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Glossy MacBook vs. Matte MacBook Pro in sunlight - any experience?

Moved from MB to MBP (Glossy for both)

Hi,

I bought a MB (c2D) on 24th November 2007 at the Glasgow Apple store, and really enjoyed it until I noticed that the F10 key did not work and took it to a genius in the store who said it would be swapped out.

I took it in for a swap out with the box the following day on 28th December and 'asked if I could upgrade to a MBP' and the answer was 'YES'. So I got a MBP but now the Glossy vs. Matte is starting to "do my head in" and I'm wondering what to do.

I've booked an appointment at the Apple store in Glasgow with a GENIUS to see if I want to keep the Glossy, vs. swap it with a Matte. I was at my parents over new year and in the bedroom I stayed in the Glossy was pretty annoying with the lights shown from the lights in the room. I've had to have the brightness as 100% to get rid of it but have had headaches.

In the past I've had migraines due to computer use, as I've a degree is IT and have worked in the IT industry since 1993, so have had my fair share of Migraines. The Glossy seems to give me more headaches than usual and I was wondering if anyone else has had problems like this due to eye strain.

I'm heading to the Apple store in around 18 hours for an appointment with a Genius and am after some comments from people who have used it for more than 4 days or so.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers

Andrew

p.s. My Glasses are in need of replacement (typical of an IT man YES :) ), so wondering if the 'scratched' glasses are causing the problem, rather than the Glossy vs. Matte issues....)
 
I prefer glossy on the 17" MBP I have then to the glossy on macbooks, I have owned. I used to get headaches from them.
 
Having traditionally preferred and used matte screens in the Mac lineup, I decided I enjoy the glossy screen better (which is what I got on my MBPSR).

The glare is minimal.
Everthing appears sharper.
Only on a really (nice) black screen can you see your reflection (good to see over your shoulder!).
In brighter lights it is brighter than the matte screen! really.

Complaints about glarey glossy displays are mostly founded on crappy examples from the PC lineup.

I'ts easy to clean and collects no more grime than a matte.

The only disadvantage might be a greater susceptibility to scratches (from say, sand or whatever).

-----------------
 
Glossy MacBook vs. Matte MacBook Pro in sunlight - any experience?

Thanks for the reply.. :)

I've also noticed an odd issue with the MBP as it included a CPU update disk to Leopard. I've rebooted and the Num Lock and Caps lock lights are on but when typing they are not in which is a bit weird and disconcerting.

I'm typing this in the dark in my kitchen and the display is fine, but if I turn on the lights the glare is pretty annoying, so I guess the Matte is the way to go. It's weird as when I had the MB (c2d) it didn't appear to be a problem but I did get eye problems with fatigue so the Matte seems to be the best way to go.

My parents have a G5 Imac with a 20" display which is matte and I was using it earlier tonight (before heading up from Newcastle to Scotland where I live).

The Matte seems to be easier on the eyes. Am I right or is it what I'm used to?

I'm an IT Manager and my work PC is a Dell Latitude D620 with a Matte screen and I did not seem to have problems with it. I had a G5 powermac with a Sony 17" TFT with a Matte screen and didn't have any problems.

I recently bought an HP 22" TFT with a Glossy display and had headaches quite a bit using it. I thought it was the display but am now wondering....

I'm shortsighted and wear glasses much of the time so am wondering if the glossy display and glasses are too much for my eyes?

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers

Andrew
 
and, no need to worry about anal retentive realms of color accuracy unless your life depends on it...even then.......

What is true red or beige anyways?---please....whatever the calibrator says, I guess, cuz your eyes will have a real hard time.

DVDs look great on the glossy screen. Go glossy.
 
Glossy MacBook vs. Matte MacBook Pro in artificial light

Hi Thanks for the reply.

I'm wondering if the brightness of the display is part of the problem.

I used to have a Ti 667 Powerbook and never seemed to have any problems.

I decided on a Mb (due to cost to tell you the truth) when I sold my G5 powermac on Ebay. Due to the problems I've upgraded to a MBP with the glossy screen and am wondering if the 'glare' or whatever is making my eyes feel 'yuck'.

One thing I've noticed in the 3-4 days since I've had the MBP with the glossy display is the glare and also the annoying dust on the screen, which seems to be 'sticky' and getting rid of the dust is a pain, and the finger marks are annoying as 'blowing' over the display doesn't do much good.

I know due to the way Apple does displays that if I go to Matte it 'should... fingers.. crossed.. be.. okay.. but want to know what people think'.

My parents have a G5 iMac with a Matte display which I used earlier today as a comparison and the Matte seems to be easier on my eyes and more relaxing... What do you think?

Thanks

Andrew
 
Matte vs Glossy (I know it's doing my head in too) :(

Hi.

I'm wondering if the brightness of the display is part of the problem.

I used to have a Ti 667 Powerbook and never seemed to have any problems.

I decided on a Mb (due to cost to tell you the truth) when I sold my G5 powermac on Ebay. Due to the problems I've upgraded to a MBP with the glossy screen and am wondering if the 'glare' or whatever is making my eyes feel 'yuck'.

One thing I've noticed in the 3-4 days since I've had the MBP with the glossy display is the glare and also the annoying dust on the screen, which seems to be 'sticky' and getting rid of the dust is a pain, and the finger marks are annoying as 'blowing' over the display doesn't do much good.

I know due to the way Apple does displays that if I go to Matte it 'should... fingers.. crossed.. be.. okay.. but want to know what people think'.

