MBP: Glossy or Matte?

[e12a]

Here are the pictures I promised.

BTW I don't understand how people talk s*** all the time about glare on the glossy screens, when the worse glare was from the Matte Screen and not just that, the Matte Screen goes completely dull when a strong light hits it...

Here are the pictures to proove it:

15" C2D Macbook Pro (Glossy Screen) vs. 24" C2D iMac (Matte Screen)

24" iMac:

15" Macbook Pro:

24" iMac and 15" Macbook Pro side by side:

i'm happy with my C2D Matte MBP. No glare what so ever. I can have a halogen lamp shining at it and there's no glare. I can have the lamp shining at me and there's still no glare or reflection.

in the pic with the imac, there's more detail in the amoeba when juxtaposed with the glossy mbp. Just an observation.

 

[Maximus434]

in the pic with the imac, there's more detail in the amoeba when juxtaposed with the glossy mbp. Just an observation.

Well of course. It's a desktop screen. It will have a hell of a lot more detail than a matte MBP aswell. The point he was making is that the glossy comes damn close to desktop quality.

 

[Blublub]

You all had me second-guessing my glossy order (that and the wonderful matte screen on my iMac), but now that it is here I am convinced I went the right way. I know this is pretty subjective, but all I can say is that it is certainly not "super glossy." In fact, I think you have to actually look closely to see that it's not matte. It's certainly nothing like the Compaq laptop I was using before. Granted, it's only been one day, but I've used it in a lot of different lighting and at no point has reflection been a problem. I've only done limited work in Aperture so far, but color accuracy seems superb.

To try and answer my earlier question, I also tried using it with keyboard backlighting turned up all the way in a darkened room. Unless the screen is opened less than 90° it doesn't seem to be an issue.

 

[Danny Futuro]

I ordered matte, just so that it would better accompany my 20" ACD.

I'm an interactive media design student, so I need the color accuracy (or as close to it as I can get).

 

[thiagofll]

i'm happy with my C2D Matte MBP. No glare what so ever. I can have a halogen lamp shining at it and there's no glare. I can have the lamp shining at me and there's still no glare or reflection.

in the pic with the imac, there's more detail in the amoeba when juxtaposed with the glossy mbp. Just an observation.

Like I mentioned before, glossy is the closest you can get to a desktop monitor (like the iMac for example)

If you put the Matte Macbook Pro beside the 24 iMac you will notice an even bigger difference...I used to have a Matte MBP so I remember how much it used to bother me...

 

[ntsapp3]

.

 

[thiagofll]

Damn you all, you are no helping me one bit :'(

Is the glare bigger on matte or glossy?

On the glossy BUT when you use a Matte Screen outside, it will turn completely dull....I rather have the Glossy Screen bc its the closest you can get to a desktop screen...just my opinion...

 

[iBorg20181]

Damn you all, you are no helping me one bit :'(

Is the glare bigger on matte or glossy?

I just got my new glossy 2.33GHz today, and its screen is unbelievable! Unless the screen is "off," I have a hard time configuring any lighting or position in the room, daytime or nighttime, in which I see any glare at all! I've always had standard Apple matted screens in the past, and I am so glad I went glossy!

I'm sure there are situations in which the glare must be more appreciable on the glossy screen .... fortunately, I havent been able to find one yet!



iBorg

 

[Infinity]

Those two pictures with the iMac and MBP were just too damn sexy and I couldn't help myself, I was so unsure about going glossy but thats it, I done it now I've changed my order to a glossy 17 incher! I'm not going to lose any more sleep on this matter apart from the fact that my order is gonna take 10 days longer now but thats cool

 

[eddietr]

Those two pictures with the iMac and MBP were just too damn sexy and I couldn't help myself, I was so unsure about going glossy but thats it, I done it now I've changed my order to a glossy 17 incher! I'm not going to lose any more sleep on this matter apart from the fact that my order is gonna take 10 days longer now but thats cool

10 days to get what you want is no big deal. I changed my order from matte to glossy also after finally seeing a glossy MBP side by side with a matte one.

