Screen Protectors Without AR Coating Cancel Out iPhone 17's Anti-Reflective Display
The Ceramic Shield 2 material that Apple uses for the iPhone 17 display includes an anti-reflective coating that's designed to cut down on glare. It's a coating that prior-generation iPhone models didn't have, and it can make a difference in bright lighting conditions.
If you're someone who likes to use a screen protector with your iPhone, you might be nullifying the anti-reflective property of the iPhone 17 display, based on testing done by Astropad.
Compared to the iPhone 17, Astropad found that the anti-reflective coating reduces reflections by approximately 50 percent when compared to the iPhone 16, but applying a screen protector without an anti-reflective coating of its own makes the anti-reflective Ceramic Shield 2 coating less effective. According to Astropad, this is because AR coatings are created for direct contact with air, and covering them with an extra layer of material cancels the effect.
Astropad did screen protector testing because it sells Fresh Coat, a screen protector with an anti-reflective coating, and it is promoting Fresh Coat through its testing and report. Astropad says that Fresh Coat and other screen protectors with an anti-reflective coating can replace or even outperform the anti-reflective properties of the iPhone 17's display.
Fresh Coat by Astropad enhances AR clarity on any iPhone, creating a surface nearly 4x less reflective than the display on an iPhone 16 and 2x less reflective than iPhone 17's Ceramic Shield 2.
Astropad did controlled testing with a light meter, and full testing results can be found on the Astropad website.
Popular Stories
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
Apple recently acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to Financial Times sources. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014.
This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019....
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
