Apple may extend antiglare display option to more Macs

[AppleInsider]

Apple made a bold move roughly two years ago to begin transitioning its entire Mac product line away from matte displays and towards glass-enclosed glossy ones, but the company may be nearing a concession that these shiny, highly-reflective screens may not be for everyone.

The Cupertino-based company is currently mulling the possibility of extending antiglare display options to more of its Macs -- a feature now only available on the 17-inch MacBook Pro -- according to people who have proven familiar with the company's plans. Though speculative at this time, it would appear that the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros would be the most likely candidates to receive antiglare options.

The transition towards glossy displays appears to have been sparked by the original iPhone, whose glass touchscreen and black border resonated well with customers. The reception was favorable enough that Apple, in a bid to push the envelope and standardize materials across its product families, gave similar treatment to its iMac line a few months later.

Further emboldened, Apple announced in October its new line of unibody notebooks would also forgo matte displays for glossy ones, with the exception of a $50 antiglare option on the pricey 17-inch MacBook Pro. These new displays "provide crisp images and vivid colors which are ideal for viewing photos and movies," Apple said, "and the edge-to-edge cover glass creates a smooth, seamless surface."

Not everyone was thrilled with the move, especially those members of Apple's core professional video and image editing communities, who argued that the glossy displays tend to complicate color matching. Others are indifferent to this effect, but just can't stomach the glare given off by the glossy screens. Some are road warriors who take their notebooks on different assignments each day, and sometimes find themselves at sunny sporting events, unable to escape the reflective properties of the screens.

Whatever the case, Apple appreciates the concern, as it did with the outrage over the brief absence of FireWire on its 13-inch notebook offerings. The Mac maker has been following the numerous petitions and online threads dedicated to the display matter and hears their customers' collective voice, those familiar with the matter say.

A glossy unibody MacBook Pro side-by-side with a previous-gen matte MacBook Pro | Source: Flickr user Loustechworld

In the meantime, customers averse to the glossy displays are left with only a couple of options. They can plunk down the extra change for a 17-inch MacBook Pro with the antiglare option, or send their glossy MacBook Pro to solutions provides like TechRestore, which offers a third-party matte screen replacement program for $200.

"GlareBook Pro?" their Web site chides. "We don’t think so."

Still, Apple's glossy displays offer their advantages and are here to stay for the foreseeable future. In addition to being easier to clean, they produce brighter, richer colors and deeper blacks, for a crisper overall image. These traits play well to the company's offerings, all of which cater to consumers' digital lifestyles.

For more on Apple's glossy displays, see page two of AppleInsider's in-depth unibody MacBook Pro review.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[Jerseymac]

Ouch! My wife bought a 13 inch MacBook about six months ago with no firewire and the glossy screen, both of which are problematic. I guess it will be eBay time when the next 13 inch pro comes out with a matte screen.

[hmurchison]

I never quite understood why Apple, a company claiming to offer BTO (build to order) computers had too many missing options. At some point the BTO rings hollow if you're proverbially telling folks "you can have any color you want as long as it's Black"

[Ireland]

I personally prefer gloss. Actually, to be clear I like the Gloss on the Air, which I don't think is the same as the gloss on the new MacBook Pros - but, to not offer a matte option is stupid.

[mstone]

Waiting for the "told you so" from our favorite whipping boy.

[mcarling]

I would pay $50 extra for no-glare on my next MacBook Air.

[KT Walrus]

Good to hear that anti-glare screens might be making a comeback. My current 2008 MacBook Pro has a matte screen and I was kind of worried that I wouldn't have the option of a matte screen when it comes time to upgrade in a few years. I would never buy a laptop with a glossy screen.

Sometimes, Apple prefers form over function. There may be some benefits to a glossy screen, but the glare is a killer, in my book.

[mattido]

AG is the only way to go if you have lots of sunlight around. The glossy is nice only if you don't.

