Matte Screen Macbook?

[yanit]

I just bought my black Macbook last week from an Apple Store here in Hong Kong. Before the purchase, I asked the (very nice) salesman about the concerns some people have raised on this forum and elsewhere on the Web about the eyestrain that comes with the glossy screen on the Macbook. He told me that if that was concern for me, I should get the non-glossy screened version.

"But I thought Macbook Pros come with the option of glossy or matte?" I asked, confused.

"We have matte screened Macbooks," he smiled.

So my lovely black Macbook (whom I have named Max) has a matte screen. Has anyone else been offered this option? Or do I have a tampered-with Macbook? Not that I mind much, as I do prefer the matte screen to the glossy (I looked at a sample of it in the store), but I'd just like to know I guess.

 

[reflex]

I hope you'll excuse me, but I don't believe this.

Maybe a photo will help

 

[rogersmj]

There are no matte screen MacBooks. Apple Store in Hong Kong? Are you sure you didn't buy something along the lines of this?

 

[yanit]

Wow, you guys sure are cynics.

Well I bought it at one of the authorised Apple repair centres in Hong Kong. I also bought a 60Gig Video iPod there last year and it doesn't look anything like that photo of a fake iPod you had a link to.

Fakes are indeed rampant in China, but Hong Kong is different. You'd have to look really hard and go to very seedy areas to find fake electronic goods -- they aren't sold out in the open like in Shenzhen or even Shanghai.

Anyhow, I took some photos of my Macbook but it's hard to tell whether or not the screen is glossy. Also it's nighttime on my half of the globe so I had to use the flash for a couple of shots. I've attached a protective plastic layer to the palm rests and the single mouse button, which explains why those parts are shiny whereas the trackpad isn't.

I haven't got a fake, and the screen definitely isn't glossy. I reckon that means there are matte screen Macbooks. Maybe it's only available at physical (as opposed to virtual or online) Apple Stores? Or only in Asia? ((shrug)) Is there anyone else here who is in Asia and has bought their Macbook at a physical Apple Store who has one of these?

 

[yanit]

More photos:

 

[other]

Can you turn off the screen brightness and take a picture of it near a lamp or something (from the side)?

Also, can we get bigger pictures?

 

[PDE]

More photos:

that looks like a typical glossy screen to me...

 

[e12a]

the flash would be more diffused if it were matte. sorry.

Why not go outside in broad daylight and take pics?
One with the computer on, and one off.

your flash looks more like this: (GLossy MBP)

Than this: (iMac)

Notice the radial flash on the imac vs. the crosshair looking one on the mbp.

pictures courtesy of : thiagofll
a Glossy vs. Matte screen thread. So you know the pics are legit.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/243600/

 

[rogersmj]

yanit: I know, I figured you actually did get a MacBook, I was just being funny. Or trying to...guess the humor didn't come across.

It's hard to tell for sure from your pictures, but it looks a lot like a regular glossy screen to me. Do you happen to know anyone with a MacBook or MBP with a glossy screen you can directly compare it against?

 

[AvMac]

More photos:

Why does the macbook look rundown to me? Especially the trackpad area.

Did'nt you say you got it just last week?

 

[e12a]

Why does the macbook look rundown to me? Especially the trackpad area.

Did'nt you say you got it just last week?

"I've attached a protective plastic layer to the palm rests and the single mouse button, which explains why those parts are shiny whereas the trackpad isn't."

Probably used his computer after he had In-N-Out. Black shows grease stains easier.

 

[chaslam]

Why does the macbook look rundown to me? Especially the trackpad area.

Did'nt you say you got it just last week?

Dont know if its just me, but there is something about that picture that I find strange, but cant put my finger on it (maybe it is the trackpad).

Anyway, that screen is definately glossy. Are you sure you havent got glossy and matte mixed up?

 

[e12a]

um..you guys the computer looks discolored cause he has plastic protective covers on his trackpad button and palm rests. the regular plastic can be seen on the screen and on part of the keyboard area.

 

[rogersmj]

Soo...now that we've all decided he has the glossy screen yanit's not coming back?

Seriously though, I think it might be possible for people who have never worked on a glossy screen to think the glossy screen is matte because under most conditions, the MacBook's screen is not as glossy as it appears to be in most online photos. They've really tamed the glossy screen coating; I have a Dell 700m that's two years old with a glossy screen, and it is noticeably more "glossy" than the MacBook. In fact I was using the MacBook at work the other day and at point was trying to find reflections in it while it was on -- it's so much better than my Dell's. So while yanit's MacBook is definitely glossy, I can see how under certain ambient conditions without anything to compare it with he might think otherwise.