 

[iBookG4user]

just found a side by side matte/glossy pic

This post was just ignored but judging for this picture, look the matte is better and it doesn't reflect back anything, and the glossy looks like it has quite a bit of reflection going on.

 

[Infinity]

This post was just ignored but judging for this picture, look the matte is better and it doesn't reflect back anything, and the glossy looks like it has quite a bit of reflection going on.

That is a terrible angle and is obviously exaggerated, That shot is typical of that of a MBP and to me, it looks washed out even in that comparison. I'm also betting that Apple are using a different kind of glossy screen on the MBP compared to the Macbook. I can confirm this myself once my package arrives on the 23rd Nov.

 

[topgun072003]

I'm sure someone has told you this already, but go to the store and see which one you like better. If you're doing anything that involves printing the exact colors that you see on your screen the color saturation of the glossy would not be good for you. Glossy screens do have a problem with glare, but is this that much of a concern for you. Are you going to be outdoors or anything that's going to provide a lot of glare. I'd go with the matte. It's proven, trusted and true. If you want the colors to look better and like the way the glossy looks, get it. You'll be happy either way. Oh by the way, I did hear some people complaining about headaches from the glossy after continuous use. Hope that helped some.

 

[iBorg20181]

just found a side by side matte/glossy pic

click
http://img92.imageshack.us/my.php?image=glare8ng.jpg

That's a truly terrible comparison pic! First of all, it's the cheaper screen on the MB compared to a more expensive screen on a MBP, and secondly the screens aren't showing the same view, the MB showing a photo, and the MBP the background color. Also, since the MB is further away, the angle of the photo toward each screen is different.

While the glossy screens will clearly have more "glare," that particular comparison shot tells nothing at all about how the glossy and matte screens compare in the new C2D MBPs.



iBorg

 

[stealthman1]

That's a truly terrible comparison pic! First of all, it's the cheaper screen on the MB compared to a more expensive screen on a MBP, and secondly the screens aren't showing the same view, the MB showing a photo, and the MBP the background color. Also, since the MB is further away, the angle of the photo toward each screen is different.

While the glossy screens will clearly have more "glare," that particular comparison shot tells nothing at all about how the glossy and matte screens compare in the new C2D MBPs.



iBorg

Absolutely agree, this is no comparison. Visible glare is partially a function of the screen brightness and comparing a light blue backround against a black one at different angles is like comparing...well it's not like comparing.

 

[daneoni]

Just did my own comparison and the current MBP matte screens are REALLY good and in fact can be mistaken for glossy screens at night from afar. They are more saturated and give good colours and setail. However in daytime the matte screens are indeed washed out and the glare is pretty visible on the glossy side.

Cleaning is a lot of work on the glossy and waay easier on the matte. I also did a comparison of the matte display on my MBP with my Dell 2007WFP the difference is really subtle and its hard to tell them apart.

Earlier today after doing a comparison at the Apple store i was sold on the glossy screen as the matte version looked really bland next to it but now later on i am once again un sure.

Both screens are ok for me but for long term usage, cleaning and maintenance included my gut tells me the matte screen would be perfect BUT the glossy is just soo pretty........

 

[e12a]

just get whatever you want. I got matte, and i'm happy with it. I've read people like glossy screens too. It's all up to you.

Just be happy you're not using a full blown PC...but you can run windows in a sexy sleek machine such as the MBP. And be a proud owner of it...regardless of a petty thing such as a screen finish.

