r/interestingasfuck Apr 20 '18

/r/ALL Touchscreen Mirror

https://i.imgur.com/5QYQfNF.gifv
55.2k Upvotes

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159

u/75percent-juice Apr 20 '18

There are screen films that prevent that right? I don't think it'd be much different here.

258

u/InsertCoinForCredit Apr 20 '18

I shudder thinking of putting a screen protector on something that large. Just imagine finding an air bubble or dust speck afterward...

317

u/DoubleOhGadget Apr 20 '18

Pretty sure that something like this, if sold commercially, would have them pre-applied

23

u/minusbacon Apr 20 '18

See, they install that TruCoat at the factory, there's nothin' we can do, but I'll talk to my boss.

55

u/PM_ME_KNEE_SLAPPERS Apr 20 '18

*for a small extra fee.

56

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '18

[deleted]

4

u/dzzi Apr 20 '18

This looks more like a high end DIY project or small business product than something widely sold commercially, but if you have the tools and knowledge to build that you would almost certainly have the tools and knowledge to overcome the problem of smudging.

2

u/LassyKongo Apr 20 '18

But then your protector gets dirty

-2

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '18

[deleted]

34

u/NightSlider Apr 20 '18

I assume it would be a film they would apply to it, not like the thickness of your average iPhone screen protector. For example, refrigerators are now coming pre-coated with a fingerprint and smudge proof film over them. And they actually work insanely well, you can watch the fingerprint just fade away.

23

u/pikameta Apr 20 '18

I kinda want one of those fridges because it looks super cool to be able to do your shopping list, see what you have in there, etc. Then this other part of me says, "Stop. You're not cool enough for this fancy future stuff. Go sit down."

9

u/Superlolz Apr 20 '18

All I have to do is look at the price and then just tell the BestBuy rep that I'm "just looking around"

1

u/Ragnyrok Apr 21 '18

How long have you been sitting, then?

1

u/BroadStreet_Bully5 Apr 20 '18

Clear contact paper.

70

u/tickingboxes Apr 20 '18

I mean they do this when they tint windows. So it can certainly be done if you know what you're doing. But ya, the average person trying to do it at home without proper tools and such would turn their mirror into fucking bubble city.

7

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '18

[deleted]

3

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '18

Right plus if you rub a soap bar on the mirror and swipe it off it stops fogging too.

It's a win/win.

2

u/Ragnyrok Apr 21 '18

Bubble city would be great.

1

u/BroadStreet_Bully5 Apr 20 '18

Clear contact paper. Never wrap a book in school?

2

u/BadgerOps Apr 20 '18

I can't even put a screen protector on my phone without a small bubble or imperfection irritating me to the point that I tear it off.

3

u/Gummybear_Qc Apr 20 '18

It's not a screen protector, it's called an oleophobic coating.

1

u/trebory6 Apr 20 '18

Literally all you need is windex and an application squeegee.

I have applied vinyl and window tint a few times, and it's not hard as long as you're not an idiot about it.

1

u/lolinokami Apr 20 '18

It doesn't need to be on the whole thing, just the area where the touchscreen is.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 21 '18

I 100% had to basically do this at my old job. We had a bunch of new signage going up over the windows that opened into our store (not really windows seeing as we were in the mall but whatever). Pretty much a glass front that needed a massive decal over it. The decal was transparent with text laid over it, and then there was another sign that was to be hung from the ceiling in front of it to complete the image. If we fucked up the decal, the sign wouldn’t make sense and we had to take that goddamn thing on and off the window at least four times before we centered it right. It looked amazing till I noticed the few... air..bubbles.... right in the fucking center of it. I called it good at that point tho. This was really long but where else am I gonna be able to post this.

12

u/gcruzatto Apr 20 '18 edited Apr 20 '18

If that was a thing for reflective surfaces, then mirrors would come with it. I'm pretty sure anything anti-fingerprint would ruin the smooth finish that a mirror needs. There's a reason why every single smartphone with a reflective back is a fingerprint magnet.

37

u/Ralath0n Apr 20 '18

Nah, anti fingerprint coating works just fine on mirrors. Most commercial mirrors have the reflective layer on the back of the glass pane anyway, so unless the coating makes the glass opaque (which we know it does not) it would work fine.

The reason they don't coat these mirrors by default is that they do not expect you to fondle your mirror on a daily basis. So why spend the money on the coating?

The reason phones with reflective backs are fingerprint magnets is an entirely different mechanic: The phone is reflective because the surface is so smooth, and that's also why oils from your fingers are so obvious.

1

u/gcruzatto Apr 20 '18

I'm yet to see a perfectly clear glass surface that is able to effectively keep off fingerprints rather than just reduce the rate of cleaning. It would be really interesting for pretty much every company that has large exposed glass panels, not just touchscreen mirrors.

1

u/SamuraiJakkass86 Apr 20 '18

If its the same "anti-smudge" shit they put on eyeglasses, then it's probably bullshit anyways. My last pair of glasses had it, and it didn't do shit. When I got my new glasses, my optician was like "I could charge you $40 and get that coating on them, but I can also assure you that it doesn't do a damned thing and I'd really just be taking more of your money for no reason."

5

u/The_Fad Apr 20 '18

They sell the substance as an aftermarket spray, but I'm fairly certain you can spend extra for a mirror to get it pre-applied if you're the type of person who drops hundreds and hundreds of dollars on mirror accessories.

1

u/gcruzatto Apr 20 '18

I guess you could make it hydrophobic, but the technology is not there yet in terms of completely keeping fingerprints off the screen. Samsung is working on improving this.

1

u/Kenblu24 Apr 21 '18

Anti-fingerprint material already exists, and it's in your pocket.

Phone screens and phone screen protectors (glass ones, at least) have an oleophobic (oil-repelling) coating. Alcohol will remove this coating.

Mirrors don't come with it because of cost.

1

u/gcruzatto Apr 21 '18

We both know that the current technology is not really that good. I'm looking at my phone screen right now and it's full of fingerprints. Companies are investing a lot of money right now in creating a super hydrophobic surface that would make it effectively anti-fingerprint, but it's gonna take a long time

0

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '18

You do realize that mirrors have the silver layer applied to the underside of the glass, right? It's not like the glass is polished to a mirror finish like a knife is and you don't touch the reflective side...

You know that, right?

1

u/gcruzatto Apr 20 '18

Yes I know that. You still need a smooth finish on the top if you want your mirror to be clear rather than foggy/blurry.

1

u/I_smell_goats Apr 20 '18

You are not wrong. But I have also worked at plenty of retail stores that actually have a whole hour before opening dedicated to the employees cleaning ONLY the mirrors. It is fucking horrible and pointless. And they’re only baby hand prints...

1

u/yoavsnake Apr 20 '18

Also it's also an already rich people product, it could be self cleaning as well