Glossy Studio Display better than matte for text (IMO)

[theorist9]

Just got back from my local Apple store, and had the opportunity to do a side-by-side comparison of the matte (nano-texture) and glossy Studio Displays. Most of my work involves text (office work and coding), so text sharpness is my main interest. I viewed both normal-sized text (newyorktimes.com), and small text. For the latter, I opened Pages and viewed the default 11-point font (Helvetica Neue, IIRC) at 50% magnification. Also had a chance to do this with the matte XDR (they didn't have the glossy version).

I found that the glossy Studio was notably sharper than the matte Studio. It appears the matte finish blurs the edges of the glyphs used for text. In addition, the matte finish of the Studio created a slightly shimmery background (like looking at snow) that I did not like.

I'm currently using a matte 4k Dell, and it doesn't suffer from the shimmer and fuzziness I saw with the Studio's nano-textured glass (at the same time, while I don't have reflection issues with the Dell, I suspect the nano-textured glass is even better than the Dell at suppressing reflections).

This is not to say you should choose the glossy version if you are doing text work. Everyone's eyes are different, and thus you may not see what I see. Or you may see the same, but not care. Rather, I'm saying the difference was sufficiently noticeable, at least to me, that you should (if possible) try before you buy.

I couldn't do as direct a comparison with the matte XDR, because it was on the other side of the counter. When it came to sharpness and shimmer, it seemed about the same as the matte Studio (maybe a bit better?). The XDR does look more modern—the bezels on the XDR are about 1/3 thinner (9 mm for the XDR vs. 13 mm for Studio).

This review found the same difference I did for text:

Hands-on: 2020 iMac nano-texture glass display or glossy display? Which should you buy? [Video] - 9to5Mac

After going hands-on with the base model 2020 iMac last week, today I finally got the chance to take the...

9to5mac.com

I suspect if I were instead using the display for video, I'd prefer the matte, to avoid the reflections. But for text, the glossy seems the clear winner to me, so long as you can control the lighting in your room (which I can). Plus it's cheaper, and doesn't require special care.

 

[quadcube]

I assume that you will be upgrading from the Ultrasharp to Retina display?

I work full-time with text, especially in dark mode most of the time. was mainly using my Dell ultrasharp U3219Q and U2515H, rarely used the glossy MacBook Pro M1 display.

When researching whether to purchase the glossy or nano texture XDR, I initially though glossy was fine, can tolerate the reflection for web browsing (I like working in a room with a lot of natural light).
However, when I started working with glossy for a slightly longer period, I realized it's way too distracting for me.

So I got the nano-textured one. Comparing between the glossy Retina display and the nano texture XDR, glossy is always sharper even at an arm length. Texts have a slight soft edge on the nano texture. This is comparing between Retina displays.


What I couldn't find on the internet was mainly comparison between 4K ultrasharp matte and nano texture, texts diff between Apple's and Dell's matte displays.

For the matte anti-glare, Apple really did a great job. The anti-glare with compared side by side with the ultrasharp is very noticeable.
If it's a worst case test (iPhone torchlight shining on the displays), the nano texture diffusion most of the reflection, and has a soft kinda diffusion to it.
For the ultrasharp, basically it sparkles very noticeably and still reflected quite a lot of light back, the diffusion wasn't soft like the nano texture

In normal condition, natural light filled room, the nano texture is a little like looking into a Vanta black rectangle when powered off.


Text comparison. XDR on the left (default resolution), Dell U3219Q on the right (default/native resolution, 4K UHD), taken with an iPhone 12

To be honest, if I don't have a glossy Retina display right next to the nano texture XDR, I wouldn't really notice much of the softer text from an arm length.
Even if you compared both side by side sitting an arm length away (~60cm), the difference is subtle.

I guess in the end, it depends on what you work on, mainly light or dark background, room lighting condition, etc..

Edit.
And it also took quite a while for me to get used to the larger font on the XDR compared to the U3219Q at native 4K. The UI, texts, becomes much bigger and rounder on the retina display

 

[theorist9]

I assume that you will be upgrading from the Ultrasharp to Retina display?

I work full-time with text, especially in dark mode most of the time. was mainly using my Dell ultrasharp U3219Q and U2515H, rarely used the glossy MacBook Pro M1 display.

When researching whether to purchase the glossy or nano texture XDR, I initially though glossy was fine, can tolerate the reflection for web browsing (I like working in a room with a lot of natural light).
However, when I started working with glossy for a slightly longer period, I realized it's way too distracting for me.

