Replacing a screen on a new phone can be almost half the cost of a phone like the $400 Pixel 3a, so please, protect that screen before gravity pulls it down to a shattering demise. We’ll be updating this guide as we continue to see more and more protectors become available, but here’s the best of what’s available today.
Stronger, harder, oleophilic
InvisibleShield Glass Elite
This is the latest of InvisibleShield’s tempered glass screen protectors, claiming to be four times stronger than traditional tempered glass screen protector. On top of its insane impact protection, it also features an oleophilic — not phobic, philic — screen that thins fingerprints to invisibility.
$40 at
ZAGG
Blacked out
ESR Tempered Glass (2-Pack)
ESR’s tempered glass protectors try to emulate the look of your original glass with black matte around the top, bottom, and sides, which can provide a cleaner overall look. However, the black matte also means that you’ll need to be perfectly aligned or risk blocking part of the screen.
$14 at Amazon
Case friendly
LK Tempered Glass (3-Pack)
This trio of screen protectors are slightly smaller than the front glass on your Pixel 3a so that they won’t peel up at the corners when you stick it in a case. And three in the pack gives you more tries to apply it correctly — or spares if you need it.
$10 at Amazon
Low-priced protection
Supershieldz Tempered Glass (2-Pack)
With 9H hardness, oleophobic coating against fingerprints, and nicely beveled edges to help the glass blend in and stay down, Supershieldz tempered glass protectors are a good option if you need a spare protector without breaking the bank.
$8 at Amazon
Protect the whole pack
Supershieldz Screen Protector (6-Pack)
If you’re the type to buy the same phone for everyone in the family so that everyone’s phones work the same, you may need to protect a whole host of Pixel 3as. If that’s the case these Japanese PET Film protectors from Supershieldz are priced to perform and protect.
$8 at Amazon
Will Pixel 3 screen protectors fit the 3a?
The differences between the front of the Pixel 3 and 3a are incredibly slight and most screen protectors will technically fit if you’re sidegrading from the 3 to the 3a, but there are some important caveats here:
- The Pixel 3a is a little taller, so Pixel 3 screen protectors will leave a few more millimeters exposed near the top and bottom of the phone.
- The Pixel 3a doesn’t have the front-facing bottom grill like the Pixel 3, so that will leave an unsightly gap at the bottom center of the screen as well.
Unless you for some reason already have Pixel 3 screen protectors laying around, do yourself a favor and buy protectors specifically for the 3a, as they won’t have as many gaps in coverage.
Cover your glass
Tempered glass screen protectors are the bulk of the protectors available right now — it’s still early days and we’ll be updating this guide as more protectors become available — but with Google partnering with InvisibleShield for the Glass Elite, there are still great protectors available for your phone to use once you get yours delivered from Google.
If you’re not a fan of the screen protector look, the ESR 2-Pack with its matte edges can help it look your phone look all-original while staying protected.