[iTuomas]

I seriously hope this will happen. I love the matte screen on my Early 2008 MacBook Pro. I did have one of the unibody models for some time but couldn't stand the reflections so I switched.

The MacBook Air's glossy is totally bearable, in turn.

[MsNly]

I like the gloss on my 17" and my Air, but the option will be nice because people can finally stop complaining!

[MsNly]

Originally Posted by teckstud

I'm waiting for my thank you's.

Don't forget it's just a rumour.

[ascii]

I would certainly take this option if it was offered on the iMac.

[MacTripper]

If this pans out this will be wonderful news.

Eyestrain and headaches, abnormal postures etc to reduce or "see around" the glare is not good for people.

Some people don't have a physical problem with glare, but a lot do.

I like the look of the new glass screens, (repeat for the glossy fan crowd: I like the better colors and contrasts of glassy screens!!) , but the price of glare comes at too much of a high price for those better colors and contrasts. Eliminate the glare and you have won me over.

We old graphic designers have used glassy CRTs for years, we know from experience the bad effects of glare, we didn't have a choice as matte LCD's didn't exist.

I'm glad Apple is realizing quite a lot of people absolutely will not buy a Mac with a glare type screen.


And before you all get started, I have examined all the alternatives:

1: Anti-glare films: Really? on a $3000 designer laptop? They dry out, yellow, crack and peel at the edges.

2: Replace the glossy with a matte screen: $200 and it voids your warranty, if you can get it done for future machines is doubtful.

3: Buy a limited edition $6000 Colorware "Stealth" MacBook Pro w/warranty: Insane, that's why only 10 are going to be made.

4: Switch to Windows or Linux: And lose thousands of dollars in software investment.

5: Hackintosh with a matte Thinkpad: Possible but not likely, security risk.

6: Replace the glare glass with 85% reduced glare "Museum Glass®": Would cost a lot and not completely prevent the glare. But 85% is a good start!


By the way thanks to everyone who has been working hard to bring this GLARE issue in front of Apple.

Click the link in my signature to make your glare problems known to Apple, this will be good for all. Even those who like the glassy displays, because by elliminating the glare and reflections the glassy screens will look A LOT BETTER!!

Just click the other link in my signature to see how much better antireflective glass can be.



I think it would be innovative, fashionable and trendsetting of Apple to have the best possible screen possible, if this means using Museum Glass® or another type of reflection/glare reducing glass. While all the other cheapo computer makers have glare glass screens, Apple's won't be.


EDIT:

I've found some prices for this anti-reflective glass from a framers website to give some idea of the costs:

Note these are retail prices, not wholesale or volume purchases:

Additional Cost For AR Reflection Free or Museum Glass

Print Size AR Reflection-Free Museum Glass
11" x 14" add $65.00 add $80.00
16" x 20" add $105.00 add $135.00
20" x 25" add $125.00 add $150.00
24" x 30" add $125.00 add $150.00
30" x 38" add $230.00 add $295.00

7" x 21" add $65.00 add $80.00
10" x 30" add $105.00 add $135.00
14" x 42" add $235.00 add $295.00
17" x 50" add $245.00 add $305.00

Disclaimer: I have no ties to Tru-Vue, Colorware or receive any compensation from any company. Just exploring solutions to the glare issue so I and others can continue using my favorite computing platform.

[dreyfus2]

That would be most wunderful. I need to order 35 15" notebooks in November. If the anti-glare and no-funeral-frame option is available by then, Apple gets the money and Lenovo looses. Come on Apple, others can offer hundreds of BTO options. Add a dual-HD instead of optical drive option while you are at it...

[bbwi]

Thank you Jesus! Thank you Oprah! Thank you Tom Cruise!

[zunx]

This is to ask Apple to offer matte screens. Your comment here most appreciated to move Apple:

http://macmatte.wordpress.com

Thanks.