My parents have a G5 iMac with a Matte display which I used earlier today as a comparison and the Matte seems to be easier on my eyes and more relaxing... What do you think?

I think part of the problem is spending £1300 on a new computer, albeit £470 is upgrading from a MB to MBP... Does the Glossy display make your eyes more tired from limited use... At the moment it's a 'YES', but am wondering if I will get 'used' to it. My current MBP is on around 55% brightness and it's a bit too much for my eyes and I'm starting to get a too much... On 100% brightness it's far too much for me, it's like looking at the Sun, but I suppose "credit due to Apple it's a complement to them that their displays are that 'good' ".

I'm used to the days of 'take it' or 'leave it' now with the glossy or matte it's a bit too much. Though matte seems to be easier on the eyes.

What do you think.

Thanks for the responses so far.

Cheers

Andrew

ps. When I make my decision I will not blame anyone so don't be afraid to comment.

Thanks

Andrew
 
I have had a much better experiance reading my glossy MBP display rather then my iBooks matt display or my friends PB G4s matt screen so I would defiantly say Glossy is better. No Glare for me either.
 
matte is almost completely washed out in sunlight. Not very visible at all unless you look real closely. Glossy is tad better. I've seen this on my friend's macbook and compared it to my matte mbp. the way the screen diffuses the light plays a major role. Matte obviously diffuses the light a lot more than a glossy screen.
 
Sunlight... Winter and living in Scotland

Hi,

I live in Scotland so I guess sunlight won't be too much of a problem for the next few months or so :)

I'm just wondering if the matte vs glossy thing is making go a bit silly. Though the my mom has an iMac G5 with a lovely matte screen and my work laptop (a Dell) has a Matte screen. The weird thing is I did not notice the glare when I had the C2D MB. I guess it's the two extra inches on the screen which probably make quite a bit of a difference.

I know this subject has probably been written about millions of times, but I'd still like personal feedback if that's okay.

At the end of the day a C2D 15" MBP is a lot of money and will hopefully be used for several years, so making the right choice is a good idea.....

Actually your not going to believe it but the glossy metal 'MacBook Pro' is starting to annoy me, as it is like a mirror.

Andrew
 
Decided to swap from glossy to matte :)

Hi,

Thanks for the advice and views.

I popped into the Glasgow Apple store today and had a chat with a Genius and had a Matte and Glossy MBP side by side for a few minutes and checked them out in the lights in the store. Also checked against black backgrounds.

The Glossy really shows off blacks well but the glare or reflections were a little annoying. We did a quick straw poll on some of the apple store staff who had MBP machines and they had Matte displays as they thought they attracted less dust and overall were easier on the eyes, and caused less eye strain with long usage.

Whilst a man next too me from Sweden came in with his glossy MBP and said he loved it.

At the end of the day's it's an individuals choice.

I'm now typing this on my new C2D MBP with a Matte screen and overall feel happier with it. The display is lovely and is as bright and clear as some of the Cinema displays in the Apple store.

All the Best

Andrew
 
I use my 15" MBP in the sun all the time. It doesn't really bother me, it's still legible. I think it's all just a matter of how finicky you're about reflections.

Something you can do if you have full on sunlight on your screen is to turn the brightness all the way down till the screen goes dark. I do this all the time to conserve battery. I wouldn't recommend this for photoshop/FCP for color correcting or anything but if you're just browsing websites or typing it's not a big deal.
 
I've used both out in the field outside in bright Middle Eastern sunlight. The glossy is better. Sure, it's reflective, but the sunlight is focused on a smaller part of the screen and the matte diffuses the light source across more of the screen, making it harder to see.
 
I took these two pics in my office.
 

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Sorry to dig this thread up but one thing I like about the new macs I saw in the store (all glossy) is the fact it is a single piece of glass in front of the screen, much easier to clean than my old macbook pro where cr*p gets collected along the bottom of the screen.

Do the new matte ones still have the single piece of glass, or are they the old style where there is a rim around the screen?
 
Thanks for all the posts.

Some time as gone by since the last post.

Any more onions as to which is better (gloss vs matte) ?
 
I own an 07' 17'' MBP high def matt screen and a MB 13.3'' unibody glossy screen / which also looked the same as a MBP 15.4'' I owned briefly.

Anyway, the matt screen 17'' reflected far less indoors* than the 13.3'' which is noticeably far more reflective. I preferred the matt screen, there is a very clear cut difference - no question of it being subjective.

*assume it would be far worse a reflection outdoors.
 
Both displays will suck in the sun. One isn't better than the other. When pure sunlight is glaring onto the screen, you will struggle to read anything. The glossy will just reflect everything and the matte will just diffuse it everywhere resulting in both being rather useless.

Try to avoid using in the sun. I do prefer matte simply because I'd rather have light diffuse than a reflection.
 
there is a lot of comparison on this thread, which is reguarding MBPs, that talk about matte POWERBOOK displays. the new MBPs with matte displays are totally different in the sun compared to the older powerbooks. i have used both and the powerbook is almost unreadable in bright sunlight, whereas the matte MBPs i have used in sunny situations are great.
 
i am sure the OP will find the last few posts very useful, seeing as he was looking to buy one 4 YEARS AGO.

seems like there are a bunch of archeologists around here lately, seeing as they love digging up all this old stuff...
 
I've got a glossy and all it takes is a little adjustment of the screen/your position to read the screen fine.
 
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