Is Hori’s most expensive Switch 2 screen protector worth it?
I’ve been using a Hori brand film screen protector since the Nintendo DS days, so I decided to give Hori’s most expensive Switch 2 product a try: the Hori Ultimate Anti-Glare Screen Protector for Switch 2. According to Hori, it’s supposed to greatly reduce glare, enhance colors, and have an easy to clean anti-oil surface. I put it to the test.
Installation isn’t hard and that’s one of the reasons I generally stick with Hori. First, you need to wipe off the screen to clear it of any dust. The product does include a little cloth to help do this, but it’s not very good and can leave some debris if you aren’t careful. You’re better off using your own microfiber cloth to make sure the screen is as spotless as possible before moving on to the next step.
Next users need to remove a little tab off the back of the screen. This creates a sticky spot which is used to hold the screen protector in place during installation. It’s very important that you get the alignment right before moving on here, so take your time. It’s not that hard, but make sure to look at all four corners of the screen to make sure it’s right because there is no going back after this step.
After the protector is aligned, you need to hold the left side and peel the underside on the right to have the screen protector stick in place, and then peel the left side while holding the right. After that you need to work out the bubbles. The package includes a crappy little piece of cardboard to help do this, but it’s better to find an old gift card and cover it with a microfiber cloth as it’s far sturdier.
The final step is peeling off the top protective layer. Then you’re done, unless you're crazy like me. What do I mean by that? Well there’s a good chance that there may still be some dust between the protector and the screen. One thing I like about film screen protectors, Hori’s especially, is that people like me can work this out.
While this isn’t officially recommended you can lift up a corner of the screen protector with your nail and slide a piece of scotch tape, sticky side up, under a nice portion between the protector and the device screen. You then have a nice handle to peel the screen protector up and while doing so can slide another piece of scotch tape, sticky side up, under the screen protector to stick up and pull out the remaining dust pieces. This takes some skill and should only really be attempted on film screen protectors. It’s too easy to crack the glass protectors using this method so please don’t try it.
After this process, how does the screen protector look? Really good. I compared my Nintendo Switch 2 with another unit that has no screen protector and I didn’t notice any color difference between the two screens.
One of the main selling points of this screen protector is the anti-glare features. I first compared the reflection of my face on the screen, with the Switch 2 powered off, and noticed that when the screen protector is applied there is a noticeable difference, though maybe not enough for some people. My face did look dimmer in the reflection on the screen with the protector applied.
I then tested it to see how the screens would look when having a ceiling light reflect off them in a powered on state. While the pictures don’t do it full justice, there is a noticeable but slight difference. On the screen with the anti-glare protector, the glare appears a bit less intense and has more of an orange look to it. The base screen is brighter and has a white glow. While the screen protector doesn’t eliminate glare, it does make it less intense, but only a little bit.
Hori’s final claim is an easy to clean screen. Full points here as I’ve had no problem wiping away fingerprints or dust off the top of the installed screen protector.
Ultimately I’m happy with my purchase and do recommend the Hori Ultimate Anti-Glare Screen Protector for Nintendo Switch 2. That said, the anti-glare feature isn’t super impressive, so many may want to wait for the standard Hori screen protector which is seemingly hitting the market a week or so after this one and at less than half the price of the Anti-Glare edition. Overall, if money isn’t an issue you can’t really go wrong here if you’re in the market for a film-based screen protector.
