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Does anyone regret getting a Matte screen?

S

slapple

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 25, 2008
466
21
I went in to the local Apple store today to compare Matte and Glossy screens on the MBPs. I left undecided.

I've seen a few people post in some of those glossy vs. matte threads where they said they got a glossy screen and ended up regretting it.

I'm wondering - is there anyone who got a matte screen and wished they got the glossy instead?
 
Unfortunately, I'm in the same boat so I can't give you a definitive answer. Based on what I've read, however, I can say, without a doubt, that the answers you receive will contradict one another. There is no right answer and everybody has their own strong opinions.
 
You would not regret getting matte because even if it does not look as good to the user, you do not have to deal with reflections. The reflections are ridiculous because of the plexiglass on top of the glossy display. I mean I still love my macbook pro, and I can ignore the reflections or turn up the screen brightness on my 13". But thing missing from the 13" when I bought it that I really wanted was an anti glare display.

Unless you plan to only watch movies on your macbook pro late at night in bed, the glossy screen really offers no benefit.
 
Same boat here. My matte is on its way and I can easily be overcome with buyers remorse so I hope I love it. Using it at the apple store dosen't help my decision at all. My concerns"

1. I do game quite a bit, Im hoping that the high resolution dosen't totally screw me.
2. The small fonts were fine in the apple store, I hope they dont become a strain.
3. I was wiggling the two screens around and the matte does have a lot of give due to it not being covered with a solid layer of glass, I doubt Ill end up breaking it somehow, but still a concern.
4. I've really grown to love the black bezel, and I was starting to get used to reflections/
5. Colors do seem a bit more washed out..

BUT

1. The silver bezel has also grown on me a lot also.
2. Colors certainly seem to be brighter on the matte
3. I can use it outside with brightness down and still see everything
4. I use my MBP outside on campus often.
 
Well I ordered the matte screen and it's on it's way. I did stop in the apple store and I left with the feeling that I made the right decision. I really didn't like the reflections that I saw when looking at the glossy screen.
 
A few random thoughts:

I like the silver bezel more than the black. It just looks "cleaner" to me.

Also, the glass screen shows tons of fingerprints, while the antiglare does not. Every time you open up the lid, you're touching the glass overlay / silver bezel.

The main reason I got the AG was for the lack of reflections, and I definitely am not disappointed. Also, quality is really not much of an issue, for me. The glossy is a bit more vibrant, but it's not a huge difference, and the AG looks crisper (also because of the HR screen).

I definitely recommend the AG screen. It's up to you, though. If you're going to be using the laptop in bright areas, it's a no brainer. I was just sitting in the passenger seat of our car for a long drive (sunny day), and on my older glossy unibody, you really couldn't see anything on the screen, even at max brightness. It strained my eyes trying to look past the reflections, and the screen appeared to be very dim. The AG was a bit washed out, but otherwise quite usable.
 
I ordered matte after my friends all said I should get it instead of glossy. I personally don't mind glossy, but I will say that I don't regret it because I'm always paranoid about dust behind the glass of the MBP.

Not a common problem, I know, but I'm paranoid. I'm one of those guys that has a hard time forgetting there's a single speck of dust behind my iPad's glass. :p
 
Don't regret mine at all, it's nice to differentiate. If I ever get tired of my bezel, I can just look at one of the million black bezel MBP's I see on campus :p

Matte rules, and the picture quality is just as good if not better than my glossy 2009 MBP. amazing how much they improved the panels, the glass adds nothing for me.
 
Got I took off my antiglare protection off my 13in pro.... Took it to work and ingot major eye strain! I ordered a matte screen and will get it bt the 5th hopefully. I went to the apple atore to check out an antiglare pro and I like it. It not as crisp comparerd to the glossy but it more flexible and I don't have to constantly adjust it, find the perfect angle, turn down the brightness, make sure there's no window behind me etc...
 
You can always put antiglare film on your glossy.

