New MBP: Glossy or Matte

Glossy or Matte finish for new MBP

  • Glossy

    Votes: 41 48.2%

  • Matte

    Votes: 44 51.8%
  • Total voters
    85
O

Octave

Gawd
Joined
Aug 27, 2004
Messages
662
I want to hear your preferences and why. I'll be ordering a new MBP core2duo soon and my friend (who has an older rev MBP) likes a matte screen. Ive kinda gotten used to glossy screens with dell laptops, but my 2005FPW is matte and i like that cause it is really easy on the eyes. So, Let me know your opinion.
 
The glare you get from the glossy is terrible and in my opinion the glossy saturates the colors of images too much. But we all have different opinions I guess.
 
I voted matte because I ordered one on tuesday, and that's what I ordered. Glossy is nice, but I'll be using it under fluorescent lights a lot, and I hear that's a nightmare. Plus matte is a sure thing, glossy has yet to prove itself for me.
 
Glossy looks better in certain conditions.

Matte will be better when these conditions arn't met...

If you actually leave your house and use this computer, glossy is plain ANNOYING.
 
Hmm, its not looking good for glossy. Someone must like glossy. Any takers?
 
Yup, I voted for glossy. I love the glossy screen because the colors pop and everything looks much more realistic, not over saturated. I don't really care about the glare issue because there are no direct light sources pointing at my monitor and if it's sunny i just pull the blinds down. I have a Sony 19" glossy screen, havn't seen the Apple but I bet it's similar.
 
I use my MBP at all sorts of places where I can't control the light, so Matte it is (plus, since I have a very 1st-gen MBP, it was the only option).
 
Matte. Glossy screens are ohrrible if you ever go outside or use your laptop in an area where you can not control the lighting. Plus they are a PITA to keep clean.
 
Glossy is the way to go. The black level is much deeper and everything (especially video) looks much better. "Black" actually look black, not grey like the matte screen on my Powerbook. Definitely nothing looking "oversaturated", it's just the black level is much much better.

Most of the time, glare isn't an issue for me. I don't usually use my laptop outside, so I can't comment about that sort of situation.
 
I prefer my glossy MacBook to my matte PC's LCD; so I voted for glossy.

The black levels are much better to me, and colors look better to me, you should check out an apple store, see if there are any MBP's side by side so you can compare.
 
if you do any graphics or video editing, mattes the only way to go, glossy does modify the colors so for print and etc, what you see is NOT what you get, while with matte, what you is is what you get.

Oh and Glare sucks... Go matte!!!!
 
What are you going to do with it and where do you plan to do it? These tings will have an effect on the final decision. I voted matte because I prefer more accurate colors for photography related work.
 
AuroraProject said:
What are you going to do with it and where do you plan to do it? These tings will have an effect on the final decision. I voted matte because I prefer more accurate colors for photography related work.
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I dont get it since people are saying blacks are more accurate with glossy, isn't that more important. Also how much off are the colors really?
 
Glow said:
I dont get it since people are saying blacks are more accurate with glossy, isn't that more important. Also how much off are the colors really?
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A glossy screen makes colors brighter and more vibrant, which isn't always true-to-life. For professionals who deal with color for their line of work, I would always recommend a matte screen, simply because the colors displayed are closer to the real world, and to what other users will see on their screens.
 
Glossy looks very nice, but is not rational in my opinion. The display of the MBP is definitely still fantastic with the matte coating
 
I ordered the glossy. I hate matte screens on laptops after using glossy screens on my Dell XPS laptops.
 
Finally we have some debate. What i will be using my MBP for is damn near everything. Which entails mostly office work with a little bit of pictures / videos ect...(not a professional artist or anything, however my g/f is and she has a Powerbook G4 with a matte screen). Lets see...what do i do exactly. Word/ Excel / other office apps / internet / some coding (although not much anymore) / business stuff in general/ pictures and printing / some photo editing but not much as thats more my g/f's dept. So ya, Im thinking ill go matte since i use my computer so much and i want it easy on the eyes. Any additional comments?

edit: as a side note, the poll here is exactly reversed compared to other polls ive found (usually 54% like glossy)
 
I cannot stand glossy screens. My eyes just don't like to focus on what is being displayed when they can see something else in the screen from the reflections. Glare is such a pain to look at
 
So how about people take some pics so we can compare both?
 
Glow said:
So how about people take some pics so we can compare both?
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I agree, i would much like to see some pictures comparing matte vs glossy on macs. If anyone has a MBP with a glossy screen i would really like it compared to the MBP with the matte screen. (No imaging tricks either, aka, make the brightness level the same).
 
