Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Does anyone regret getting a Matte screen?

AG Display Great

I went to the Apple store a couple of days ago and purchased a high res 15 i7 AG notebook. I do not regret getting the AG. The display is clean, bright and sharp. No glare. In the store it can be difficult to decide a bit due to the way the store is brightly lit. Best Buy had a display with the Macs that makes you look at the laptops with a large black screen behind you as to limit the glare. Works well but if there is any light behind you and your looking at a glossy screen you will definitely see it in the screen. Anyway both screens are beautiful and it is a decision to make but for me the AG was an excellent choice.
 
It's a subjective think but in my opinion, the matte screen is the only way to go on a laptop.
I've got the high-res and it's a buttery smooth image.
Incidentally, I'm typing this on a glossy netbook in my kitchen directly in front of a sliding glass door. I can clearly see myself in the screen, especially around the black bezel. So the logical thing to do is increase the brightness. Your eyes can only take that for so long. Glossy is just plain horrible on a laptop, or monitor where you can't control the lighting. Not to mention finger prints and smudges on screens bother me.
 
Quite the opposite for me. Every time I see a glossy display it further validates that I made the right choice (for me) by going matte.

As others have said, it's subjective, but I have no regrets at all about going with matte. It's perfect.
 
The matte screen is the main reason why I've not looked into updating my 2008 pre-unibody MBP, despite the 8600 ticking timebomb graphics chip. The glossy screens are nasty on a laptop where you angle the screen towards the ceiling.

Why Apple couldn't stick with matte on the MBPs I don't know.
 
Abstract said:
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.
Click to expand...

I agree. I had a glossy for 3 years on my old MBP and just got the AG on my new one. Both screens look great.

If you're wondering why I switched from glossy to matte, it's because even after 3 years the reflections would still bother me depending on where I was working. The reflections would lead to headaches, I'm assuming because I would have a hard time focusing on the screen. Keep mind I use my MBP pro for work and not movie watching or anything like that.
 
To be honest, with the glossy, I don't recognize the reflections unless I look for them. Even if it looks like a mirror, it doesn't bother me. I only realize it's there if I look for it, no matter how prominent the reflection is. As long as you just ignore it with the glossy, it shouldn't be a problem. If you're constantly searching for a reflection, you'll see it. It may be different for other users, but I prefer the glossy display.
 
I have loved Apple's matte laptop screens for 7 years. Both my old 17 inch Powerbook G4 and its replacement, a 17 inch MBA, have them. I got an iPad right after they were released. It has a glossy screen, of course, and the reflections it causes are distracting. I can't argue that, in the right light, its images are gorgeous. Nevertheless, its annoying reflections more than overcome any possible improvement in its images. Trust me, got the matte. You won't regret it.
 
Loving my 15" hi-res antiglare. Coming from a 13" unibody macbook with the glass display, I'm very happy. That screen was an absolute magnet for lint/dust/fingerprints and it was always hard to get the black bezel clean without streaks. The matte display with silver bezel stays much cleaner. Plus all those reflections were really annoying. I can actually use my laptop in coffee shops now without having to constantly adjust the screen to avoid lights. When I see people doing that now I crack a smile.

I also like the silver bezel because it reminds me of my old titanium powerbook :)
 
ozreth said:
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?
Click to expand...

Basically if you're doing anything that requires colour accuracy on a computer screen (within the limits of a TN panel): you buy a Sypder3* or similar calibrator and profile the screen.

There is no satisfactory software way of doing it.

MBP15 matte on its way (I hope)...

*You will need the Spyder3Pro for dual screen setups
 
I agonized about this, and ended up with the anti-glare. I couldn't be happier.

The first night I used it I realized that in my study all of the light is coming from directly above and behind me which would have driven me nuts with the glossy. The other place I use my computer has a very bright window right behind me. I looked at both in the store before I purchased one and was able to turn the glossy around so that the light from a window was hitting it, that is what made my decision for me. I really didn't see that much difference in the color hues either.

I like the bezel on the new AG MBPs a lot better than the last one too, it's much studier and classier.
 
I spent literally hours in two Apple Stores staring at both and they both are true works of art - in giving people what they are looking for under both modalities.

