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[Merged] Hi-Res Glossy or Hi-Res Antiglare?

Smoothie97 said:
UPDATE: Many more pics of the 15" MBP high-res anti-glare with various wall papers, lighting conditions, and angles. See Post #27.

Update 2: Some pictures of text so you can see how small it is. See Post #57.

I had originally bought the 15" MBP i7 with the standard glossy screen on Wednesday. Today, I heard that one of my local Apple Store (First Colony Mall in Sugarland, TX) was the only store in Houston currently carrying the 15" i7 with Hi-Res Anti-Glare screen. I was most interested in getting the Hi-Res screen after I saw some other members post pics of it. Initially, I was scared that the the text would be too small since, I use Word a lot. The Apple Store in First Colony Mall did not have a 15" Hi-Res Anti-Glare on display, but did carry it in the back.

The part number is MC666LL/A and comes only in 15" i7 configuration (2.66 Ghz, 5 GB RAM, 512 MB nVidia GT330M, 500 GB hard drive, 1680 x 1050 resolution, anti-glare display).

I talked to the manager how I was not satisfied with the standard display on my original 15" i7 purchase from Wednesday. I asked him if I could buy the 15" i7 Hi-Res Anti-Glare today (it was Friday) and come back the NEXT DAY (Saturday) to return my original 15" i7 standard glossy AND avoid the restocking fee. To my surprise, he said sure, all you're doing is just switching it out. Come on back tomorrow and I'll take care of you. I then said, "So I get a 100% refund?" He answered, "Yes." Whoa...that's unheard of for opened hardware. That saved me $210!

So, before I return my 15" i7 standard glossy, I took a comparison pic of the two. I'm very happy that I got the hi-res display. I can see so much more text and pictures now. I don't find the text to be too small either. Also, I am happy I now have an anti-glare screen. It's a huge difference over the glossy screen. I owned the Late 2008 MBP 15" glossy for over a year and loved that screen. When I was examining a 17" anti-glare in the Apple Store, I spent about 20 minutes comparing it with a glossy. It was a tough decision at the time. But now that I am home with the 15" high-res anti-glare screen, I love it, and now realize that I made the correct choice.

I highly recommend getting both anti-glare and high resolution configured and shipped if you can't find it locally.

High-Res Anti-Glare on Left; Standard Glossy on Right

4527237849_1a460a82e0_o.jpg


As you can see, you can see, the high res screen offers way more viewing area compared to the standard res screen. I used an ethernet cable to transfer my data from the 15" standard glossy to the 15" high res anti-glare. Therefore, the desktops are identical. You can see how on the high res screen, I can still fit way more icons on the dock.

If you can read the text in this photo, you'll definetly be able to read it in real life.

4527868190_e893dd19db_o.jpg


Oddly enough, I found that the Anti-Glare screen had more vibrant colors compared to the Glossy screen!

Here are pics of the new 15" MBP with the Speck Satin black case. The case fits very tightly with no wiggle room. Since the last generation MBP is identical to the April 2010 model, all the accessories for the prior model will work for the current model--like this Speck case. The case does not interfere with the newly designed charger cable on the left side of the laptop. I like the way the case feels. The Apple logo now glows are dark purple. The only thing that I don't like is that it is near impossible to take off. I feel that I'm going to break the case or scratch my MBP if I try to take it off.

4527237779_f18bbd4f6e_o.jpg


4527237695_54c1da43ef_o.jpg


If I could change something about it would be the bottom design. Only about 1/4 of the rigid area has holes punched through for ventilation while 3/4 of the rigid area is not punched. I don't understand why speck didn't just punch through all of the rigid section.

4527867786_865a7de329_o.jpg
Click to expand...

Do these type of cases tend to heat the MBP more?
 
inffest said:
Do these type of cases tend to heat the MBP more?
Click to expand...

I would also like to know this. I don't want to get one if it heats the MBP up and causes noise from the fans trying to cool it down.

What type of durability does this case provide? My Acer laptop has fallen from a 2 foot height about 5~ times with no noticeable damage, this being a much more expensive laptop I'd like to keep it protected even though I've found laptops can take quite a few light falls.
 
So, I went to the Apple store last night to take a side-by-side look at the glass and anti-glare screens in order to make up my mind.

Originally, I was in the crowd of people who thought the silver bezel on the anti-glare model was tacky and looked like an afterthought compared to the end-to-end glass screen. But after finally seeing the silver bezel in person, I have to say the quality of it is much, much nicer than I had thought. Pictures tend to make it look like some plastic secondary market piece or something. But in actuality, when you see it up close, the quality of it is great. I couldn't tell, but I think it's made of aluminum, just like the rest of the computer, and not plastic like I had thought? It was certainly rock-solid, and didn't have the slightest bit of flex.

But what really caught my eye were the subtle black rubber lines that border the edges of the bezel. These are details that are completely missed in regular photographs. When you see it in person, you realize that the silver bezel actually does match the design of the MBP simply because it has black rubber borders to color-coordinate with the keyboard.

