The Galaxy S10 has got a great, big, beautiful screen with some new tricks inside — like that fancy ultrasonic fingerprint sensor — but those tricks make buying a screen protector all the more important and all the more difficult. See, that in-screen fingerprint sensor can’t tolerate any air bubbles or gaps between the screen and the screen protector, so your best bets are plastic film protectors or the Whitestone Dome Glass, which is one of the only tempered glass screen protectors we can find that plays nice with it.
UV for Ultrasonic Viable
Clearview Liquid Glass
Staff pick
This screen protector uses a UV curing wet-install system to ensure a secure fit, and it works with the Galaxy S10’s ultrasonic fingerprint sensor.
Name brand protection
Whitestone Dome Glass
Whitestone Dome Glass was the only tempered glass screen protector that has worked with the Galaxy S10 from Day One, and it’s got one of the best install kits around.
Smooth and selfie-friendly
LK HD Clear Screen Protector (3-Pack)
These thin TPU screen protectors are self-healing, case-friendly, bubble-free, water and fingerprint resistant, and smooth to the touch.
Edge-to-edge protection
Skinomi TechSkin (2-Pack)
These case-friendly, self-healing films use a wet install method, allowing you to ensure that you line up the hole-punch selfie camera just so.
Boost the original glass
Spigen Glas.tr Nano Liquid Universal Screen Protection
Wipe this solution onto the front glass, wait ten minutes, then wipe off the excess for a smooth, nano-hydrophobic layer that repels scratches and smudges.
Made in the USA
ArmorSuit MilitaryShield Screen Protector
This American-made film protector is easy to unroll and slap on your screen, and with its self-healing, fingerprint-resistant properties, it’s a great value option.
That ultrasonic sensor can’t stand gaps
Wondering why there are so few tempered glass protectors around for the S10? Blame that gimmicky new ultrasonic fingerprint sensor because since it uses sound pressure waves to map and read your finger, there absolutely, positively cannot be any air gaps between your screen and its screen protector. While the Clearview Liquid Glass uses a UV-drying application system that ensures no air pockets or gaps between tempered glass and your Galaxy S10’s screen, other tempered glass screen protectors that use traditional adhesives around the edges leave gaps between the two that disrupt the ultrasonic sensor’s readings of your finger.
If you can’t stomach $32 to cover your screen — to say nothing of the high price Whitestone Dome Glass carries with that name-brand prestige — there are some good value options to go for, like the LK 3-Pack and the US-made ArmorSuit MilitaryShield.
I honestly prefer films for the S10 so long as I’m using the fingerprint sensor — you’ll need to pay extra attention to how the UV adhesive sets up around the ultrasonic sensor — but tempered glass screen protectors will offer much higher levels of durability and drop-protection for your S10. In the end, there’s a tradeoff to be made either way, but which side of that balancing act you fall on is up to you alone.
Have troubles with fingerprints after install?
Whether you go glass or film, re-enroll your fingerprints after installing a screen protector. How the sensor sees your fingerprints could change from the built-in screen protector to a different one, so getting a fresh sample can help you avoid bad reads and timeouts. If the troubles continue for days after re-enrolling, then consider turning to Smart Lock to keep your phone unlocked when you’re carrying your phone, have it paired to a trusted Bluetooth device, or are in a trusted location. Smart Lock can be found in the Settings app under Security.