However, in the moment I made my decision for glossy (watching both 17 inch HR screens with the same content side by side) I felt that there was a "gause-ey" layer between me and the image with AG that was not there in glossy. Glare on the AG screen does not go away - no technology does that. Instead, it is converted to a white amorphous blob that permitted the image to come through - but, as I have stated this before, it was like watching an image through my wife's panty hose....

The glossy monitor was precise, liquid clear, crystal sharp and everything I was looking for. I felt like I was looking at a Seurat or Renoir painting when I looked at the AG screen. To meet my need to have precision in what I see, I clearly expected that I would be disappointed in selecting an AG screen.

So mark me down for "anticipatorily regretting an AG screen..."

JB
 
I have a Macbook Air (RevA), 13" Macbook Unibody and 2008 17" Macbook Pro. All glossy. I was on the fence but picked up a 15" i7 because I wanted the HiRes screen and the store only stocked HiRes with Matte.

I am really pleased I ended up with matte, I'm very impressed with the screen, and it's only now that I don't have glossy that I can see how much better it is for the situation I am in, where I work at different places all the time - customer offices, home, lobbies, coffee shops, trains, planes... And where glare has been a real problem.

It's not a problem having glossy at home where I can better choose the location and lighting of my work space. But for a portable machine the matte is a big improvement.

Bottom line - no regrets at all.
 
JerseyBill said:
I spent literally hours in two Apple Stores staring at both and they both are true works of art - in giving people what they are looking for under both modalities.

However, in the moment I made my decision for glossy (watching both 17 inch HR screens with the same content side by side) I felt that there was a "gause-ey" layer between me and the image with AG that was not there in glossy. Glare on the AG screen does not go away - no technology does that. Instead, it is converted to a white amorphous blob that permitted the image to come through - but, as I have stated this before, it was like watching an image through my wife's panty hose....

The glossy monitor was precise, liquid clear, crystal sharp and everything I was looking for. I felt like I was looking at a Seurat or Renoir painting when I looked at the AG screen. To meet my need to have precision in what I see, I clearly expected that I would be disappointed in selecting an AG screen.

So mark me down for "anticipatorily regretting an AG screen..."
Click to expand...
You did a good job of framing the issue, I think. I agree that there is something to be said for the "snap" of the image from a glossy display, if the light is low enough. On the other hand, the matte display looks great, although marginally less so than the glossy, but only under ideal conditions. Where the matte shines (sorry, couldn't resist), though, is in bright lighting. The matte has always been the clear choice for me because I almost always have to use my computer in brightly lighted conditions. In the weeks I have had an iPad, I have found myself being bothered by annoying reflections from its shiny screen far more ofter than I have admired the crystal clarity of its images. In short, whether you go glossy or matte should depend upon the lighting conditions under which you will be using your computer most often.
 
To each his own, but my personal preference is AG.

Had an AG macbook pro and decided to mix it up with a glossy. Couldn't deal with it due to reflexions and exchanged it 5 days later. Now I really enjoy being back to AG and don't miss the reflexions at all. I just prefer to see the content rather than my own face as a reflexion on the screen :D
 
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...

Here are some calibration profiles: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/906727/
 
For me, I much prefer the matte screen and believe the colors to be more accurate. I could less what color the border is and would NEVER let the color of a border sway my decision to pick what I would consider the superior screen.

After all, isn't what's on the screen more important than what color the border is? Close to 100% of my time while using the computer is spent looking at what's on the screen and I simply prefer accuracy.

Just another opinion from some mysteries dude sitting behind a keyboard whom admit-ably know little other than my personal preference.
 
I just purchased my own MBP there now and didn't know but to save money I opted for glossy and I dont regret it at all, its not worth £120...
 
chrissmash said:
I just purchased my own MBP there now and didn't know but to save money I opted for glossy and I dont regret it at all, its not worth £120...
Click to expand...
As much as I prefer a matte screen to the standard glossy, Apple's new policy of requiring one to take the hi res screen in order to get a matte finish, at three times the old price, is pretty hard to take.
 
gwsat said:
As much as I prefer a matte screen to the standard glossy, Apple's new policy of requiring one to take the hi res screen in order to get a matte finish, at three times the old price, is pretty hard to take.
Click to expand...

Yeah, any idea why one can't buy a 1440 x 900 screen with the matte option? You could get matte at that resolution on April 12th. Does Apple just want fewer SKUs?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back