Glossy vs Matte - MBP Owner Satisfaction

[ventro]

PLEASE DO NOT VOTE UNLESS YOU OWN A MACBOOK PRO. Comparing matte and glossy in an Apple Store for 20 minutes is NOT enough. We are talking about extensive, regular use.

The purpose of this poll is NOT to the judge general opinion within the Macrumors user community (that poll already exists). All of us lean one way, whether or not we have actually used a MPB, simply based on our own experience of other glossy or matte displays. The purpose of this poll is then to filter out those attitudes and generalizations, since Apple's glossy and matte displays do not necessarily reflect previous glossy and matte technology.

 

[Transeau]

I prefer my Matte MBP over my Glossy MB screen.

 

[manosaurus]

I have owned both. I will never get a glossy display in my life so long that I have the option for matte.

 

[Maximus434]

This poll is rather stupid as all it will tell you is that people who have matte love matte and people who have glossy love glossy. It's pretty obvious.

 

[NJuul]

I have a matte screen and I love it. I don't like the reflection of the glossy screens, and the way they change the colours.
And I agree with above post by Maximus434.

 

[manosaurus]

...

 

[ventro]

This poll is rather stupid as all it will tell you is that people who have matte love matte and people who have glossy love glossy. It's pretty obvious.

If that's true then buyers can be assured that there are no inherent "issues" in either of the technologies (especially in regards to long term usage) and furthermore, they can be assured that whichever technology they choose, they will probably be satisfied with it.

 

[NATO]

I've had a Matte MBP for a few weeks before I swapped it out for a Glossy version. I love the vivid colours and the deep blacks that you get with the Glossy display. Of course it is more reflective than the matte display but it hasn't been an issue in any of the places I have used it thus far.

I would definitely buy another glossy display MBP in the future.

 

[chaslam]

Have a Glossy MB now and am waiting for my Matte MBP to be delivered. I love my glossy screen now, and thinking it may have been a mistake ordering a matte, but I will wait and see when it arrived. Will vote when ive seen the difference between them.

 

[Benjamindaines]

I do not own a MacBook Pro, hence when I'm not voting, but being a photographer as I am I would buy the matte screen never glossy. BTW I will hopefully be ordering one soon.

 

[fatrabbit]

I think a good acid test if you can't decide when ordering online for instance, is whether you prefer your digital photos to be printed on glossy or matte photo paper. For me, glossy is horrible!

 

[NewSc2]

Have a Glossy MB now and am waiting for my Matte MBP to be delivered. I love my glossy screen now, and thinking it may have been a mistake ordering a matte, but I will wait and see when it arrived. Will vote when ive seen the difference between them.

From what I know, the Glossy Macbooks and Macbook Pro screens are very different beasts.

 

[adiosk8]

I love the glossy screen, people always ask me "oh wow, what kind of screen is that on there? it looks great" I was skeptical at first because this forum is hardcore matte....but anything that the matte people say they hate the glossy I have yet to really find true. I don't have a glare(I use in natural lighting, and any other kind you can think of), the screen is amazingly bright and i dont see any un-even brightness

 

[daneoni]

Interesting, the poll reveals that those who have tried glossy rarely go back to matte.

 

[craigatkinson]

I owned a powerbook before my macbook pro, so I've had extensive experience with both matte and glossy screens. Some days I just sit and stare at my glossy screen. It's absolutely beautiful. Now that I've had the glossy screen, if I ever had to buy a computer again and they charged more for the glossy, I would pay the difference.

 

[ventro]

Seems that only 75% of matte users are thoroughly satisfied with their display, whereas a whopping 94% of glossy users are satisfied with theirs.

 

[Nermal]

if I ever had to buy a computer again and they charged more for the glossy, I would pay the difference.

I was about to point out that glossy does cost more, but I see that it's free now

 

[Danny Futuro]

I went from a glossy macbook to a matte MBP, and I wont go back. Matte gives me much more accurate color, and is easier on my eyes.

 

[iBorg20181]

I went from a glossy macbook to a matte MBP, and I wont go back. Matte gives me much more accurate color, and is easier on my eyes.

Meaningless comparison, since the MB and MBP screens are different!

It may also be difficult to compare the Yonah MBP screens to Merom MBP screens, since they're reportedly upgraded. If you're comparing, you need to compare C2D MBP to CD MBP screens.



iBorg

 

[hqsbud]

I went from a glossy macbook to a matte MBP, and I wont go back. Matte gives me much more accurate color, and is easier on my eyes.

The glossy MBP display is far superior to the MB display as shown in the image I uploaded in another thread. So you can't judge glossy MBP displays by what you saw with a MB display.

 

[hqsbud]

Deleted post because I didn't read the attachment instructions when I posted this.

 

[hqsbud]

OK, let me try this again now that I've actually read the attachment instructions.

I've seen several people say that matte screen is more color accurate than the glossy screen, but I haven't seen anyone provide backing data. So, I'm providing my Spyder2-calibrated color profile here that was generated for my glossy Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro. If someone can compare it with a Spyder2-calibrated color profile for a matte Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro, it could be very interesting and educational.

I believe the ColorSync Utility can do graphical comparisons between profiles. I'm not a color engineer though, so I can only guess that this is a useful comparison.

 

[chiefillini]

I have never owned a MBP before let alone a Mac. I went with a matte screen for my first one from mainly recommendations. Looking at the numbers they are still about 50-50 on who owns what. So these forums do nothing for the new buyer like me but make us throw a coin in the air and if it is heads than get matte. that is what I did after reading all the crazy forums. I am very happy with my purchase, hey at least I don't have winxp anymore, that is worth a bad glossy or matte screen.

 

[yipster222]

I first ordered a glossy screen then after coming back from the Apple Store I canceled the order and reorder a matte screen. There is a minimal glare but if you can deal with then you should go for it.