So I got the nano-textured one. Comparing between the glossy Retina display and the nano texture XDR, glossy is always sharper even at an arm length. Texts have a slight soft edge on the nano texture. This is comparing between Retina displays.


What I couldn't find on the internet was mainly comparison between 4K ultrasharp matte and nano texture, texts diff between Apple's and Dell's matte displays.

For the matte anti-glare, Apple really did a great job. The anti-glare with compared side by side with the ultrasharp is very noticeable.
If it's a worst case test (iPhone torchlight shining on the displays), the nano texture diffusion most of the reflection, and has a soft kinda diffusion to it.
For the ultrasharp, basically it sparkles very noticeably and still reflected quite a lot of light back, the diffusion wasn't soft like the nano texture

In normal condition, natural light filled room, the nano texture is a little like looking into a Vanta black rectangle when powered off.


Text comparison. XDR on the left (default resolution), Dell U3219Q on the right (default/native resolution, 4K UHD), taken with an iPhone 12
View attachment 2000674

To be honest, if I don't have a glossy Retina display right next to the nano texture XDR, I wouldn't really notice much of the softer text from an arm length.
Even if you compared both side by side sitting an arm length away (~60cm), the difference is subtle.

I guess in the end, it depends on what you work on, mainly light or dark background, room lighting condition, etc..

Edit.
And it also took quite a while for me to get used to the larger font on the XDR compared to the U3219Q at native 4K. The UI, texts, becomes much bigger and rounder on the retina display

Yes, I'm thinking of upgrading from the 4k Dell to a Retina display when I replace my 2014 MBP. [I said "Dell Ultrasharp" but subsequently recalled what I have wasn't an Ultrasharp, so I've edited my post to correct that.]

When I went into the store my first look was at the matte XDR, and I noticed the fuzziness and shimmer immediately, even before the comparison to the glossy Studio. So I may be more sensitive to it than you are. At the same time, I've always preferred matte to glossy displays. Thus it sounds like the Dell's matte finish is the Goldilocks ideal for me—matte enough to tame reflections in my viewing environment, but not so aggressively matte that it affects text sharpness enough for me to notice it; plus there's no shimmer. The XDR's nanotexture surface has more reflection-taming power than the Dell's matte finish, but this comes at a cost.

I wonder if Dell will produce a newer version of their 8k monitor (one that can be connected with a single cable)— and, if they do, whether the new Macs will be able to drive it. At 1/3 higher ppi (assuming they stay at 32"), it should be sharper than the XDR.

 

[OW22]

As a matter of interest, what's the story with the 5K2K displays? Not quite retina but 163ppi so you can bear enough to it with scaling?

 

[theorist9]

As a matter of interest, what's the story with the 5K2K displays? Not quite retina but 163ppi so you can bear enough to it with scaling?

Lots of threads elsewhere about 5k2k, but they're not of interest to me. My 4k 27" is already 160 ppi, and the whole reason I'm thinking of upgrading to a Retina screen is to get 220 ppi and thus increase text sharpness.

You might want to check out this very long thread. Apparently there are some issues getting the LG 5k2k to work with the M1:

M1 MBP & LG 34 inch ultra wide 5K2K

Hi All! Noob here. I've read the new M1 MBP can drive and support 6K display. Does anyone know if it will be able to support LG's 34 inch 5K2K ultra wide display (5120 x 2160)? It has far less pixels than the Pro Display XDR though I know the number of pixels is not dispositive by any...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Colstan]

I've been using matte monitors my entire life, and assumed I couldn't live with glossy. However, I wanted a "Retina" ~220ppi display, which as we all know, is what Apple optimizes macOS for. I managed to get an unopened brand new 21.5-inch UltraFine off of Ebay last summer. I'm able to optimize my computer desk for a low-light environment, so I can minimize, but not eliminate reflections.

It's a tradeoff, but after using a glossy display for eight months now, I don't think I'll go back to matte. One of the primary benefits of a high-ppi monitor is visual clarity. Any sort of treatment to reduce reflections is going to impact that experience. I've considered purchasing an Apple Studio Display and concluded that I'd go with the regular glossy version, because I'd want to maximize for clarity, and avoid the "snow" effect that others have mentioned with the nano-texture option. (Plus, the Studio Display is already expensive, so you save some by not going with any of the optional features.) I fully sympathize with those that work in an environment where reflections are an issue, but I prefer to have the the image as unfiltered as reasonably possible.

 

[eicca]

I also just went from a matte display (27" Asus PB278Q) to a glossy (27" Apple LED Cinema Display) and while the reflections of my room sometimes bug me a little, everything does look quite a bit more deep and crisp.

 

[theorist9]

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