Glossy or Matte? What should I get?

I am going to buy a 15" MBP in the very near future but I am torn as to which screen to get...I have seen them both extensively at the apple store but I still cant decide.

Here's what I will be doing with this laptop:

1. Work - things like email working on documents etc. Also an occasional presentation to a client.

2. Browse the internet for business and pleasure. Its my job to keep up on the latest and I enjoy surfing my favorite sites as well

2. Games! Like WoW, FPS shooters, RTS etc. I play games often.

Thanks for any advice you have!

 

I prefer matte screens as they do not reflect as much light as glossy screens, so you can place your notebook anywhere (near a light, opposing a window) without having to worry about how much glare you will get on your screen. Glossy on the other hand does enrich the colors a bit, but I really don't think it is worth it if it will be shining unwanted light in your eyes. I say go with the matte screen.

 

i recomend the glossy..much better specially in Macs..

 

i like glossy on the macs. The do make colors pop. some graphics artists stay way from them but i love them. Cleaning the screen maybe a pain though.

 

if you were going to be working with photo's and video's, the the vividness of colors would be better seen on a glass screen. since you'll be gaming though the matte screen works better in your favor.

 

You see matte never really fails, where as glossy does, especially when there is too much light. From my point of view if you want to game, watch movie and such and have no problems with too much light around the glossy would be the best, but if you want to take it out on a date too ('cause you really love you laptop) pick the matte.
And this question has already been asked millions of times (not that many, but still). There was a very long thread about it.
PS: Notebook check reviewed the matte 2.2 and 2.4 MacBook Pro. You can see that it can really be used outside.

 

i have a glossy 15" MBP and to be honest.......its brilliant i love it the lcd is amazing but the only downfall is fingerprints and cleaning is a pain in the ass with these screens. if i were buying again i dont no what screen i would pick. probably would go with the gloss again

 

The one thing about glossy is that it makes the colours seem brighter and so forth. But if you do graphics/video work, you might not want this as it is misleading.

I have matte, and I love it, I can work anywhere and not have reflections, and yea I like matte.

I think it seems that matte users love matte, and glossy people like glossy though. And there definitely are more glossy people around.

 

Nope, here's an unbiased opinion right here!

I've owned glossy laptops for several years now, because the laptops I wanted only came in glossy. Let's see....

XPS M1210, XPS Gen.2, XPS M1710, XPS M1330. I then decided to get a Mac, and there was no question of what I would get: matte. I 100% agree when people say the colours on the glossy tend to "pop" more. No question. And blacks appear a little deeper, yep! HOWEVER, whenever the screen goes black, all I would see is myself, picking my nose in the reflection of the laptop display. Drove me nuts for years, and I won't go back to glossy if I can help it. I love my matte MBP, and I really hope Apple doesn't force the Apple systems to all go glossy. It's one more thing against the MacBook Air, for example...

Anyway, yes it's a personal opinion, but I rest assured that I can actually use my MBP near a window or ANY light source, whereas with my older systems with glossy displays - I never could, and that sucked.

Matte displays rule. I got rid of my plasma TV for that reason and got a matte LCD.

 

Matte screens have better viewing angles.

 

If you’re doing graphics or multimedia work that requires color accuracy, you really shouldn’t use a notebook’s LCD or any mainstream LCD in the first place. Most LCD monitors use TN panels which have horrible color reproduction.

On the question on screens, I tend to use my notebook outdoors where the bright light can be especially harsh to the screen. Glossy screens simply reflect the light, while matte screens absorb it. You’re going to get better visibility on the screen if you have a glossy surface outdoors or in a bright environment .

However, if you’re going to use the notebook in an indoor environment, you ought to get a matte surface. The reflections from a glossy screen could cause minor eye strain.

 

Glossy vs. matte is really preference, there's no right or wrong choice, although I will note that you may hate glossy screens for its reflections, while you probably won't hate matte screens for their lack of reflections .

Best advice is to take a look for yourself. I personally prefer glossy, but you may prefer matte screens and there's nothing wrong with that.

If you really can't decide, I'd say get a matte screen. You can't go wrong with matte; you may love glossy or hate it, so that's why matte's the "safer" choice.

 

Thanks for all the ideas guys! I am leaning towards matte but a couple things still have me thingking...

1. Glossy seems brighter
2. do matte really have better viewing angles?
3. Colors seem more vivid on glossy.

hmmmmmmmmmm

 

Hmm...the only one out of those that I can agree on, as I don't have much experience comparing the others, are that glossy screens do make colours look more vivid .

 

1. Glossy seems brighter
I think it seems brighter because the colors are more exaggerated on a glossy screen.

2. do matte really have better viewing angles?
From my experience, yes they do. I have a MBP with a matte screen as well as a macbook with a glossy screen. The macbook has horrible viewing angles compared to the MBP. This goes for all past glossy screens I have owned.

3. Colors seem more vivid on glossy.
See answer 1


I always felt that there is a reason Apple chose to use a matte display on my cinema display.

 

Naw man, you got it all wrong. Outdoors the bright light can be harsh on the screen yes, and glossy reflects that light back into your eyes, hampering your visibility and seeing a perfect reflection of yourself. Matte screens DO NOT absorb light, they refract it in random directions rather than straight back to you as in glossy screens(If matte absorbed the light the screen would appear black!). Therefore in any bright enviornment you will want a MATTE screen, not glossy. Heh, I think Jon must have gotten the two completely mixed up...

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonicwalker/925821377/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonicwalker/925821397/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonicwalker/925991269/in/photostream/

Powerbook and a Macbook Pro. Might not be a fair comparison, but it gives you a good idea of different screen types.

Courtesy of sonicwalker.

 

after seeing those glossy vs matte pictures I think I am leaning towards glossy now...

hmmmmmmmm

 

The matte screens on the new MBP's are MUCH better than they were on the old powerbooks. They are also LED's instead of LCD's which you see in those pictures. Those picture should be taken with a grain of salt as they are truly irrelevant to this discussion and your decision.

 

agreed. Silly comparison. You need to compare new LED displays to one another. Not old Powerbook displays to new LED ones!

 

First of all, there is no such thing as an "unbiased opinion." Secondly, I agree, I personally love matte screens. Colours don't pop as much... but oh well, if you need slightly more attractive colours use an external monitor. MBP is supposed to be portable, and reflections can get very annoying in certain places, while matte will never be a problem. I'd say glossy is better for a home pc, where you can always control the lighting in the room.

 

Yeah, the new LED-backlit displays are different from the old CCFL-backlit displays on the Powerbook G4 and older MBPs. Its a hard comparison.

 

Here you are comparing LED to non-LED, not glossy to matte. Sigh... when will you understand?

Chivari, those pictures are totally misleading. If you want a fair comparison go look at pictures online but don't think that those pictures he showed you are reliable. Best thing you can do is go to a local apple store and look and compare both of them for yourself.

 

My current mbp was my first matte, will never go back to glossy. Just my 2 cents.

 

Dude. It was a joke, hence the exclamation mark.

 

sorry I have a habit of saying that whenever someone says the words "unbiased" and "opinion" right after each other. And at time sarcasm is a little tough to pick up in text

 

I never said it was a fair comparison, did I? I just said that it would give you a good idea of different screen types.

 

Even though you said it, you totally mislead Chivari into thinking that slossy screens are brighter when in fact you were comparing LED to Non-LED screens. Please be more direct with what you are comparing. Those pictures compare LED screens to non-LED screens and really do not show off the glossy vs matte aspects very much, except for picture #2, which shows the glossy screen reflecting more light than the matte screen.