With the iPhone 17, Apple added anti-reflective (AR) coating to the display glass as part of Ceramic Shield 2.
The new display cuts reflections by about half (compared to iPhone 16) and offers greater visual clarity in harsh lighting conditions. However, according to testing done by Astropad, applying a screen protector without its own AR coating to iPhone 17 will disrupt Ceramic Shield 2’s anti-reflective properties.
An anti-reflective coating is a thin optical layer that reduces glare and surface reflections. By design, these coatings minimize how much light bounces off a reflective surface (like glass) and enable more light to pass through to the display beneath it. As a result, your screen appears brighter, clearer, and easier to see in tough lighting conditions. The AR coating keeps text crisp, colors accurate, and on-screen details visible, even in bright sunlight.
Apple’s Ceramic Shield 2 adds AR coating directly to the iPhone 17’s display glass, rather than relying on an external film or protector. The display is meant to manage reflections on its own, as light strikes the AR layer included above the glass.
Unfortunately, this presents a problem for iPhone users who want to buy a screen protector — something that’s generally considered a good idea for most users, according to the folks at Astropad.
Here’s what their report says: Previously, anti-reflectivity was only available via specialized screen protectors, which are installed on top of the glass. In this scenario, the AR coating is still tuned for and interacting directly with air. The reflections are managed, and light passes down through the protector and onto the display.
With iPhone 17, AR protection is applied directly to the glass. When a screen protector is installed, the protector adheres to the iPhone display with a thin layer of adhesive. However, because AR coatings are tuned for and rely on direct contact with air, covering the coating with glue essentially cancels its effectiveness. The coating is still present, but it can’t function properly while covered.
While testing, we found that screen protectors without their own anti-reflective coating caused enough interference to effectively double the amount of reflectivity on the display! The AR coating can’t function properly because it’s no longer in contact with air.
This also means that, if you apply a screen protector with its own anti-reflective coating, you’re effectively replacing Ceramic Shield 2’s AR functionality with a screen protector that produces similar results.
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