Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
well, i for one am a professional and i use my 15" mbp all the time for work (fcp). i really can't see how a matte screen would be possible with the new design, which is deeply unfortunate because the glossy screen is crushing my desire to upgrade.

i also really wish they had gone to 1900x1200 resolution (an option available from other high-end laptop companies in the 15" category) so that those of us working in hd could view in native resolution.

I don't know, isn't 1920x1200 on a 15" going into teeny-weeny-eye-strain-o-vision range? It's nice on my 24", but on a 15"? I could see 1680x1050, though.

Perhaps if they shipped it with a magnifying glass.:p
 
I posted this on another thread:

First - I am a pro user - meaning I make my living from the products produced with OS X and related software and Apple hardware - not a gamer.

The screen issue was of most importance to me and a few people posted good advice - go to the store and see it for yourself BEFORE commenting.

Our local Apple store had the older version matte, older version gloss, and new version gloss MBPs side by side.

The comparison was very compelling - the newer version gloss screens were even MORE reflective than the older version gloss screen - rendering them near useless for a normal office / conference room presentation. I tried many different viewing angles - results were bad, bad, and worse.

Here is the shocker - I tilted the screen near vertical to avoid most of the reflections and found the screen image competing - of all things - with the reflection of the black keyboard - what in the hell was Apple thinking?

I really do not care about all the internal machining precision - the screen image is CRITICAL to me and how my clients view my product. We have a number of older Apple notebooks and have had zero problems with "flex" or needing more rigidity or internal CNC precision - that stuff is a joke.

Steve Jobs had better ramp up his Reality Distortion Field generator to unheard of levels if he thinks pro users are going to buy the new Glare Screen.
 
the thing i dont understand is:
how come all the apple engineers have voted for a shiny glossy screen?
then i just must the way forward, isnt it?

by the way, how come when purchasing macbooks online you had the default screen set as "matte" ?
i dont know this is so stange.
i mean come on they wouldnt bring this out if it was so bad(bad the reflections is isnt it?)

my laptop is so slow i definitely need an upgrade.

reading the following wrote by somebody on this forum makes me want to buy it:
I've seen posts by other "digital photographers" who says they can't see jack on a matte screen in the field but have much better experience with glossy. It's not quite a universal truth that matte is required for digital media pros. Personally, it's nearly impossible for me to see anything at all on my matte display outside at any angle. With glossy, as long as I'm not reflecting the sun into my face I can see what I'm doing.

I'm sure Apple crunched the numbers and knows that of the (apparent) minority that preferred matte over glossy, an even small number of those would actually go buy a Windows laptop for that sole reason. Will you? Perhaps. However, there seem to be a decent number people who say they're "in the business" and are perfectly pleased with their correctly calibrated glossy displays. Regardless, would have been nice of them not to kill the matte option.


i dont care about the colour accuracy, the tones and the viewing angles but i am not sure if i can bear with the reflection!

please help

edit: just to let you know, yes ok all the other manufacturers are also using glossy displays but today i have taken my glossy screen sony vaio down to the apple store to compare the glare and the difference was just incredible. sony= almost no glare macbook pro= mirror!
 
New MBP = mirror is exactly what my experience was - horrible viewing - reflections were very distracting - more so than any other glossy screen I have seen.
 
Done.

Added my comments to Apple, too. I feel as though they must add this as an option. I can understand why most people want a glossy display: easier to clean, trendy, etc. But for those of us with graphics or video work, an anti-glare screen is a nice option (and for me, a must).
 
fired off a lengthy note to apple via the webform also. seems like an unwinnable battle, but who knows - if enough motivated users take the time to communicate their horror and articulate their needs directly to apple... maybe a miracle is possible over time. :(
 
Chalk up one more vote for matte screen option.

I bought a new MBP last night and it's a beautiful machine...no doubt...but the absolute deal breaker is the glossy screen.

Bottom line, the screen is absolutely distracting. SJ says you can just tilt the screen to adjust...no ways. I don't know what SJ's working environment is...probably a lot fancier that mine, but there is no way I am giving up my matte screen.

I have a strong hunch...people will vote with their dollars and Apple will make matte an option :)
 
Feedback Sent (Two Days Ago)

I tried the new displays and the glare hurt my eyes. I tried adjusting the display, but to little avail. The sad thing is, SJ said we should just increase the brightness to get rid of glare, but I had to have the display on full brightness just to see the screen well and there was still glare. Anything less than three bars down on brightness and I had a lot of trouble reading the screen. Here's to hoping for a matte option soon.
 
Any chances of them introducing a matte option in the next few months? Or, are we out of luck?

Being that the 17" aren't out yet, I thought maybe mattes would eventually come out.

Thoughts?
 
As much as I hate glossy screens, I just don't see matte screens coming back anytime soon. There's a reason the screens are glossy, its the glass panel, which now provides a significant source of the display's structural integrity.

