Apple's Hardware Chief Says Screen Protectors Make His Skin Crawl — Apple Sells One for $39.95

Q: Did Apple really say screen protectors make his skin crawl?

Yes. Tom Marieb, Apple's VP of Hardware Engineering, told TechRadar on September 19, 2026: "Personally, when I see someone put a screen protector on their iPhone, it makes my skin crawl, because we work so hard to make beautiful front screens." It was a personal comment about how the screens look, not a claim that protectors harm the phone.

Q: Does Apple sell screen protectors?

Yes. As of September 22, 2026, Apple sells Belkin UltraGlass 2 protectors on apple.com, including one for the iPhone 18 Pro at $39.95 and a privacy version for other models at $44.95. Apple's own product page also directs customers to an Apple Store for professional application with its Screen Protection Applicator, and one variant is sold only in Apple Store locations.

Q: Is Ceramic Shield 2 really 3x more scratch resistant?

That is Apple's published figure, but it describes a coating rather than the glass itself. Apple's wording is "a new Apple-designed coating for 3x better scratch resistance." A coating is the outermost surface layer, so it is also the part that wears with everyday handling — which is why owners still report fine scratches and dulling over time.

Q: Does the iPhone 18 Pro still need a screen protector?

It depends on how you carry it rather than on the glass. If your phone shares a pocket with keys or coins, you work around grit, or an out-of-warranty display repair would hurt, a protector is worth the $25 to $40. If you carry it alone, have never cracked a screen and prefer the look of the bare display, skipping one is a reasonable choice.

Q: Do scratches reduce your iPhone trade-in value?

Apple says trade-in values "vary based on the condition, year, and configuration" of the device and quotes per-model figures only as "up to" amounts, but it does not publish a scratch-level grading scale. So there is no public number for what a given scratch costs you. What is certain is that Apple's limited warranty and AppleCare+ both exclude cosmetic damage, so scratches are always the owner's cost.

Q: Which screen protector should you use on an iPhone 18 Pro?

A clear or anti-reflective one. The iPhone 18 Pro moved its Face ID sensor under the display, and matte and privacy protectors are the types causing Face ID failures because they scatter or block infrared light. Fit clear glass, then re-enrol Face ID after installation and test it in the dark before the return window closes.

TORRAS Glass Editorial Team Last updated on September 23, 2026

A clear tempered glass screen protector suspended in mid-air, perfectly aligned above the dark screen of a silver iPhone lying face-up on a cool grey studio surface

Apple's new VP of Hardware Engineering really did say that screen protectors make his skin crawl. He said it as a designer talking about screens he is proud of — not as a durability finding. And in the same week, Apple's own store was selling a screen protector for the iPhone 18 Pro at $39.95 — price checked September 22, 2026 — with staff who will apply it for you on a machine.

The quote went off like a bomb. The r/apple thread about the interview pulled more than 2,200 upvotes and 700 comments in a day, and a second thread on r/iphone ran the quote on its own. Across a scan of 32,607 posts from 11 phone subreddits between August 10 and September 22, it was the single most-discussed screen protector story of the iPhone 18 launch.

We sell screen protectors, so weigh what follows accordingly. But most of the coverage stopped at the quote, and the quote is the least interesting part. Here is what he actually said, what Apple actually does, and what the numbers underneath the argument will and won't support.

Key takeaways

The quote is real and it is about aesthetics. Tom Marieb said protectors make his skin crawl "because we work so hard to make beautiful front screens." He did not say a protector damages the phone or that scratches can't happen.
Apple sells screen protectors for the iPhone 18 Pro. A Belkin UltraGlass 2 for the 18 Pro is $39.95 on apple.com (checked September 22, 2026), and Apple's own product page tells you to visit an Apple Store if you'd rather have one "professionally applied."
Apple's 3x scratch-resistance figure describes a coating, not the glass. Apple's own wording is "a new Apple-designed coating for 3x better scratch resistance." A coating is the outermost layer, so it is also the layer that wears first — which is exactly the complaint long-term owners report.
Nobody can settle the trade-in argument, including us. Apple publishes "up to" values and says they vary with condition, but publishes no scratch-level grading rubric.
The honest conclusion is that this is a tradeoff, not a fact. If you are careful, insured and you value the bare glass, skip it. If you are not, $25–$40 buys a replaceable surface.

What did Apple's hardware chief actually say?

He said a screen protector spoils a screen his team worked hard on. That's the whole claim.

Speaking to TechRadar on September 19, 2026, Apple's new VP of Hardware Engineering Tom Marieb said: "Personally, when I see someone put a screen protector on their iPhone, it makes my skin crawl, because we work so hard to make beautiful front screens." The wording is quoted the same way by TechSpot.

