Glossy vs Non-Glossy Retina Macbook Pro... Which would you prefer?

Ag - all day long!

Where's the "Matte" display choice? I can't stand the glass/gloss in front of all of these screens these days.

thejadedmonkey said:

Where's the "Matte" display choice? I can't stand the glass/gloss in front of all of these screens these days.

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It's the second option from top: "A non-Glare/no glossy display like the classic Macbook Pro."


Voted for the first option, glossy rMBP screen. I strongly prefer it over the matte and glass covered options.

Ideally, I would prefer museum glass. That is smooth (not matte) and anti-glare at the same time.

To me, matte screens always seem "bumpy", plus they disperse incoming light from every angle, which severely reduces actual contrast as viewed and washes out the picture.

Glossy screens are superior in both contrast and the fact that you can eliminate glare by rotating a little bit, but a smooth anti-glare screen is much better. Museum glass all the way.

I actually prefer the glossy display. I've had the chance to use an antiglare MacBook Pro, and I have a matte external display, but I just like the glass one more for some reason.

Anti glare for those of us with sensitive eyes...

glare gives me eye fatigue and headaches.

which is what i bought--wasn't carried in the Apple Store, even though they ha one on display. Had to be ordered in.

hi-res anti-glare is a dying breed...

I hate glossy screens. However, I also don't care for the washed out look inherent of certain matte displays.

Glossy. Don't like seeing sand-like particles covering the screen.

I like what's on the rMBP. Not too glossy and yet doesn't have the lesser contrast of matte.

The 17" MBP AG screen is still one of my favorites of all time. The rMBP glossy is nice but I find myself pining for that beautiful 17" AG panel sometimes.

"Anti-glare" and "non-glossy" are two separate things.

You can have a glossy display that is anti-glare, and you can have a matte display that has a lot of glare.

I prefer anti-glare, and don't really care at all about glossy vs. non-glossy. The RetinaBooks and the latest iMacs have great anti-glare properties while still being glossy. My old (first-gen) MacBook Pro has a matte display, but has a lot of glare.

Modern anti-glare glossy displays are very viewable, even in direct sunlight, <i>except</i> at a few specific angles (such that would be directing the light directly at my eyes.) My first-gen MacBook Pro is unviewable if it has direct sunlight on it, regardless of angle.

laurihoefs said:

It's the second option from top: "A non-Glare/no glossy display like the classic Macbook Pro."


Voted for the first option, glossy rMBP screen. I strongly prefer it over the matte and glass covered options.

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I took that to mean glossy, I didn't read the 2nd part.

I would love a matte display like my old MBP.

Apple pushed glossy screens for one sole reason... to sell computers in their own stores. Average people like glossy and to keep a store front business going you need average people buying computers. I've had both and currently own a 15" cMBP with anti-glare screen. Anti-glare all the way. I could care less about a slightly grainy screen and muted colors over staring at my own reflection and not being able to work under most lighting conditions without a headache. With that said, I wouldn't want a matte finish touch screen so I have no problem with my iphone 5 screen. If they implemented a touch screen on the rMBP then it would make perfect sense.

The current retina screens are significantly improved in terms of anti-glare.

I would stay with the glossy for more saturated colors and sharper image.
It would be interesting to see a matte retina display.

I have done with two matte display one from 2007 MBP already sold and still have a 22 inches matte display for my Windows desktop. rMBP display is so perfect for my eyes.

If they made a non-gloss display with a black bezel like the cMBP's that would be nice...the black around the display really makes it pop and look modern IMO...

Glossy for me

I’m using cMBP with glossy Hi-Res. I prefer glossy screen (even for desktop monitor) because the black is blacker and the colors are more pop. I don’t know whether this is an optical illusion or can be proved by numbers (better contrast ratio)? Btw, for me rMBP screen is perfect because it's still glossy but less glare than glossy cMBP.

Antiglare, but not like the old MacBook Pro. The old MacBook Pro antiglare coating would look pretty bad on the new Mac.

I would want a new design that won't affect the Retina quality of the screen; perhaps they can license ClearBlack from Nokia/Microsoft.

I once had an antiglare monitor at my old job. The coating on it was more distracting than the reflections. You could minimize the reflections by moving the monitor or tilting the screen a little bit. There was nothing you could do about viewing at a monitor that looked like you were looking through a screen door in front of your monitor. Glossy all the way for me every time.