 

[Jvhowube]

dane i agree with everything you said. when you put a glossy next to a matte, its like "wow i should get glossy" but when you look at a matte alone, its quite bright in itself (moreso than most other matted screens). it all comes down to use. as i'm at school, and will predominantly use my laptop for word processing/3d modeling/surfing the net/powerpoint/photo editing, i need to be able to look at that thing for hours on end. i didnt want to risk any eye strain, and so i went with matte. it should be here wednesday. sometimes i second guess my decision, as some places on campus, i see peoples' matte screens being washed out by intense sunlight in a room, but realize that the majority of my computer work will be right here, at my desk, or in the library. plus, the sun only shines here in vermont for 1/3 of the year

anyway, you;ll be happy with whatever you get. to compare them is useless, as the glossy will usually look better (unless theres crazy glare). you need to have used each one for like 2 weeks to actually know which one better suits your needs. its a shame you cant rent them out before you buy them. oh well, just take the plunge and buy one.

if youre gonna be watching a lot of movies, playing games, looking at photos, etc. then i suggest glossy.

if youre gonna be word processing a large amount, doing color correction, photo editing, or reading a lot on your computer/looking at it intensely for a while, i think the matte is a much better choice.

 

[daneoni]

Meh, i might just keep my matte. Afterall i used a 12" PB matte with subpar brightness and survived on it.

I'm also going to be doing alot of word/powerpoint and library based computing. Sunshine is a luxury in england so no washing out for me anytime soon. However there are lots of lamps and flourescent lights around and would be more likely to suffer glare issues. Im also not a fan of constant cleaning which the glossy requires.

Therefore i'll use the matte, its more solid in this revision. Plus who knows, i might order a CTO glossy only to have a dead pixel or some issue. I've found a machine that works well so i might as well hold on to it.

This is my feeling now, i know i'll still second guess myself soon.

 

[daneoni]

I wonder what screen steve uses. I'd say matte. He seems like the traditional type.

 

[Zadillo]

I wonder what screen steve uses. I'd say matte. He seems like the traditional type.

You'd think so, but he does seem to like the shiny too...... remember when he first unveiled the Aqua interface, and described it as being "lickable"?

 

[coal]

Looking at the MBP matte next to the MB, I was really impressed with the matte. I don't know if I was expecting the colors to be much more dull, but in a comparison between my MBP and my GF's MB, there really wasn't a difference at all at the same level of brightness under the same lighting conditions.

Of course, the quality of the screens is different, and this just makes me more curious as to what the glossy MBP looks like outside of Apple's store lights.

I thought that I had made my decision and was happy with the matte, but as my newly arrived MBP has a warped top lid and will be sent back, I'm wondering if I should switch to glossy now. Bah!

 

[Clydefrog]

its easy, if you work in photoshop, want true colors, and can't stand glare get the matte. I mean i have a matte MBP the the display is bright enough.

 

[datamage]

Wow, the debate on glossy vs matte seems like religion.

Anyhow. My first MBP was a few weeks ago, before the C2Ds came out. Bought it at the local Apple Store, and asked for a matte screen. When I decided to finally open the box (the next day, ) I realized they gave me a glossy screen instead. I decided to give it a whirl, and didn't really have a problem with it.

After using it for a while however, I felt some eye strain, and some text was a little harder to read.

Well skip forward to now, I have returned my MBP and ordered a C2D MBP (w/a matte screen.) I was expecting a horrible, dull, dim screen after everything I had read on here. To my surprise, the screen looks mighty nice. And yes, at first, the colors just didn't stand out like the glossy screen. After some extensive use though, I realized I didn't feel any eye strain. Looking back on it now, the glossy screen is nice, but to me it looks artificial.

In the end, people are going to have to do what has been suggested here plenty of times. Use both, and choose the one you like best.

 

[xfiftyfour]

I also think it's worth considering whether or not you have an external monitor. For me, I mostly use my 24in dell, so color accuracy wasn't really a factor (because, 95% of the time, any photography/photoshop work I'll be doing will be at home, in front of the dell monitor). When I'm out at class or on the go, I like having something different. I was happy with my MB's glossy screen, so I chose glossy on the MBP, as well. I'll be curious to see if the two are actually noticeably different.

Also, this might sound strange, but.. my old PB was matte. And for some reason, I felt really inclined to order the glossy MBP to set it apart from that. Weird, but it was another reason on my pro- list for glossy.