For there to be a matte option, Apple would have to re-engineer a new display,....

This is not true. There are matte coated glass screens available that Apple could use just as easily as the glossy glass they currently use. The difference is only one of price.
 
how come all the apple engineers have voted for a shiny glossy screen?

It's not the engineers defining the product. It's the marketeer(s), with eventual input from fashionista form over function designer(s).
 
Apple Corps, I could have written your post. I had exactly the same experience. It's unbelievable that no one in Apple's design team said wait guys, this is like using a mirror for a screen!

It was a pleasure to use the older 17" matte screen in the model next to the new mbp. But I don't want 17".
 
This is not true. There are matte coated glass screens available that Apple could use just as easily as the glossy glass they currently use. The difference is only one of price.

No they couldn't have. Not with the way the display is currently engineered. If they made the glass in front of the display matte, it would diffuse the light being expelled by the LCD panel as well as light coming from external sources. The only way they could offer a matte display is if they got rid of the glass panel in front of the LCD panel altogether, which would result in a thicker/bulkier display; and Apple is not going to do that.

The glass panel now supports the whole display structure the way a winshield in a car supports the car's unibody [source]. Its not as simple as you think. The only reason we had a choice in the old MBPs is because all structural rigidity came from the the aluminum structure around the display.
 
Chalk me up as someone who also sent Apple a feedback message - one more vote for matte option, or no sale. I need my 2 FW ports, and my matte screen, and my DVI port, and Apple minimalist style back. I'll take the new manufacturing process for the frame, but forget the glossy, the black chicklet keys and screen bevel. I want the useful improvements, not the gimmicks. Please. I've been a very good customer, so I hope they listen to people like me and the rest of us who aren't sold on the 'new' direction Apple's taking.
 
I'm sceptical as to how much attention will be paid but I rattled off a few polite-and-analytical but OMG-PLZ-gimme-matte paragraphs to the "MBP Team" via feedback.

I'm not a professional user, just someone who very much prefers a non-reflective screen, so I couldn't cite specific incidents in which a glossy screen might make it harder/impossible for me to function in my line of work, or lose me money etc. I just spoke in generalities, having spent some time with the new MBP this week, urged them to work on the issue and threatened to withhold cookies. (For "cookies" read "cash".)

I really want to see what third-party manufacturers come up with but in the mean time - in the absence of almost any 15inch refurbs - there are a few decent listings on Ebay that I may have to jump in on. Which bugs me. I love the new machine. Just not the screen. GAH!
 
As much as I hate glossy screens, I just don't see matte screens coming back anytime soon. There's a reason the screens are glossy, its the glass panel, which now provides a significant source of the display's structural integrity.

That's the BS Apple wants you to think. HP's 2730p tablet has a glass display (for inking) and it's matte too.

Apple could have easily coated the glass with a hard anti-reflective coating both inside and outside the glass layer. That would have reduced much of the glare. But that would cut into Apple's profit margins, but they could've at least made it an option.

No business (i.e., "professional") laptop should be glossy, because they live under harsh fluorescent lights.
 
I am starting to get fed up with people saying "well are you REALLY a pro"

First off it is not up to these people to dictate who is pro and who is not.
Secondly technically a professional is someone who makes a living at it.
Professional boxer - gets paid to fight
Professional gambler - gets paid to gamble
Professional hobo - bums change

so on and so forth, so if anyone here has made any amount of money doing anything graphical, then their a pro. As I am sure that everyone in these forums is a professional computer user.

Now we just need the professional smart mouths to stop it.
 
That's the BS Apple wants you to think. HP's 2730p tablet has a glass display (for inking) and it's matte too.

Apple could have easily coated the glass with a hard anti-reflective coating both inside and outside the glass layer. That would have reduced much of the glare. But that would cut into Apple's profit margins, but they could've at least made it an option.

It would not have cut in their profit because of the coating, but because of the dumb customers they cater to now which would diss the Macs in favor of shiny stupid PCs.
 
Don't think that your feedback comments are going unheard. I had to talk to a returns Apple guy on the phone today (to return a refurb that has the faulty 8600 gpu).

He asked if there was anything else he could do for me (the standard Apple closing line) and I jokingly said, "Give us some matte screens."

He said he's heard a lot of that lately. Seeing as he works in returns, it is possible there are a larger number than usual of people asking to return due to the glassy (not glossy like a normal laptop) screen.

Let Apple know. It's the only way we're going to get the matte option back.
 
Made a trip down to the Apple store today, so I could see for myself what all the hoopla is about the new glossy, glass screen. After all, maybe it couldn't be as bad as we initially thought.

All I can say is WOW! WOW! WEE WOO! that thing is like a mirror! If you thought the old glossy was too reflective, the new screen beats it hands down.

One would have a hard time getting work done on this machine. On the other hand, it's quite useful for watching your back incase someone tries to sneak up on you :p
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.