The glass doesn't fool you, it lets the colors pop.
No it doesn't since the panel is still TN. Putting a glossy coating on a TN panel or putting glass in front if it does not change the properties of that TN panel. The problem is what's behind the gloss. Glossy coatings and glass let light from the panel through same as matte only glossy coatings/glass are much better at it. So it seems that there is a difference between those screens while in fact there aren't any. It's like watching a magician like Hans Klok. It seems like he's stabbing his assistant but in fact he is not.
How would your eyes have to refocus all the time?
If you look at a matte display you'll mostly see whatever is being displayed by the screen (aka the output of your computer). With glossy screens you'll see that and a lot of other images that reflect in the screen. Your eyes are constantly adjusting to those reflections because you can see them quite well but not very clearly. It also creates a very "busy" screen since there can be a lot of reflections. Your eyes need to differentiate a lot of information. Those two things will require your eyes to do a lot of work and that is what is making them tired. Tired eyes can lead to things like dizziness, headaches, being tired, etc. Not everyone will notice it.
How does matte reduce the amount of light hitting the screen? It can't. Light is light- lower the blinds to reduce the amount of light. Matte just reduces the reflection.
There are two things you need to differentiate: the light emitted by the screen which it needs to pass through (or you won't see anything
) and the light from everything else that is hitting the screen. Matte displays have a rough surface. When light hits a rough surface it will get dispersed everywhere and not in a tight beam. Because of that behaviour the screen won't have the reflections a glossy screen has. Military airplanes also take advantage of this and use matte paint. Sometime they paint a small area on the nose matte black. It's all about stopping reflections from coming into the cockpit and blinding the pilot(s).
Light is light but there is a really big difference in how it is dispersed.
The black bezel is nice because it takes the focus away from the edge and puts it in the center (because it's dark). Anyway... I personally prefer glossy because of the better colors but I can see why the OP thinks it's awesome.
Yes, the black does indeed take away the attention/focus but it does not alter the screen itself, that is technically impossible. The screen does not have a different contrast or colours or whatever when you paint it white or something.
Again, glossy does not have better colours since they use the exact same TN panel as the matte screens do. It just looks as if the colours are richer because you are being foiled.
If you really want something with great colours, get a screen with a PVA or even a S-IPS panel.
Matte = cheap plastic layer vs expensive Glass (glossy).
In case of the unibody MacBooks it's not about the materials but it's all about the structure. The glass plate in those machines is very thick and Apple uses it as a key feature in the structure of the lid. The glass is the thing that keeps it all together and makes it very rigid/sturdy. If you want the matte option you take out the glass and you also have a big big structural problem since you threw out the support for the structure. Apple had to redesign it so the structure is still rigid/sturdy as with the glass and that's why it's a 50$ upgrade. I would have preferred Apple didn't rely that much on the glass to give the lid it's strength but it is what it is
