MBP; Apple's Anti-glare vs third party solutions

[phaedarus]

I have a friend who is considering selling his 2011 17inch MBP which was pre-configured with a glossy screen.

Is there a major difference in quality between Apple's anti-glare widescreen option and the various third party anti-glare film screens available?

 

[SPEEDwithJJ]

I have a friend who is considering selling his 2011 17inch MBP which was pre-configured with a glossy screen.

Is there a major difference in quality between Apple's anti-glare widescreen option and the various third party anti-glare film screens available?

It is always better to go with the manufacturer's (from Apple's LCD manufacturers) anti-glare screen then applying a 3rd party anti-glare film/screen protector because of 2 reasons:

1) The manufacturer's anti-glare screen is of better quality; The 3rd party anti-glare film will be very close in terms of quality to the manufacturer anti-glare screen but it'll be a bit more fuzzy.
2) You need a lot of patience & time to really apply the 3rd part anti-glare screen protector right, without any tiny specks of dust or air bubbles. 🙁 I'm saying this based on my personal experience with applying one on my early-2009 15" unibody MBP's glossy screen (only screen option available at the time). It took me around 2-2.5 hours to get a perfect application & I'm not exaggerating on the time I spent to do that. 😱

 

[Leslie Tan]

If you are intending to use a matte display for your viewing, i would say the Apples anti glare option is the only way to go.

The anti glare film application produces a grainy effect on the colors especially white. The colors and sharpness is not as good as the Apple's default anti glare screen.

The mbp anti glare screen option have better image quality compare to the film option. If you can adjust yourself with the lights, the glossy ones is good too without having to apply film.

The results of the apple's anti glare and glossy ones are very close results with each other in terms of image quality (colors and sharpness). So, get the apple's anti glare than the film option. on a side note, apple's anti glare screen comes with a silver bezel around it where some people dont like it at all. As for me, i have both the glossy ones and the anti glare ones, i prefer the silver bezel over the black bezel on the glossy ones 😛

Hope it helps...

 

[anonymouse99]

I just purchased a 17" 2011 today .... over the weekend I saw 17" in both anti-glare and glossy units. I preferred the anti-glare mainly because it had absolutely no reflections. My personal issue with glossy is that it is distracting, and the anti-glare was just soothing, a lot easier on my eyes.

phaedarus, your best bet would be to visit your nearest Apple store and judge for yourself. Buy what you're most comfortable with.

Honestly, it also depends on how good of a deal the glossy unit is 😀 😉 I presume you're friend's unit is still under warranty, test drive it for a while before you buy. Probably a good idea to get Applecare at some point.

Good luck with your choice(s).

 

[phaedarus]

Appreciate the feedback.

The 2011 MBP was purchased a month ago so I imagine the one year Applecare warranty is still active.

I wonder if he could still return it and swap it out for an anti-glare screen before I buy it with an extra $50 added in for the anti-glare.

 

[Leslie Tan]

I am not sure if he can return it for an AG model and i doubt if apple will install an AG screen from the glossy ones too (after the 14 day period) i have a 2011 glossy before but i managed to return it before my 14 days expire BUT the apple return team once told me, in a specific situation they can extend it for me if i wanted too. so it is best to give them a call like right now before it becomes too late for anything. Plus a full install from glossy to AG will be very costly and not worth it. it is like treating your friends glossy screen is broken such as glass break and need a replacement. to swap for ag screen option with $50 is not going to happen if i am not mistaken.

If you get a good deal from him, you can actually take the glossy ones instead. It is not hard to get rid of glare by moving your viewing angle or where you sit. Besides, the gloss ones have more vibrant colors. (sharpness between both model are the same and extremely hard to notice)

Bonus: i ordered both glossy and ag 2011 before i returned one of them. to my experiment, in extreme lighting conditions from outside, BOTH screen are horrible and not viewable easily. the mild diffuse on ag from extreme light resulted in text not readable at all from normal viewing distance. theres no wrong choosing which screen as both of them look great and its a matter of personal preference.

But if cash is not a problem, go get a new AG model instead.

 

[darkcurse]

It was my understanding that the AG and the "normal" glossy panels were two totally separate panels as in one is a proper matte panel and the other is a glossy one without Apple adding any other layers or such on top of them.

 

[Leslie Tan]

It was my understanding that the AG and the "normal" glossy panels were two totally separate panels as in one is a proper matte panel and the other is a glossy one without Apple adding any other layers or such on top of them.

Exactly and thats wht i meant, its like in order to get AG panel from Glossy Panel, the bezel with the display screen panel and other related stuff have to be replace at a high cost. its like buying the whole upper set of the mbp to get it done.

 

[NickZac]

The ones you are likely looking at, which are cheap to buy and promised to be 'the best', are outright ghetto. Especially as some of them do not have LED backlighting despite claiming to.