apple’s strict guidelines. Since the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s have the same screen-size, and Schiller’s supposed approval, there is a great chance Apple-approved iPhone 6 screen protectors will work just fine with 3D Touch on the 6s.

The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus will officially launch soon, on September 25; so consumers eager to protect their flawless 6s screens might want to pick up a trusted Apple-approved screen protector sooner, rather than later.