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Apple to Utilize Anti-Reflective Glass in Next-Generation iMac?

the reflective screens are more good-looking for market that a non-reflective one, so i don't expect to Apple change this.. I understand people that don't like them but this is business
 
Mojo1 said:
blow45, me thinks that both of us posted with good intentions but that our points might be easily misconstrued. For my part, I made a mistake by implying that eyestrain attributed to using an iMac is due solely to the LED backlighting. I should have written that eyestrain may be due to the LED backlighting or the high reflective display, or both. (I also suspect that high-resolution displays are problematic for some people, but it doesn't seem to be as much of a problem.)

Sensitivity to LED backlighting and reflective displays is very subjective and it appears that sufferers are in the minority. But there is no way of knowing how prevalent it is because nobody is keeping track. I also think that there may be some people who are affected and who don't consider their computers as contributing to their symptoms. I have read more than a few posts where people spent time and money on doctors because they just assumed that they had a problem, not their computer display. Others just learn to live with it.

From my experience and what I have read, the LED backlight problem varies in severity depending on the Mac in question. The date of manufacture also matters, since online eyestrain-related complaints about portable Mac displays began showing up after the introduction of the first unibody MacBook Pro in late 2008.

I owned an early 2008 15" MBP with a matte display for over three years. It was my first LED display and it never caused me a lick of eyestrain. In fact, I purchased it mainly for its display after Apple discontinued offering matte displays in the MBP line.

The early 2011 13" MBP that replaced it caused me problems at first but it wasn't as bad as the MBA. Whether that is because the MBA is also high-res I cannot say but the MBA and MBP do utilize different LCDs. I was able to mitigate much of the problem by applying calibration settings suggested in that Apple forum link, reducing the brightness using the program Shades and limiting the amount of time that I spend staring at the display, especially when it is showing something bright like a white Web page.

I attribute the problem to the LED backlighting because of how the symptoms manifested and my response to the display even before I spent any time actually doing any detail work. Enlarging fonts didn't improve things. It isn't just the brightness of the display that is bothersome; it's the quality of the light itself.

I've worked on a number of glassy LED iMacs, sometimes using the display 3-4 hours without a break. I haven't experienced any appreciable eyestrain but in every case the iMacs were situated in rooms where there was no overhead lighting or windows causing reflections. I wore dark clothing so my reflection was greatly diminished.

I prefer a matte display because reflections are not a problem and I prefer the rendering of images. I do image editing and glassy displays are too saturated and lacking of nuance for my taste.

I won't be replacing my 2006 24" iMac with another even if Apple brings back a decent anti-glare display. Why? Because iMacs lack basic ergonomic adjustments. The only adjustment is a few degrees of tilt... That's helpful when dealing with annoying reflections of overhead lighting, but it isn't enough. At the very least it should be possible to easily adjust the height of an iMac. The G4 iMac may have looked funny, but it was an ergonomic masterpiece.

Since December I have been using an NEC 2490WUXi2 display connected to a 13" MBP. The colors are gorgeous, it is very accurate with basic calibration and the height can be adjusted with one hand. And yet its stand is more sturdy than an iMac. It also has a warranty that is a year longer than extended Applecare and you don't have to pay extra for it.

Apple has some catching-up to do, but I won't be holding my breath... :rolleyes:
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I enjoyed reading your post very much my friend. Yes indeed the g4 was an ergonomic masterpiece. I have found some workarounds for the iMac if you remove the foot and go for an ergonomic stand, some of which have created specifically for the iMac, but of course it doesn't come close to the ergonomics of an nec screen. Maybe the led issue to os more problematic than I originally thought, maybe to me too, although my main problem is font size and agressive ag coatings in screens...and of course glare goes without saying. I too am not holding my breath for apple to fix a lot of these issues, but I am in the market for a computer and if they can get retina in the pro and good ag coating I will be up for it. All the best.
 
canman4PM said:
I've had mine for over 4 years and the screen doesn't have a mark on it. Not sure why people need to touch the screen with anything at all. At least until they are touch screens.
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I don't go touching the screen. Maybe you just got lucky or live in a pristine environment where there's not a speck of dust anywhere and insects don't exist. I honestly don't know where half the scratches came from. They're only surface scratches and don't affect the display quality in the slightest. They're only visible when the screen's off and/or under certain light or from certain angles. Fact remains though, the glass scratches easily. Much like the surface of a CD/DVD
 
robertosh said:
the reflective screens are more good-looking for market that a non-reflective one, so i don't expect to Apple change this.. I understand people that don't like them but this is business
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they put those reflections on the images you see manually :p I am sure a color rich screen without distortion would market better through a shop window however.
 
j800r said:
I don't go touching the screen. Maybe you just got lucky or live in a pristine environment where there's not a speck of dust anywhere and insects don't exist. I honestly don't know where half the scratches came from. They're only surface scratches and don't affect the display quality in the slightest. They're only visible when the screen's off and/or under certain light or from certain angles. Fact remains though, the glass scratches easily. Much like the surface of a CD/DVD
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I live in the desert. Not many bugs but lots of dust. I do give my screen a quick dust once a month, but that's all. No prints or scratches. But then the kids don't have access. :D
 
would be sweet if it was same dimension as current glass and was swappable.
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I had originally thought this as well. However, on the Retina Macbook Pro, the anti-glare screen consisted of actually removing the outer glass.
 
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