Apple May Be Considering Matte Screens Again
Glassy screens be gone... please?
Regardless of what you may think of Apple computers, their designs do hold a certain attractive quality. We were mightily impressed last October with the new unibody construction but we've always been very against the all-glass display.
While the glossy glass display looks stunning in the show room, especially when the machine is off, the added frustration of dealing with extreme glare makes it something that most road warriors will end up hating.
Apple partially solved the problem by offering the 17-inch MacBook Pro with an option for a matte screen – at the cost of $50 for something that used to be no-cost.
The thing is that those who have 17-inch MacBook Pros might be less likely to carry their machines to environments with uncontrollable lighting as compared to those with 13- or 15-inch MacBook Pros.
AppleInsider claims to have heard from sources close to Apple that the matte screen option will soon return, perhaps as early as sometime this year coinciding with a hardware refresh. This could help put a little bit of the professional in the "Pro" line of MacBooks.
Although things may return all to the way they should be in Appleland, the influence that the Cupertino computer maker has on the rest of the PC industry could mean that certain PC-based laptops will continue to make use of ultra-glossy displays simply because they look nice.
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Great news. I hate glossy screens.
it would be nice if they just gave the consumer the option of glossy or matte for no additional charge. I still wouldn't buy one but it would be nice of them.
Apple MAY be considering. That's like the world MAY implode in the next few hours, and that that sort of thing MAY be relevant to the user interest...
But yay, glare reduction. The boost in hardware (much needed) was interesting. Attempting to add another glamorous option to these MacBooks may not be so interesting.
Please get rid of those glossy screen.. If i want to look at myself, i'd go take a look in a mirror, not a monitor..
Am I the only one who likes glossy screens? They just seem to make things a bit sharper. To me, anyway.
Stylish? An all white case that shows every piece of crap that a laptop can be put through?
They will release a new matte, they will charge for it, you will buy it because it will Innovative! somewhere in the description.
I will hand it to Apple, I do like the glass screens for there durability.
Please get rid of those glossy screen.. If i want to look at myself, i'd go take a look in a mirror, not a monitor..
But what about those of us in love with ourselves? I can watch porn and see myself at the same time!
you could always use a fine grit sandpaper to reach the desired effect.
you could always use a fine grit sandpaper to reach the desired effect.
I like you now.
But what about those of us in love with ourselves? I can watch porn and see myself at the same time!
Yeah!
I understand that Apple is 'anti-choice'. It is their business plan. It lets them do things others can't.
But what harm would there be in making this a customizeable feature? It is just swapping 1 LCD for another, and they already have the statistical information to determine which to order more of by now...
Just give an option. That's all. Or make glossy screens the right way like my (4 year old!) Sony VAIO VGN-317.
Am I the only one who likes glossy screens? They just seem to make things a bit sharper. To me, anyway.
I have an old Compaq R3000 with a glossy screen. I honestly prefer it to matte. I got a glossy Sony screen for my desktop...ohhhh the bad color, My Samsung 245T is matte and still looks good, but i still have no issues with glossy in the right environment.
Apple, give users the CHOICE for FREE!!!
Please get rid of those glossy screen.. If i want to look at myself, i'd go take a look in a mirror, not a monitor..
And for a small fee, you can purchase iMirror, the latest software for macbooks. It turns off your screen and enables the "MLRS" (mirror like refletion system) that was built into your macbook from the factory. The app will only cost $69 at your nearest Apple store.
For gaming I like the gloss look, the colors and blacks are much deeper. But for text and work enviornments I think the matte is the way to go.
I would like to find the guy who decided years ago that GLOSSY LCD displays on notebooks is a GREAT IDEA... and kick him in the nuts.
Only a moron would have thought "This is good". In almost any environment - the glossy screen is reflecting everything. Your face, anything behind you, any movement. Sure this is good if you have people who like to sneak up behind you.
When I was shopping to a notebook last year to buy from a store. I was looking at the IdeaPad at $650 (C2D/2GB/gf8600m/Vista) and a ThinkPad R61 (PDC/1GB/intel-video/XP) for $500. The ability to play games was a selling point on the IdeaPad, faster CPU & bigger HD. But I'd also have to spend $100 to replace Vista with XP. But then I noticed the severe lack of reflection on the Thinkpad.
With its brighter matte screen, I was done instantly! I wasn't looking for a NON-glossy screen notebook because I thought nobody made them anymore. HP, Sony, IdeaPad, Gateway, etc... glossy. And besides, the other features of ThinkPad makes it a better notebook, besides saving $250 in price.
