Steve has spoken: No more matte. The new MacBook models all sport glossy screens. Why? Because consumers prefer them, according to Phil Schiller, who joined Jobs in the spotlight at Tuesday’s media briefing in Cupertino.
Well, some consumers are fond of them, Phil. Others are less than thrilled. Here’s why:
Yea!: Glossy screens make everything look fabulous -- colors pop, blacks are true blacks, contrast is crisp and images look sharper.
Nay!: Because everything looks so damn beautiful, glossy screens may complicate photo editing and other tasks where output accuracy is a critical issue. What looks swell on your glossy screen may look wimpy and weird when printed or shared.
Yea!: Glossy screens are more readable than matte displays in bright sunny conditions.
Nay!: Seriously, how often do you work outside?
Yea!: Screen glare can be eliminated simply by shifting the laptop’s position. And, as Phil Schiller told us at the event “One of the great things about a notebook is you can turn it however you want!” (Wow! Who knew?)
Nay!: Screen glare -- big bodacious chunks of glare -- can be a real problem on those glossy screens, Some prefer dealing with the overall, averaged-out glare of matte screens, others are happy to adjust the angle of their glossy displays as needed in order to find the glare-free sweet spot. Just remember that you may not always be able to find the right angle, depending on the lighting/window arrangement of the space you work in.
Yea!: The paranoid can now see over their own shoulders and monitor what’s happening behind them. Reflections are often crystal clear on glossy displays. No more worries about monsters and serial killers sneaking up on you.
Nay!: Those reflections are super annoying, especially for the easily-distracted (e.g.: anyone who is on deadline).
Yea!: Glossy screens are easier to clean, because you don’t need to worry about stripping the matte coating off the screen when wiping it down.
Nay!: Glossy screens highlight fingerprints, dust specks, streaks and other display grunge, so you’ll be wiping down the screen a lot.
Yea!: Everything is so bright and sharp.
Nay!: OMG, my eyes hurt and I have a headache. (Google it, even apparently non-emo, not allergic-to-everything-in-the-damn-world types of people are complaining of eye strain and brain pain after spending a couple of hours looking at a glossy screen.)
So, what to do if the Nays outweigh the Yeas for your particular situation? Obviously you can plug in a external display when working from a fixed location --assuming you have an external or the funding to purchase one. You can also see if one of those dorky-looking laptop hoods help cut down the glare when you’re on the move.
The biggest adjustment when working with the gleaming new screens will be training your eyes to compensate for the glories of your glossy display as compared to the real-world reality of the images you are creating/editing. This will take time with high-end color management systems and/or, lots of lousy print-outs.
The good news for non-glossy screen fans is that you don’t have to suffer through post-Apple event upgrade envy or buyer’s remorse, your older MacBook is better than the new ones -- hooray. The bad news is that eventually you are going to want to buy a new laptop, and it’s very unlikely you’ll be able to find a new MacBook with a matte screen -- unless Apple starts thinking differently and offers options for people who aren’t seduced by bright, shiny things.
MacMatte
May 02, 2010 at 4:30am
If you strongly believe Apple should bring back matte screens for the iMac, cinema displays, and the 13" MacBook Pro .. and even the MacBook Air, then leave a detailed petition at http://macmatte.wordpress.com There are currently over 1,000 details petitions, and counting. Don't just say, "matte", or "bring back matte". There is scope to make your case in detail. Make your voice count.
benet
November 10, 2009 at 8:46pm
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rerailer
October 21, 2008 at 1:40am
Talk about stupid decisions, this makes McCain's choice of Palin look brilliant!
Steve, quick, quick, quicktime fire the IDIOT who made this decision. Yes, fire yourself if you were the IDIOT.
clintbradford
October 16, 2008 at 12:12pm
I do not regret for a moment my decision to purchase a matte 17" MBP back in 2006. If you have total control over all your environments' lighting conditions, then you might seriously consider a glossy screen. But for me, matte was an excellent decision.
kurb77
October 16, 2008 at 9:30am
I agree with the previous comments regarding the glossy debate - for professionals gloss is a no-no. I just purchased a new iMac 24" for my office at work and the only way I can avoid the problems with the gloss screen is to literally work with the lights off. Now I don't mind working with the lights off, I actually prefer it - but, I mean it's an entirely different issue when your dealing with a portable, i.e Macbook Pro. I love Apple just as much as the next guy, what I cannot figure out, however, is where Apple's marketing is heading - the professional demographic should certainly have precedence here - and the majority of us agree - give us some options Apple, we're not saying get rid of glossy, but please - don't get rid of our friend Matte.
MINZ
October 16, 2008 at 7:15am
Late 1940s thru early 1960 s Glaring TV Screens were an Eyesore. 1960s Navy Screens in Japan & Viet-Nam 12 to 14 hours a Day gave Sore Eyes. 1970s TVs, Game Machines into 1980s personal computers left eyes Burning. Late 1980s I sold hundreds, No Thousands of anti glare screens. 1990s 8 hours a day of Data Entry made eyes AFIRE till I put on Anlt Glare (Matt Screen). My 3 10 year old PB5300 powerbooks have NEVER worn off the “Coating” in Hundreds and 10 years of cleanings. My Atari Computers & Powerbook G4 and iMAC G5 have not worn off in hunderds of cleanings. Tell the Children that LOVE The “Glossy” screens to Grow up and work 8 to 10 hour days in an office before they say the LOVE The Reflective GLOSSY Screens. Steve Jobs is Still a Kid in my Books.
Must be close to 100,000 hours of CRT & LED screen usage.
Paul In Honolulu
Imagine Engine
October 15, 2008 at 8:48pm
Non-gloss displays benefit Artists, broadcast/film editors and compositors. Those are the people that bring in large sums of cash to Apple, not the average gamer or joe/jane user. So why not offer a 17" HD non-gloss display option for the ones doing actual work on the MBP? Where's the Blu-Ray RW DVD drive capable of storing 32 GB of HD media on a single disk? What about offering an upgraded Intel Quad 64-bit mobile CPU? What about offering real graphics processing power such as SLI NVIDIA Geforce or Quadro GPU so as to be useful for apps such as Maya, Mental Ray, Final Cut Studio, etc? I would love for MacLife to ask these questions to Apple to see what their response is and post this online for all MacLife readers.
