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Hands-on: BodyGuardz The Crown aluminum and glass screen protector for iPhone 6 Plus

It's a challenge to protect the curved glass display of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. BodyGuardz just released a new two-piece solution that adds glass and aluminum.
Written by Matthew Miller, Contributing Writer
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The Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have curved glass along the edges that are a challenge to protect. The folks at BodyGuardz just released The Crown, a two-piece glass and aluminum protection system that completely covers the front of your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus.

The Zeos Glassy Edge to Edge is another very well-designed option that completely covers the curves, with a price of $59.50 for the iPhone 6 Plus and $49.50 for the iPhone 6.

The Crown from BodyGuardz is available for $44.95 for the iPhone 6 Plus and $39.95 for the iPhone 6. If you purchased the ScreenGuardz Pure for your iPhone 6/6 Plus in the last 30 days, then you can upgrade to the ScreenGuardz Pure + Crown for $16.95.

Before I walk through installation and my experiences, understand that there are a limited number of cases that will work in conjunction with the ScreenGuardz Pure + Crown. I was unable to use it with the Seidio or Urban Armor Gear cases, but I was able to slide my iPhone 6 Plus into the Mophie Juice Pack.

Installation

Like the Zeos Glassy protector, The Crown has an easy installation tray that makes installation a breeze. Clean off your iPhone 6/6 Plus display, peel back the plastic piece attached to the protector (labeled Step 1), and carefully align the install tray over your iPhone.

You then remove the center yellow tab piece (labeled Step 3) and press down in the center of the protector to adhere it to your iPhone. It took a bit of force for me to pry the tray with strong adhesive blocks off of the protector so be a bit cautious here so you don't remove the protector.

You should then wipe down the edges of your iPhone prior to installing the aluminum rim, The Crown. Peel off the adhesive protector and then carefuly press the aluminum rim down in place on your iPhone. There isn't much adhesive on the thin rim, but I haven't had an issue with it since I never tried to force my iPhone 6 Plus into a case. If you do that, then you may lift the protector off of your iPhone.

Fit and finish

Drop tests were not carried out and will not be carried out to test the protection level on my personal iPhone 6 Plus. The Crown fits perfectly on my iPhone 6 Plus so that the transition from the aluminum edge to The Crown feels like it was designed to fit together.

The screen is fully protected and every opening is perfectly aligned. There is now a bit of a dip for my thumb and finger on the home button since the glass protector adds a level over your iPhone screen. The alumimum rim to glass transition is level with a very small gap that does seem to collect a bit of lint.

Usability of the iPhone is not impacted at all and the protector looks great in place. You can buy it with a black or white crown to match your iPhone color.

This is a good solution for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The Crown should keep the glass from lifting off the display. Make a decision about whether you want screen protection or a case before making your purchase with the assumption that a case will not fit with The Crown in place. I see in the BodyGuardz Q&A that the company is responding to questions about compatible cases and hope a list is added to the site to help potential buyers make an informed decision.

Hands on with the BodyGuardz The Crown glass and aluminum iPhone 6 screen protector

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