“Are bright, high-gloss notebook screens harder on your eyes than conventional, matte-finish notebook LCDs? …The new generation of bright, glossy notebook screens began appearing in 2003. Compared to traditional anti-glare, matte-finish LCD screens, high-gloss screens have a higher contrast ratio. They’re noticeably brighter and produce crisper, more vibrant images. And they can be more easily viewed from the sides,” James A. Martin writes for PC World.
“Today, bright, high-gloss screens are found on notebooks from Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, Toshiba, and others,” Martin reports. “But these screens certainly have their detractors. For example, Deborah Hovey of Fredericksburg, Virginia, writes that the ‘annoying reflection’ on her high-gloss screen is ‘painfully distracting.’ Deborah adds: ‘I’ve even been using my old laptop rather then breaking the new one (with the high-gloss screen) out!’ Deborah’s e-mail was similar to others I’ve received from readers complaining about the glare and reflection.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: MacBook and MacBook Pro glossy screen owners, do you think the screens are harder on your eyes? Are they more or less annoying than experiences you may have had with matte anti-glare screens?
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Close-up Apple MacBook photos (keyboard, glossy screen, and more) – May 16, 2006
Apple adds glossy screen option to 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro – May 16, 2006
Apple debuts new 13.3-inch widescreen MacBook; replaces both iBook and 12-inch PowerBook – May 16, 2006
not sure if I’d choose Matte of Glossy even again..and I use my Macbook for graphic based work …photoshop, video editing, etc…my iMac at home is Matte by default..but if I had the chance it too would have been Glossy..as for increased eye strain? hmmm, no more eye strain that my previous other Mac based laptops..and I’m talking about at least 10 other laptops I’ve owned– from Pismo Powerbook to 17″ Powerbook and everything in between…so the argument of Glossy vs. matte is a matter of preference…..
but once you Glossy you never go Mattey!
This argument reminds me of the old Miller Lite Beer commercials where
one group of people yelled “Tastes Great!” and the other yelled “Less Filling!”
– Mark
I find the MacBook glossy screens easier to read.
I also had a Toshiba Windoze machine (which I sold on eBay recently given that my MacBook with Parallels obviated the need for a physical Windoze machine) that had a glossy screen.
The Toshiba glossy screen was very hard on my eyes because of the glare.
But, as ususal, Apple seems to have managed to create a glossy screen that doesn’t have a glare problem…I’ve never seen glare on my screen.
So I vote for Apple’s glossy screen as being easier on the eyes or the same as a matte screen rather than harder on the eyes.
Just buy one of each. Yeesh.
My biggest complaint about the glossy screen on the MacBook is that the viewing angle is so narrow. When watching DVDs you tend to get a bright wash at the bottom of the screen, and if you turn the screen too far up, down or to the side some parts of the screen go a funny negative image effect. Any one else see this? On my matte MacBook Pro though, the colours are not so vibrant, but the vieing angle is much more forgiving.
@eWorldian
You can adjust the brightness in System Preferences.
You can also adjust the whiteness in System Prefs>Displays>Calibrate>Target White Point.
Re: WiseGuy
@eWorldian
You can adjust the brightness in System Preferences.
You can also adjust the whiteness in System Prefs>Displays>Calibrate>Target White Point.
Yes, I know that, and have been experimenting with several different calibrations trying to find one that works for both color correcting and is easy on the eyes.
Our company purchased the Spyder2PRO Calibration system and that seems to have helped alot! The built-in calibration on the iMac just didn’t work too well.
No problems here. I love the glossy screen!
glossy screens causes globle warming!
I love the glossy screen. No problem whatsoever with brightness. I do have a problem of forgetting not to touch the screen…too many fingerprints.
I prefer Matte. I hate reflections. Didn’t like CRT’s either.
This is like when they brought back platform shoes, I wanted to scream “nooo! We took that fashion hit for you!”
I HATE these @%$@# glossy screens…if you ever use them in a normal office or lab situation the glare is incredibly annoying.
MW, most appropriately, ‘hell’, as in ‘What fresh hell is this??!!’
I like the glossy ones better. I don’t have a Mac with one, but my PC laptop has one. It is very bright and easy on the eyes, in my opinion. However, it is only a 13-inch display. If it was a 17-inch display, perhaps glossy would get annoying.
Got used to the glossy with the MacBook…I just make sure not to have the brightness turned up too high in certain situations…
I have a 15″ MacBook Pro and my wife has a white MacBook. My screen is not glossy, hers is.
I have nothing but positive feedback about the glossy screen. I have had no problems with glare or reflection. I use it inside, outside, etc.
Bad headline. There are absolutely no health concerns out there or mentioned in the article.
Matte screens cause significant eye problems over time. Glossy are much better. In fact my eye sight has improved. I work in low light/high light environments near exterior windows and never had a problem with the glossy.
My old matte screan looks dead in comparision.
I made the decision to go with the “Glossy” this time on my latest MBP and I’m loving it! It’s so crisp and clear and I don’t have any situations where I’d been in a environment that caused me to wish I’d not gone with the glossy.
Also, not to say that I wouldn’t go with a matte screen again either. They both have great screens.
Matte all the way. It’s too much work trying to eliminate the glare on the glossy screens and they are absolutely useless outdoors.
On a side note, this thread has English teachers all over the U.S. crying. Wear did u peeple lurn to spell?
Someone will develop software to make a glossy screen a matte screen. Unfortunately, that won’t be me. In the future you can have either glossy or matte at the touch of a button.
Last year I bought a screen sticker (Japanese product) for my G4 PowerBook. After applied to the screen, it has changed the matte screen into a glossy one. I noticed that the screen becomes slightly brighter. Yes, I like the glossy one now better although occasionally I need to rotate the notebook to minimize reflection on the glossy screen.
gloss reflection its a problem when you want to use your macbook outside your house, it could be a problem in your own office as if there are a lot of neon based litghs over the roof you can see all this reflections in the entire screen
but when the reflexion doesn’t exits, the cuality for a notebook screen its superb!
BEST INDOOR (sometimes not)
AWFULL OUTDOOR
No it’s not harder for my eyes. I use my MacBook indoors.
WiseGuy said: “Apple should be ashamed of itself introducing glossy screens and inflicting millions of people.”
Bud, did you happen to go to http://store.apple.com and see the part where buyers get to pick EITHER anti-glare or glossy on the MacBook Pro? And if the glossy screen on the MacBook is that much of a deal breaker, you can upgrade to a MBP. And yes, it’s not unusual for the higher end of a product line to offer options you don’t get on the lower end. Kinda like how you get more in a Ford Mustang than you do in a Ford Focus.
I’ll evaluate for myself whether glossy or matte is best, not depend on what the herd is doing. If I need to use my upcoming MacBook Pro mostly outdoors, I’ll probably go with anti-glare. If I use it mostly in the office, I’ll might go with gloss, for the richer contrast and color. I don’t need “30,000 people who can’t be wrong” to tell me I made the right decision.
MW: looked: I looked for myself and decided which was best.
I have looked at both in the store and was leaning towards a glossy–until I had to look over by bosses shoulder at who wanted me to get a head start on a huge piece of software the company is installing. After about 10 minutes of either she not being able to see or me, we gave up and she just gave me the computer to look at. The glare was rediculous. I guess as long you are the only person sitting right in front of it, its fine. But glossy sure isn’t for doing any kind of “team” work. I think I’ll go matte–you know what they say!