All in all, I would say to anyone trying to make a decision that they NEED to go to an Apple store to see the side-by-side comparison before they decide. Do NOT base it off of photographs.

My decision completely flipped. Come June 1st, I'm going to be ordering an anti-glare. The clarity of the reflection-less screen is now justified to me by the high quality of the materials used to make the bezel.
 
BenLeong said:
So, I went to the Apple store last night to take a side-by-side look at the glass and anti-glare screens in order to make up my mind.

Originally, I was in the crowd of people who thought the silver bezel on the anti-glare model was tacky and looked like an afterthought compared to the end-to-end glass screen. But after finally seeing the silver bezel in person, I have to say the quality of it is much, much nicer than I had thought. Pictures tend to make it look like some plastic secondary market piece or something. But in actuality, when you see it up close, the quality of it is great. I couldn't tell, but I think it's made of aluminum, just like the rest of the computer, and not plastic like I had thought? It was certainly rock-solid, and didn't have the slightest bit of flex.

But what really caught my eye were the subtle black rubber lines that border the edges of the bezel. These are details that are completely missed in regular photographs. When you see it in person, you realize that the silver bezel actually does match the design of the MBP simply because it has black rubber borders to color-coordinate with the keyboard.

All in all, I would say to anyone trying to make a decision that they NEED to go to an Apple store to see the side-by-side comparison before they decide. Do NOT base it off of photographs.

My decision completely flipped. Come June 1st, I'm going to be ordering an anti-glare. The clarity of the reflection-less screen is now justified to me by the high quality of the materials used to make the bezel.
Click to expand...

I disagree with this and I think it's just down to personal preference. The silver bezel will always look tacky in my opinion. It just doesn't sit correctly with the keys thus giving it an odd appearance. The glossy display however does and this is probably why it is used in all forms of apple advertising.
 
Smoothie97 said:
Watching movies on the anti-glare screen is great, as is viewing photos, browsing websites, viewing documents, everything! I use to be pro-glossy, until I got the anti-glare. From now on, I'm always getting an anti-glare option if its available. Honestly, the colors are just as vibrant on the anti-glare when compared to glossy.
Click to expand...

You're making me highly reconsider getting the matte instead of the glossy, I haven't ordered mine yet, though.
 
ibizarocks said:
I disagree with this and I think it's just down to personal preference. The silver bezel will always look tacky in my opinion. It just doesn't sit correctly with the keys thus giving it an odd appearance. The glossy display however does and this is probably why it is used in all forms of apple advertising.
Click to expand...



I never said that the silver bezel looks better than the black end-to-end glass, so I'm not sure what exactly you're disagreeing with.

What I was saying was that in photos, the silver bezel looks like a tacky afterthought. But when you see it person, you notice how high quality the materials used actually are.

For example, in photos, I always thought the little black line around the outside of the silver bezel was dead space, like a thin crack between the bezel and the edge of the lid. But after seeing in in person, I see it's not space at all, but rather a very classy black rubber border. The details you notice when actually seeing it in person go completely missed in photos.

Look, the black border of the glass screen looks great, don't get me wrong. That's why as early as two days ago, I assumed that's the one I wanted. But after getting to see them both in person, my decision has become much more difficult to make.
 
BenLeong said:
So, I went to the Apple store last night to take a side-by-side look at the glass and anti-glare screens in order to make up my mind.

Originally, I was in the crowd of people who thought the silver bezel on the anti-glare model was tacky and looked like an afterthought compared to the end-to-end glass screen. But after finally seeing the silver bezel in person, I have to say the quality of it is much, much nicer than I had thought. Pictures tend to make it look like some plastic secondary market piece or something. But in actuality, when you see it up close, the quality of it is great. I couldn't tell, but I think it's made of aluminum, just like the rest of the computer, and not plastic like I had thought? It was certainly rock-solid, and didn't have the slightest bit of flex.

But what really caught my eye were the subtle black rubber lines that border the edges of the bezel. These are details that are completely missed in regular photographs. When you see it in person, you realize that the silver bezel actually does match the design of the MBP simply because it has black rubber borders to color-coordinate with the keyboard.

All in all, I would say to anyone trying to make a decision that they NEED to go to an Apple store to see the side-by-side comparison before they decide. Do NOT base it off of photographs.

My decision completely flipped. Come June 1st, I'm going to be ordering an anti-glare. The clarity of the reflection-less screen is now justified to me by the high quality of the materials used to make the bezel.
Click to expand...

If you're on the limp on which screen to get. I agree, you really need to go to the store to decide.

The silver bezel wasn't on my mind when I was debating on glossy or anti-glare. I literally spend 2 hrs at the apple store deciding which one to get. I was only a little be concern about intensity of color compare to anti-glare. Although in my opinion anti-glare does give you a better, true to color result than glossy, but its not so hard to get adjusted to it if you have glossy, just tone down your color. I'm a graphic designer so I spend a lot of time in from of the computer. I was more worry about how each screen will affect me when I work long hours.

