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Absolutely Crazy Level of Phone Protection in a Surprisingly Thin Film

By Rain Noe - April 20, 2012

in Materials

A company called Buff Labs has developed a see-through film that adheres to the front of your smartphone and provides an absurd level of protection. Check out this first demo, which resides at the intersection of materials science and anger management:

How ridiculous is that? And did you see how thin the stuff was when he peeled it off?

Wait, it gets crazier. And kind of Gallagher-esque:

Unsurprisingly, the company doesn't say what their wonder product is made out of, only mentioning that it's a four-layer blend and the adhesive layer's made of silicone. There's also no word where the company is based, though we're guessing somewhere in Asia based on the English translation quality on their website and the fact that they have distributors there. Also odd: On their website they have a demo video showing how to install the film, but there's no link to where you can buy the stuff.

Buff Labs clearly has materials science down. Here's to hoping they hire a marketing guy.

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Bill I.

12 years ago

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Just wanted to mention two things:

1. Why don't either of the demo videos show the touchscreens being used while the film is still on the device? Is it possible that the film impedes proper touch functionality until it is removed?

2. Regarding where the company is based, I think I see Korean characters under the app icons on the iPhone screen in the demo.
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Whea7

12 years ago

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I have first-hand experience with this stuff and similar films. I works as shown in this video, and was even able to absorb even higher impacts than shown here - even to the point where the LCD broke before the glass fractured. Look for these from a US-based company in a few weeks.
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Turbofrog

12 years ago

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@Rob Bye

Surely if they had done that, Apple would want to hire them anyway for producing such an incredibly resilient piece of glass that integrates so seamlessly with the iPhone. Even if the film was fake, it doesn't make much of a difference.
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paul

12 years ago

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Yikes. I guess I don't know just how tuff the glass in an iGadget is by itself, where the film's protective qualities come into play. I don't doubt it would be worse off for all that, though. What's also interesting is that the film doesn't interfere with the touch screen.

Wish car windshields had a protective coating like that: we ended up with a nice star from a flying stone within a month of buying a new car. And I have often noticed that a blemish-free windshield is one of the nice things about a rental or new car, if yours has a few battlescars.
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Rob Bye

12 years ago

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Surely they could of replaced the glass on the iPhone and iPad then placed a fake cover over the top making it appear as if its the cover doing all the work?
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