The poor derided "fingerprint magnet" that is our phone

I don't care about the phone being a fingerprint magnet. I just wipe it down every so often or I just put it in case. It isn't that serious for me.

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Well one point to make. Starting with the iPhone 4, Apple placed an Oleophobic ( oil rejecting) coating on the front screen. But I'm pretty sure not on the rear glass.

It made a noticeable difference.

So there are technical things that can be done, unless it is done on the cheap.

Same with hydrophobic coatings for auto glass. Water rejecting.

So maybe some can complain that some Oleophobic coatings are better than others. And that is true.


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What I've experienced with the Galaxy S7 Edge has to do more with how the phone is housed. It is metal and glass. The lighter color versions (gold and silver) tend to show fingerprint smudges more than other phones I've owned. It isn't a horrible thing, just something more noticeable on a beautiful, shiny s7/S7 edge. Some phones are made with materials that show fingerprints and smudges more than others. The new Galaxy s7 series is one.

This is why I immediately put the phone in a case as soon as it arrived. Ironically, the actual phone screen isn't bad at all with fingerprint smudges.

 

Fingerprints and smudges are very serious for me, I am always wiping them off.

I got a keyboard cover for my ipad mostly to reduce fingerprints on the screen by touching it less. Ironically the keyboard is shiny black and a definite fingerprint magnet.

 

I am kind of like that. I buy a big box of wipes at Costco every few months.

 

@palandri Many of those wipes have alcohol in them. They are not recommended (by Apple and others) for cleaning smartphones with Oleophobic coatings. Alcohol and ammonia (Windex) will remove/reduce the lifetime of these coatings. Windex is meant to clean bare glass, not coated glass.

Monster iClean has solutions and wipes that are alcohol free. There are others. If a company says Alcohol is okay, I wouldn't believe it. Most do not recommend them for smart devices.

A simple microfiber is only needed to clean fingerprints off, since the oil doesn't / stick, and smear around, thanks to the Oleophobic coating. For a difficult print/smudge, a bit of water is only needed. Oil and water don't mix, the water replaces the oil and then the water air dries after wiping.

@M in LA. I agree that some background materials enhance the fingerprint awareness. More likely, the back is bare glass, while the front Gorilla glass comes from Corning with a nano Oleophobic coating already on.

I did note the same thing, with the Galaxy in the store. First thing that popped into my view.

@KevinJames. Nice article. The DIY kits are not as good. Oleophobic coatings for glass are a new and evolving field. There are many types, and some that cannot be applied by consumers. Some are actual etchings on the nano level, in the glass.

This is where a quality product comes in, and makes the difference from a metal product at home, like your frig or stove.

With my iDevices, blowing off any dirt and then a good scrub with a microfiber is all that is needed to lift off fingerprints. I do it several times a day. I don't even need a water damp microfiber, but you can.
Microfiber can be found on Amazon, or at an eyeglass section of your local stores.

 

I dug this up from an iPhone manual.

"Don’t use window cleaners, household cleaners, compressed air, aerosol sprays, solvents, alcohol, ammonia, or abrasives to clean iPhone (screen)."




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Yes, fingerprints are an issue but they're on everything as mentioned in the OP. I find the best way to keep my screen clean is to walk around with the phone in my pocket. Whenever I take it out it's clean. That might not work for women since most of their pants seem to have either no pockets or very small ones.