I went to the apple store with only 2 hours of sleep. I went back and forth comparing the two screen. After about 30 min on the glossy my eyes started to irritate me. The anti-glare was less irritating.
 
spent some time in apple store antiglare to me looked old, the glossy looks so high tech.
 
Its all personal preference. If you really have a hard time deciding, you have to go to the store and compare it. I spent 2 hrs comparing, in the end anti-glare was my choice, less strain on my eyes.
 
FMD:. said:
I say pay the extra 150 and get the antiglare you may start to notice yourself getting neck cramps because you are trying to adjust your viewing angle to see the display better on a glossy.

Just my .02...
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Neck cramps? These glare arguments are just so overblown. I have a glossy display now and I can tell you that I enjoy the benefits of the more saturated colors 95% of the time and maybe deal with glare 5% of the time. That's a big price to pay for an uglier looking and dimmer screen. :rolleyes:
 
pesc said:
If the laptop sits on your desk, then shut the lid and connect a real external monitor, keyboard and mouse for superior ergonomics. I don't get why people buy laptops to use mainly at a desk...
Click to expand...

It depends on your workspace. I have a small home office where I use mine, and I don't want the desk cluttered up with a monitor/keyboard/mouse when I have all of that built into my laptop. I guess I don't understand why anyone would buy a laptop and then try and turn it into a desktop by adding all that stuff? Why not just buy an iMac?
 
High Resolution Glossy Pic

I have searched and searched believe me... I can't seem to find any threads with pictures of the New High Resolution GLOSSY display. I've seen the Matte and its nice but I would simply prefer Glossy and would love to see some pictures. The nearest Apple store is 100 miles away and I heard they don't even have High Res. Glossy only High Res Matte. So if anyone can post a couple pictures of the High Res. Glossy I would greatly appreciate it.
 
ibizarocks said:
The glossy display however does and this is probably why it is used in all forms of apple advertising.
Click to expand...
The glossy is on all the default configurations. They use that in all of their advertising because it will be the most likely config people identify. If they were to use the matte version people would not identify and probably think it is a new Mac or a very old one (especially considering the fact the old non-unibody MBP's looked like this). It is not about what looks better, it's all about people identifying themselves with the product.
 
I created a poll not for preference of glossy/matte but for actual money-where-your-mouth-is purchase decisions here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/904163/

Glossy is running about 2-1 over Anti-Glare now, which is about what I was expecting. I ordered Anti-Glare. I'm sitting next to my wife here & I can look over and see way too much reflection off of her glossy screen for my eyes to handle. I have an older matte screen now, and expecting the new anti-glare to arrive this week.
 
It's really personal, but everytime I see a picture of video from an Antiglare MCB I am glad I did choose the Antiglare ;)
And it's not only about professionals choose matte, some people get a headache after a couple hours behind a glossy to.
 
I choose HiRes glossy over anti-glare. I had already hit my max amount of money I was spending and I wanted to use cash not financing. It sucks in the sun but I think when not reflecting, the glossy looks a lot better, JMO. :cool:
 
Im not a huge fan of hi-res in general. But if thats wat floats your boat, go for it. Personally, i would prefer the Glossy screen. This is because i feel that the colors are more vibrant on the glossy screen rather than the washed out feeling on the matte screen. To top that off, the silver bezel makes the machine look cheap, to me at least.

Hope that helps.
 
I have a feeling that if everyone on this site was 100% honest, most people who chose to get a glossy screen would say that they only got it because they think the black looks better, and that the whole "colors are also more vivid!" claim is totally bogus.


So in actuality, it really does come down to one question: is the functionality of a screen without tremendous amounts of glare more important than showing off a black bezel to your friends?
 
I've found this thread very useful and appreciate pictures posted about the new antiglare Macbook Pro. I ordered my i7 15" high resolution anti glare over a week ago and am expecting it to arrive by Friday.

Unfortunately I could not see one in person as I live in a smaller city and they didn't have them yet so I just ordered the anti glare as I love my sister's older Powerbook G4 and find her newer Macbook with the gloss screen drives me crazy.

Based on what I've read here I hope I will like it. I too have always preferred the silver bezel and silver keys and it's all a matter or preference.

I think it's ideal if you can see both in person if you have a chance.
 
Check out this great review (also in 720/1080p) from a few days ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-RK7Ocfh3s

He talks about the matte screen, and given the good quality of the video you'll get a pretty good idea of how the anti-glare and high res look.

I think I've made up my mind :eek:
 
apple.fan said:
here is one https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/896715/
Click to expand...

I get a kick out of all the "glossy is da debil" pictures posted. None of them are taken from a direct viewing angle, but instead, from such an angle as to highlight the reflections. That's hilarious. I mean c'mon....who is going to use the laptop by seating themselves at an exaggerated angle to the left or right of the keyboard/screen? Unless you've got two elbows on each arm, thats ridiculous.
 
Thank you for making this thread, I too have searched far and wide for a definitive picture of the hi res glossy screen which I plan to order with my new machine. I'll be sure to continue my search and post any findings here.

edit: the pics in the above link are decent. I have yet to see one in person however
 
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