You can't really put gloss film on antiglare though ;)
 
I'm having a devil of a time calibrating this AG screen - I think there's something wrong with it - but I was quickly reminded why AG is best when I tried to manually calibrate my 5,1 Glossy; I could only do it with all the lights off and the curtains closed because of those damn reflections!

So yeah... assuming I can get a screen that doesn't remain so relentlessly pink, I think AG is best.
 
Jof said:
I'm having a devil of a time calibrating this AG screen - I think there's something wrong with it - but I was quickly reminded why AG is best when I tried to manually calibrate my 5,1 Glossy; I could only do it with all the lights off and the curtains closed because of those damn reflections!

So yeah... assuming I can get a screen that doesn't remain so relentlessly pink, I think AG is best.
Click to expand...

I don't understand this calibration thing, I've never done it on a screen.

Can anybody share the knowledge so I know what to do when mine arrives?
 
Anti glare all the way :) glossy is way too reflective like the iPhone screen, even have a anti glare film on my iPhone. Just comparing my iMac from 2006 which had a matte screen to the newer ones made me decide to pay extra and stick with matte. Prefer working on a matte doesn't strain my eyes as much and I feel design work is much better on it too
 
vant said:
You can always put antiglare film on your glossy.

You can't really put gloss film on antiglare though ;)
Click to expand...

Honestly u have an anti glare film on mine and it destroys and make the colors look slightly washed-out. :confused: bummer too.
 
I have a high-res antiglare on order (see signature), so I cannot comment yet on if I will regret my choice. This will be my first Mac, but I have had antiglare screens on laptops my whole career.

My mother in law recently purchased a new laptop with a glossy screen and I am using a laptop with a glossy screen for the past week or so myself as well (previous laptop went to a colleague, using a temporary laptop now while waiting for new MacBook Pro). My experience with these two laptops with glossy screens make me glad that I ordered a high-res antiglare MacBook Pro.

I have used the laptop of my mother in law both inside her house as well as outside. Outside her house it was not usable. Even in the shade there were many, many reflections which distracted me a lot. Inside her house it was okay, but I had to make sure that there was no sunlight falling on the screen.

The temporary laptop on which I am typing now is okay inside our house while sitting on the couch as there is no sunlight falling on the screen directly. The reflections are minimal and do not bother me at all. When I work at home I like to sit at the kitchen table, but this is not possible with this laptop as we have a big kitchen window and even though the sunlight does not fall directly on the screen, there is too much sunlight to be able to see the screen properly.

Having used antiglare screens my whole career, I have never had these problems. Most laptop screens were also high-res, so the high-res antiglare screen on the new MacBook Pro will be exactly like what I am used to already. Wanting a MacBook Pro for ages now, the new high-res antiglare screens made me cross the line and order it. I doubt that I will regret it, but if I do, I will let you all know.
 
My first Apple AG after having glossy and I much prefer the AG. I don't think that there is that much difference in the colours between AG and glossy but being able to sit in bright sunlight(actually make that any light) and still be able to see what you are doing is fantastic. Unless there is almost no light you are always looking at your nice glossy screen through some sort of reflection.

PS the silver bezel looks great. :):)
 
I was in the sun today waiting for the iPad; I'm pretty I would not have been able to see the screen if I had a glossy display.
 
palmer801 said:
I don't think that there is that much difference in the colours between AG and glossy...
Click to expand...

I doubt there is. It's probably the black bezel that accentuates the colours on the screen. A matte screen wouldn't just "dull" the colours by a noticeable effect. If it did, then there would also be a noticeable difference in screen brightness, and there isn't. They use the same panel (responsible for the colour saturation), and they use the same backlight. Only the top surface is different.
 
I'm not into polls but shouldn't there also be the question 'Does anyone regret getting a gloss screen?'

I've got the AG on order even though I prefer the black surround and the look of the glass but at the end of the day I've made the decision based purely on practical reasons rather than cosmetics.
 
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