Next time anyone wants a new notebook with a good screen, keyboard & XP options, you can order a ThinkPad and it ships in about 7~10 days (I've bought some for clients). But some models include the Glossy option
All this hate for glossy displays (and I share it too, a bit) makes me wonder what it was that we did before we had LCD screens. We had glass-faced CRT monitors... with an anti-glare overlay filter thingy placed over the screen. Why can't we have something like that? Or another thing is, given how much people hate glossy screens, why haven't we been exposed to some sort of plastic screen-protector-sheet-thing that just goes on like... well... a screen protector? Third parties make anti-glare matte screen protectors for the iPhone, so why not the MacBooks or any other laptop screen? You'd think it would be a profitable product for accessories makers to work on. It would cost 10 cents to make (plus initial development/equipment costs, packaging and distribution) and they'd charge $15-25. I don't see how that couldn't make money.
Is it possible to have matte glass? That would be a nice happy medium. I like apple's glossy screens because they're more recyclable, but unless you live in a cave (in which case a desktop would have been better), then matte is the way to go.
I love my aluminum Macbook with the glossy screen. I've travelled with it plenty and seldom had a problem. I'm a windows user, but this mac is a great piece of equipment. If you need a laptop and the price doesn't matter, don't let the glossy screen stop you. I don't think it matters.
^we didn't have CRT on notebooks...
Early CRTs didn't have gloss. But having lights and any kind of background stuff moving on the screen sucked, so they developed various anti-glare materials that were applied to the glass on the CRT. These coating were subject to damage.
Of course, LCDs (without a glass cover) are easily damaged too... but thats the actual monitor thats getting damaged.
Waffle: About 3-4 years ago, some idiot in marketing decided that a glossy screen would look better. Now, to a degree - the glossy screen is a tad darker, making the desktop look more "colorful" which is fine for watching videos. But doing work?
I've just compared a 15" glossy notebook in a darkish dining room to my ThinkPad with matte screen in a bright room with 2 light sources. I can still see the reflection of my face on the glossy screen. The ThinkPad's display is bright & crisp and with no reflections. No detractions. No moving backgrounds when I move.
Cool to have a choice on screens... but for most people, they don't have a choice because the selection at the stores and don't know they can order a better product over the internet.
Unfortunately, most netbooks appear to be glossy screens.
Mr Matte Screen, welcome back! :-)
Seriously, I really dislike the glossy ones...
I'm using what might as well be Dell's answer to the 13" MacBook Pro, the Studio XPS 13, and for me, the jury is out on whether I like or dislike the glassy screen.
I like it because if something happens to smudge on my screen, it's easy to clean off, and it just plain looks nice in MOST lighting. In comparison, cleaning my 17" matte desktop LCD is very difficult because anything that touches the screen basically stays there, even after cleaning.
The only times I don't like it is when I'm trying to work outside on a day when it's very bright. It just wasn't readable. Any other place or time, like just taking the internet outside on a warm summer evening it works beautifully.
If apple offered anti-glare options on all macs, I'd move my whole family to Apple and not look back. It's true that glossy is better for entertainment, but anti-glare is always the choice for the professional, the person who has to work on the computer, whether it be with text or images. I fell in love with my 15'' MBP display when I saw how easy text reading and editing was on my eyes. I'm glad I have one of the previous generation, and I hope Apple does reconsider. If they do, I may reconsider locking myself and my family into their product line. May have to buy some Apple stock before I do and join the legion of stock-owner fanatics out there.
How is this news worthy, its just a damn screen.
Glossy is a fad, and sadly most TVs are still designed that way too. As you said it's designed to sell in the showroom and not to be used. Anyway, for me it's a deal breaker a all mine are matte.
OMG I hope so, I will keep watching this because I will gladly pay 50 extra for it this Christmas when I get my new Mac.
On the subject of hating designs, what is it with PC laptop makers making the lids and such pure fingerprint magnets too. The old matt black laptops, IBM comes to mind, were and are the best.
I choose a Thinkpad T61p over an Asus G50V because the Thinkpad had a mate screen, even though the Asus had more powerfull spec at for the same price. Hell I hate glossy screen. If Apple brings back the mate screen I may end up buying a 15" Macbook Pro for my next update.
Thinkpads still come in matte surfaces. But some models do come in glossy too... which look great, but easy to look look dirty.
CaffeineCarl : Stop touching your LCD screens. My 4yr old doesn't touch his. I wash them about once 2-3 months with LCD wipes ($8 for a canister) and they look good as new. They get dirty from normal life mess (sneezing, coughing, talking, burping - the accidental finger touch - whatever)
PLEASE take away the glossy screens. That has been my biggest turn off, that in well lit areas or outside, I'm constantly fighting my screen to be able to see everything clearly.
www.lenovo.com/thinkpad - Their screens are not glossy, prices start at $500 for the SL series... Ugh, because those are Celerons. But $650~700 gets Core2, Win7 upgrade and at&t G3 wireless interface. HDMI output is nice.
Oh wait... don't know about apple still
13" MBP Matte = another sale for Apple from me