how bad is the gloss screen on the macbook pro?

[babyt]

just wondering. is the gloss like the screen on an iPhone 3G? or worse?

 

[osxx]

just wondering. is the gloss like the screen on an iPhone 3G? or worse?

Holding my phone next to it besides being a lower resolution about the same.

 

[babyt]

ok. thanks. its kinda hard to test drive a mac, outside the store, and perfect lighting

 

[wirelessmacuser]

Wait, how do we determine if we have gloss or matte?

Look closely at the picture, several posts above yours.

Notice the 1" ~ 1 1/2"(approx) black border around the outside of the display? The matte displays have a silver colored aluminum border instead of black. That's one easy, visual way to confirm which one you have.

My preference is Matte. I use mine for hours on end and the reflections of the glossy screen on my best friends MBP would drive me crazy. He bought his at the Apple store, didn't know they offered matte so took home the glossy one. Then after months of hating it he sees the new one that I just got a few weeks ago, and it's a night and day difference when they are side by side.

Luckily there is a guy that we know, that wanted glossy and bought his from my friend. Now he has matte and he so much happier. Does that make matte better than glossy? No. Just different.

It's a personal choice that you want to put a lot of consideration into before you choose.

 

[eyePawd]

If you didn't pay extra for matte, it's glossy.

A glossy is like glass and reflects absolutely everything like a mirror. Matte does not have a glasslike layer and instead has a "flexible" surface that leaves a bit of a trace if you run your fingers across it. It's more like a traditional LCD/HD TV.

Turn off the computer. Do you see yourself? glossy=yes, matte=no ;D

Glossy screens are like Mighty/Magic mice. You either love them, hate them, or are ambivalent. I like my glossy (and Magic Mouse) but that's only because the display is quite brilliant enough and the reflections don't bother me. I have noticed that over time it develops a matte finish if I don't clean it regularly.

Look closely at the picture, several posts above yours.

Notice the 1" ~ 1 1/2"(approx) black border around the outside of the display? The matte displays have a silver colored aluminum border instead of black. That's one easy, visual way to confirm which one you have.

My preference is Matte. I use mine for hours on end and the reflections of the glossy screen on my best friends MBP would drive me crazy. He bought his at the Apple store, didn't know they offered matte so took home the glossy one. Then after months of hating it he sees the new one that I just got a few weeks ago, and it's a night and day difference when they are side by side.

Luckily there is a guy that we know, that wanted glossy and bought his from my friend. Now he has matte and he so much happier. Does that make matte better than glossy? No. Just different.

It's a personal choice that you want to put a lot of consideration into before you choose.

Thanks everyone for clearing that up. In that case, I have the glossy, but have never been on a MBP with a matte screen. So far, I actually like the gloss look, but I assume for photographers, graphic designers, and gamers, the reflection may serve as a problem.

 

[Cumulus32]

I mainly came from a Dell Latitude line of computers for work purposes working in the IT field. So it was natural for me to look down upon glossy screens. Thinking to myself "how on earth can people use laptops with glossy?!?!?"

Until I tried a MBP... Sure its glossy, but like others said its kinda different from the cheaper type of gloss used in lower models of laptops like HP and other laptops sold throughout Best buy and any other place that sells them. If you have the display turned off, and aim the screen toward a light source, you can clearly see the source. However.. it kinda has a darker shade to it, kinda like a filter of some sort. It is hard to explain really and you out there that have one know what I am talking about haha.

Regardless, I love glossy screens now. You really will not realize the glare as you need to actually focus on it to realize it. Most of the time you will be reading words on the screen or looking at pictures etc... and it will not even phase you it even exists. And if there is glare, you literally only have to move the screen a few degrees left or right to get rid of it.

The answer to the question... the glare on the MBP is no worse than any other gloss lcd out there.