Octave said:
I agree, i would much like to see some pictures comparing matte vs glossy on macs. If anyone has a MBP with a glossy screen i would really like it compared to the MBP with the matte screen. (No imaging tricks either, aka, make the brightness level the same).
Click to expand...

what about lens flare? :D
 
KaosDG said:
what about lens flare? :D
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none of that either....cheating photography guru's....i tell ya.....
edit: nice sound setup KaosDG I have the M-audio studio pro 3s (preparing for my MBP :)), what you have hooked up to your big bank video card.
 
I voted glossy because well, when watching movies it really adds to the 'experience' and even if you're outside or in a bright classroom it doesn't take much effort to move/turn the laptop or yourself.

I don't use a laptop often but I have a 30" & 23" ACD, and if they were glossy...mmm, I'd be in heaven especially when Blu-ray/HD drives become 'cheaper'.
 
I have both glossy and matte laptops, but they're not macs. I can take pics if you guys want. Or were you guys asking only for the MBP?
 
go for it, But still can some mac owner take a pic please lol
 
Ive been shopping for a macbook pro for a while, and I decided when i order i'm going matte.
the glossy is nice and all, but even in the store the reflection is pretty bad, plus it shows fingerprints. i think its all a matter of personal preference and how you will use it.
if i knew i'd never use my laptop outside, i might go with the glossy.
 
I've had my G4 iBook for over a year now, and I do not care for the matte LCD on it. It's incredibly dull compared to the glossy on my Toshiba Satellite and if you are sitting in strong sunlight, whether directly outside or through a window, you will get plenty of glare on a matte screen. You won't get full-on reflections like with a glossy screen, but it becomes extremely difficult to read.

I have my iBook (matte) sitting next to my Satellite (glossy) right now, and the difference is quite literally night and day (especially at night when I have the lights low in here).

I'll try to take a pic by this afternoon and post it up for you guys.

Go glossy - you won't regret it unless you spend 75% of your working time outside.
 
Here's a 640x480 comparison shot of my G4 iBook 14" Matte LCD and the glossy 15.4" Toshiba running Ubuntu 6.06:

glossymatte1.jpg


Here's a larger shot (Photobucket resized the original, alas, and my Flickr account is broken).
 
i always have enjoyed my macbook's glossy screen becasue it just seem so much more life-like. I have used matte before. My eyes have never been irritated from long term usage, i actually think the sharper, brighter screen makes it easier on the eyes. I guess if your going to use your computer all around the office and bright lights and such, then maybe it could be a different story, but i have never been annoyed by fluorescent at school when using my computer. Maybe you should just go matte to be safe, but glossy has never done me wrong!
 
I've had two identical Dell notebooks here at work. One glossy and one matte and I compared them side by side and I liked the brightness and color saturation of the glossy much better than the matte. The matte screen looked too dim and washed out. I do however think the color reproduction on matte screens is slightly more realistic looking.

I just bought a MBP myself and after much debate I went with the glossy screen. I don’t have any problems using it indoors, and I really don’t plan on using it outside a whole lot.
I think it comes down to personal preference most of the time and whether or not you’ll be outdoors with it a lot.

I also think for people who do professional graphics, there is no substitute for a nice high end CRT.
 
hah, the poll is split 50/50, dude, just go to store and see what you like....people could argue about this for years...
 
hungryduck said:
hah, the poll is split 50/50, dude, just go to store and see what you like....people could argue about this for years...
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So true...im thinking matte, i just cast my vote.
 
I love the glossy (for watching movies and slideshows/ppt/etc) but then I have a glare screen thingie for when I do surfing/etc

Best of both worlds ;)
 
Update:
I just ordered a new MBP 15in, matte screen, 2x1GB, 120GB hard drive, ect ect..
oh, and free printer after rebate.

Also, Already have a 500gig external....so that means comp in my sig is for sale :), and or parts.
 
I used the customer service chat on Apple.com the other day inquiring about this exact question. The girl that I talked to, Dana I think was here name, said that both are very popular with two very different crowds. The glossy has a rich saturation of color giving the colors that extra "pop" while the matte gives a very true color feeling. She said from the people she has talked to and what she has dealt with for the two was:

Glossy: good for everyday use, not necessarily good in outdoor lighting but good for video and picture viewing. Enhances text for reading and gives a much deeper color saturation for photo editing.

Matte: gives very true to life colors. does not have the same glare problems that the glossy does but to some looks "washed out." Normally the matte is more common with people that do allot of website design, graphics design and video editing. Makes easier to pick up minutee differences where the glossy may just "haze" them over.

So basically depending on what you want to do with it and where you will be using it will determine what screen you get.
 
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