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So. You’ve bought yourself a new Sony Z1 Compact, and in the few moments it hasn’t been in your hands since purchase, you’ve kept it in your front or back pocket with some change or keys. More than likely the end result isn’t going to be pretty. And that’s because of the Anti-Shatter-Film (ASF) that Sony pre-installed on your device. As you can see from the main picture and the first video below, the ASF is fairly easy to scratch, definitely easier to scratch than the durable tempered glass that lies underneath. Luckily, Sony has finally listened to its fans, deciding that the Z1 Compact will be the last Sony handset to have the ASF pre-installed, which is great news for people pre-ordering the soon to be released Xperia Z2, but it doesn’t help you much with your maimed Xperia Z1 Compact, Z1, Z and Z Ultra.
After getting over the first immediate feeling of panic from seeing your maimed device, one of your first thoughts will be: How can I fix it? Well, the second video offers a way to do so by removing the Anti-Shatter-Film. Whilst this solution removes the offending scratches from the device, it does come with certain caveats, the most serious one being that you will void your warranty, so be sure that you want to cross that line in the sand before going through with the procedure. Another caveat is that you will lose the Sony logo on the front of the device, because it’s printed directly on the ASF, instead of on to the tempered glass beneath. Lastly, a health and safety warning, the method used to remove the ASF involves the use of a sharp scalpel or craft knife, so please remember to take care, let’s not be losing any fingers today guys, it would seriously hamper your texting speed.
If you’ve chosen to remove the ASF from your device, you’ll be left with a glossy screen, which will attract some amount of fingerprints, because as well as printing the logo directly on to the ASF, Sony also applied their oleo-phobic coating to it as well. Still, it’s your choice as to whether you install a third-party screen protector to your handset. Do you own a Sony Xperia device? And if you still have the Anti-Shatter-Film installed, how has it fared? If you decided to remove it, did you notice an increase in touch sensitivity? Let us know in the comments of at our Google Plus page.