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17" Matte or Glossy?

Did you get the 17" Matte or Glossy?

  • Matte

    Votes: 59 52.2%

  • Glossy

    Votes: 54 47.8%
  • Total voters
    113
Glossy for me


This was a rather hard decision for me. I like Matte displays, however, I have seen the MacBook glossy screen and loved it--reflections were hardly noticed, while tilting the screen slightly removed most of them. The images displayed look great.

Also, I was concerned the new matte display might not be as sturdy--I assume they remove the glass. I bought my last laptop in 1997 and still use it for programming telephone systems and radios. I intend this new MBP to last a very long time--as in the rest of my life--so sturdy is important to me.

I also have a Dell 24" matte screen I can use in a desktop environment. At some point I'll buy a new Dell 30" screen unless Apple gets off their butts and sells one at a reasonable price.
 
Having not seen any photos of the matte screen version I'd go for the Glass version.
I've seen enough of the 15inch in person to know that I'm happy with the screen and the design has really grown on me.
 
One thing that really puts me off the Matte option on the 17" is the horrible grey bezel.....

Surely they could have made a black bezel i know its not glass etc and their reasons for a different bezel but i see no reason to change the colour....
 
Was SET on Matte, then switched due to Apple Engineer's advice

I was set on getting the matte display (wanted the best screen for post production on my photos shot with 5d Mk II)...The apple engineer informed me that not only was the contrast ratio better with the glass screen, but that the color accuracy was better as well (I was not aware of the latter). He said that it may be a pain when I'm in variable lighting environment, but as long as I could make sure there's not a window behind me (or something similar), the glossy would be much better. He also said that for Matte screens to reduce glare, they inherently cause refraction (or defraction, I can't remember) in order to defuse the light reflecting off the screen and that this reduces some of the color detail of the light passing through the screen to the user.

I thought about it and realized that about 85-90% of the time, I can control the light hitting my screen...so I figured I would put up with a little pain in the a$$ sometimes to have the best possible screen the other 90% of the time.

Hope that helps anyone who's having the same dilemma...
 
I considered the Matte when I found out it was offered however after seeing how they use a silver bezel around it that sealed the deal to go back to Gloss. I saw the MBP 15 in the local Apple store with Glossy and it wasn't as bad but I can see where it would be a problem but able to work around that.
 
These results are probably somewhat skewed by matte militants who would normally buy a MB or a 15" MBP but can afford to & are moving into the 17" camp to get matte 😉

It seems to make everyone happy, Apple would have to sell:
. glossy / black bezel / black keys
. glossy / black bezel / silver keys
. glossy / silver bezel / black keys
. glossy / silver bezel / silver keys
. glossy / silver bezel under glass / black keys
. glossy / silver bezel under glass / silver keys
. matte / black bezel / black keys
. matte / black bezel / silver keys
. matte / silver bezel / black keys
. matte / silver bezel / silver keys
. matte / silver bezel under screen cover / black keys
. matte / silver bezel under screen cover / silver keys
. did I miss any?

...for each and every hardware configuration.
 
I happy to have picked glossy. I was sitting next to a window the other day, light pouring in. My current matte screen was nearly invisible due to the washout from the light going across it. The gut infront of me had a glossy Dell or HP. Sure I could see him in the reflection, but I could also make out the color and detail on the screen at the same time. Even in bad lighting I thing glossy wins. It would shock you how much you can focus through reflections.
 
Mark2000 said:
I happy to have picked glossy. I was sitting next to a window the other day, light pouring in. My current matte screen was nearly invisible due to the washout from the light going across it. The gut infront of me had a glossy Dell or HP. Sure I could see him in the reflection, but I could also make out the color and detail on the screen at the same time. Even in bad lighting I thing glossy wins. It would shock you how much you can focus through reflections.
Click to expand...

It would shock me how much YOU can focus through the reflections.

I can't. You can. Everyone's different, hence the selection. I'm glad Apple brought back the choice to the 17", I hope they bring it back to the 15". Then everyone can be happy.
 
anim8or said:
One thing that really puts me off the Matte option on the 17" is the horrible grey bezel.....
Click to expand...
Funny. In my case, that is a point that I really like. I am glad that the matte version does not have the black boarder.

I am considering the MBP 17 with matte screen. Definitely will not get the glossy screen.

Sure glad Apple has provided this option. Hopefully we will see it on the MBP15 as well.
 
I wanted Matte but I've decided to go with Glossy due to a few a things.

1. Apple removed the Black Bezel and the system looks very poor if you choose Matte as a result.
2. £34 charge for Matte, I don't want to have to pay Apple anything extra for something that should be a free choice.
3. The long lead-time on getting Matte over Glossy (3+ Weeks!)

I wanted Matte because I'm not really in favour of the reflections from environmental light sources around the computer. But I was only 60/40 in favour of Matte over Glossy and after the 3 reasons I've given above I've decided to just take the Glossy. If I find the Machine unbearable due to the Reflections I'll just return it and reconsider my options for a new Notebook.
 
Teej guy said:
It would shock me how much YOU can focus through the reflections.

I can't. You can. Everyone's different, hence the selection. I'm glad Apple brought back the choice to the 17", I hope they bring it back to the 15". Then everyone can be happy.
Click to expand...

That's fine. The only think about matte fundies, and i used to be one mostly through inexperience, that I can't stand is that they will not admit that matte is equally useless in strong light. When semi direct light hits my matte screen it fades almost completely white. I have to strain to see tools in the palettes and color work is impossible. I have to work from colors I've already made to know what I'm applying. Modern display tech is powerless when set against the sun no matter what the finish. In the end I don't care about matte or glossy, give me a large OLED that lasts more than a year of professional day to day use and I'll really be a happy man.
 
Go matte, its great because it reduces glare, if you want amazing picture quality you can buy an external or watch tv/ movies on your actual tv.
 
I am surprised that this poll is even needed. Matte obviously!. The glossy is almost unusable during the day except in an unlit room with a single window and the screen facing away from the window.

At night, both are almost the same. Yes, mild vividness advantage on the glossy but hardly matters as you can calibrate it the way you wanted best. The reflections on the glossy is just such an unnecessary annoyance.

PS: The PowerBook 1.67 HiDef Matte is still the best laptop ever made.🙂
 
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