Read it again and notice the structure. The word "personally" is doing work, and so is the reason he gives — because we work so hard to make beautiful front screens. It is a statement about how the phone looks, from the person responsible for how it looks. It is not a test result, a warranty position, or a claim that your screen won't scratch.

That distinction matters, because the headline version — "Apple says you don't need a screen protector" — is not what he said, and it is contradicted by what Apple sells.

Does Apple think you shouldn't use a screen protector?

No. Apple sells them for the iPhone 18 Pro, in its own store, and will fit one for you with a machine.

On the same week the quote ran, and still when we checked on September 22, 2026, apple.com listed the Belkin UltraGlass 2 Screen Protector for iPhone 18 Pro at $39.95, tagged "Only at Apple," alongside seven other Belkin protectors for current iPhones — including a privacy version at $44.95. Apple's own copy on that page reads:

"If you would prefer having a protector professionally applied, please visit an Apple Store and purchase a Belkin UltraGlass 2 Screen Protector compatible with Screen Protection Applicator, sold only in Apple Store locations."

So Apple stocks a protector for the phone in question, sells a store-exclusive variant of it, and operates an applicator machine to put it on straight for you. Reddit spotted this immediately — "And sell Screen Protectors on apple.com" was among the most-upvoted replies in the thread.

None of that makes Marieb wrong about how a protector looks. It does mean the company he works for has no position that you shouldn't use one.

Is Ceramic Shield 2 strong enough to go without one?

It is genuinely the toughest cover glass Apple has shipped — but the headline scratch number is a coating, and coatings wear.

Here is Apple's exact wording from the iPhone 17 Pro announcement, which introduced the material now used on the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max: "Ceramic Shield 2, tougher than any smartphone glass or glass-ceramic, with a new Apple-designed coating for 3x better scratch resistance." The same release adds that Ceramic Shield on the back delivers "4x better resistance to cracks than the back glass on previous models."

Apple's claim	What it is attributed to	What it does not say
3x better scratch resistance	"a new Apple-designed coating"	That the glass underneath is 3x harder, or that the coating lasts the life of the phone
4x better resistance to cracks	Ceramic Shield on the back glass	Anything about the front display's crack resistance
Improved anti-reflection	The Ceramic Shield 2 front cover	Whether a plain glass protector cancels that benefit — it can, which is why we cover AR specs separately

That first row is the crux of the whole argument and almost nobody quoting the 3x figure mentions it. A surface treatment is, by definition, the outermost few nanometres — the part that meets your pocket, your jeans and your desk. It is the same category of thing as the oleophobic coating that every iPhone has always had and that every long-term owner watches degrade. We went through what those coatings are and how they differ in AR vs. oleophobic coating.

Two things a harder front cover still cannot change, whatever the multiplier: sand and pocket grit are quartz, which sits above phone glass on the hardness scale, and a cover glass is not a shock absorber. We laid out the physics of the first point in what 9H actually measures and the whole Ceramic Shield comparison in Ceramic Shield vs. tempered glass.

An iPhone lying face-up inside a leather bag alongside house keys, loose coins, a metal pen and sunglasses, with the caption Scratch Less Stay Clear

What did Reddit say back?

Four objections carried the thread, and they are worth reading because they are about cost and risk, not materials science.

The objection	What's behind it
"His opinions don't matter to us. He's not a regular user." (146 upvotes)	The most-upvoted reply in the thread, followed closely by "not everyone gets an iPhone for free every year like him." The argument is about who bears the cost of being wrong.
"Is he going to pay for my new screen?" (28 upvotes)	An out-of-warranty display repair is the largest single number in this decision, and it is the reason a disposable layer reads as insurance rather than vanity.
"The problem of making it hard is, the harder it is the more brittle it is" (28 upvotes)	The top technical objection raised by readers. We're repeating it as an argument that was made, not asserting it as a finding about Ceramic Shield 2 — Apple publishes no figure that would confirm or refute it.
"Also don't count minor scratches against trade-in value." (42 upvotes)	Directly contradicted a few comments later by an owner who said they'd always had full trade-in value without a protector. Neither side cited anything, because there is nothing to cite — see below.

Do scratches actually cost you money?

Almost certainly yes at resale, but Apple does not publish a rubric that lets anyone say how much — which is why that part of the argument never ends.

We went looking for a number and came back without one, so here is exactly what Apple does publish. Apple Trade In advertises "$35–$885 when you trade in an iPhone" and lists per-model figures as "up to" values — up to $785 for an iPhone 17 Pro, up to $885 for a 17 Pro Max. The footnote does the qualifying: "Trade-in values will vary based on the condition, year, and configuration of your eligible trade-in device," and the value you actually receive depends on the device matching the description you gave.

What Apple does not publish anywhere public is the grading scale — what counts as a scratch, how many, how deep, and what each step costs you. So when one commenter says minor scratches don't count and another says theirs never did, both are reporting experiences and neither can produce the document.

Two things are settled, though, and they point the same way. Apple's limited warranty and AppleCare+ both exclude cosmetic damage that doesn't affect functionality, which means scratches are your cost under every plan Apple sells — we worked through the actual clauses in does a screen protector void AppleCare?. And a protector is the only item in this discussion that is deliberately disposable: when it looks bad, you replace the layer instead of the phone.

A phone slipping from a person's hand toward wet city pavement as they reach after it, with the caption Built for the Drop

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So should you put a protector on your iPhone 18 Pro?

Marieb is right for a real minority of owners and wrong for most. The deciding factor is not the glass — it's your pocket, your habits and who pays when it goes wrong.

Skip it if you carry your phone alone in a clean pocket, you have never cracked a screen, you keep AppleCare+ and you would genuinely rather look at the bare display. That last one is not a trivial reason — it is Marieb's reason, and it is legitimate.
Fit one if your phone shares a pocket or bag with keys and coins, you work somewhere with grit or dust, you hand the phone to children, or replacing a display out of warranty would actually hurt.
Either way, the thing that ages is the surface. Whether that surface is Apple's coating or a $25 sheet you can throw away decides whether "worn" means a new phone or a new protector.

One caveat specific to this phone, and it cuts against part of our own catalogue: the iPhone 18 Pro moved the Face ID sensor under the display, and matte and privacy protectors are the ones breaking it. If you fit anything on an 18 Pro, make it clear glass and re-enrol Face ID afterwards. The full explanation is in can a screen protector block iPhone 18 Pro Face ID?

Which TORRAS screen protector should you buy for the iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max?

A clear or AR-coated one, in the version cut for your exact model. For reference, Apple's own shelf price for a single Belkin UltraGlass 2 was $39.95 on September 22, 2026.

Protector	Price	Surface	Best for
HD Shield Case-Friendly (2-pack) iPhone 18 Pro · iPhone 18 Pro Max	$24.99	Clear tempered glass	Two protectors for less than one at Apple
HD Shield Ultra 3X Shockproof iPhone 18 Pro · iPhone 18 Pro Max	$29.99	Clear tempered glass, reinforced	Drop protection first
SunView AR Case-Friendly (2-pack) iPhone 18 Pro · iPhone 18 Pro Max	$27.99	AR coating, clear	Keeping the screen's anti-reflection
SunView AR Shield Ultra (2-pack) iPhone 18 Pro · iPhone 18 Pro Max	$39.99	AR coating, clear, reinforced	Glare and drops together
OrigArmor AR iPhone 18 Pro · iPhone 18 Pro Max	$34.99	AR coating, <0.8% reflection, 3D curved edge	The flagship: best clarity in sunlight

If the reason you're reading this is that you like how the bare screen looks, the AR options are the ones to look at — a plain glass protector sits on top of Apple's anti-reflection and undoes part of it, which is the complaint we documented in the iPhone 17 screen protector problems.

Frequently asked questions

Did Apple really say screen protectors make his skin crawl?

Yes. Tom Marieb, Apple's VP of Hardware Engineering, told TechRadar on September 19, 2026: "Personally, when I see someone put a screen protector on their iPhone, it makes my skin crawl, because we work so hard to make beautiful front screens." It was a personal comment about how the screens look, not a claim that protectors harm the phone.

Does Apple sell screen protectors?

Yes. As of September 22, 2026, Apple sells Belkin UltraGlass 2 protectors on apple.com, including one for the iPhone 18 Pro at $39.95 and a privacy version for other models at $44.95. Apple's own product page also directs customers to an Apple Store for professional application with its Screen Protection Applicator, and one variant is sold only in Apple Store locations.

Is Ceramic Shield 2 really 3x more scratch resistant?

That is Apple's published figure, but it describes a coating rather than the glass itself. Apple's wording is "a new Apple-designed coating for 3x better scratch resistance." A coating is the outermost surface layer, so it is also the part that wears with everyday handling — which is why owners still report fine scratches and dulling over time.

Does the iPhone 18 Pro still need a screen protector?

It depends on how you carry it rather than on the glass. If your phone shares a pocket with keys or coins, you work around grit, or an out-of-warranty display repair would hurt, a protector is worth the $25 to $40. If you carry it alone, have never cracked a screen and prefer the look of the bare display, skipping one is a reasonable choice.

Do scratches reduce your iPhone trade-in value?

Apple says trade-in values "vary based on the condition, year, and configuration" of the device and quotes per-model figures only as "up to" amounts, but it does not publish a scratch-level grading scale. So there is no public number for what a given scratch costs you. What is certain is that Apple's limited warranty and AppleCare+ both exclude cosmetic damage, so scratches are always the owner's cost.

Which screen protector should you use on an iPhone 18 Pro?