[emig647]

Many things over the years have bothered me from apple. No mid range mac tower, no competing graphics cards, stubbornness on updating the finder, dropping fw from the 13" mb. But none of them were show stoppers for me. I bought a Mac Pro, I put up with the finder or used path finder, I got a 15" instead of a 13", etc. But none of these affected me as much as the glossy screens. I refuse to buy a glossy screen. 17" is way too big for me and is not an option.

Honestly, I think laptops can put up with glossy screens more so than desktop monitors. For the iMac and Apple Cinema Display to only come in glossy is a major slap in the face of all professionals that use them. I spent 10 days on an Apple Cinema Display 24" LED, and sent it back. I couldn't stand the glare. No matter where I put it there was always glare coming back to me to where I would start slouching in my chair (SteelCase Leap Ergonomic) and start hurting my back.

Working 12 hours a day isn't exactly healthy, I'm aware of that. I would always get minor pains. But with that apple display I was constantly fighting for position. Constantly squinting my eyes.

I know apple got a flood of outrage when they went all glossy. They kept shutting down and deleting threads on the apple discussion forums. It was pretty humorous for a few weeks.

Either way, apple really needs to address this... especially with their professional line up. They can keep glossy for all of the people that want it and want to kill their eyes for "shiny", but at the very least offer an option for the rest of us.

[nagromme]

I prefer no-glare, but the easy-to-clean factor of the glass outweighs everything else for me. I compare cleaning my pre-glossy iMac to cleaning my parents' glossy iMac and I am always jealous!

[jpellino]

The shiny screens are good for some. They drive me nuts. Hope this works out to be true.

[emig647]

Originally Posted by nagromme

I prefer no-glare, but the easy-to-clean factor of the glass outweighs everything else for me. I compare cleaning my pre-glossy iMac to cleaning my parents' glossy iMac and I am always jealous!

Seriously, how often do you need to clean an lcd. Are you touching it, sneezing on it, and blowing dust all over it? I don't know about you but I look at an LCD a lot more than I clean it. My eyes comfort outweighs everything else for me.

[Cubert]

A company that listens to its customers. Imagine that!

[Nanotech]

Ah, it's nice to have an option again regarding glossy/matte (I'm writing this on a matte 2008 mbp by the way). Let's just hope this is not just a rumor and that we will finally see more "antiglare" displays in apple stores

[jawporta]

I've been holding out updating my PowerBook G4 for a year now. I just can't bring myself to buy the MirrorBook Pro.

[paxman]

Originally Posted by Jerseymac

Ouch! My wife bought a 13 inch MacBook about six months ago with no firewire and the glossy screen, both of which are problematic. I guess it will be eBay time when the next 13 inch pro comes out with a matte screen.

DOH! I recently bought the same machine, no FW, no matte screen, no Pro badge, more money! I am really happy with it and don't mind any of its short comings but within weeks I my shiny new purchase was relegated to the status of a museum piece. Life really sucks, sometimes.

[jawporta]

Funny you say the glass screens are easy to clean. We have those glass things at work and every day I come in there's a layer of dust on them, this never happened when we had the matte LCD screens.

[jawporta]

Don't you all read these rumor sites?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerseymac
Ouch! My wife bought a 13 inch MacBook about six months ago with no firewire and the glossy screen, both of which are problematic. I guess it will be eBay time when the next 13 inch pro comes out with a matte screen.
DOH! I recently bought the same machine, no FW, no matte screen, no Pro badge, more money! I am really happy with it and don't mind any of its short comings but within weeks I my shiny new purchase was relegated to the status of a museum piece. Life really sucks, sometimes.

[Hattig]

Originally Posted by emig647

Honestly, I think laptops can put up with glossy screens more so than desktop monitors.

Surely the contrary - the laptop will go outside, where sunlight will form the most glare, but nobody places their computer monitor where sunlight will shine on it through a window, so the only glare options are in-room lighting and bright clothing. The former only requires a one-off adjustment if it is an issue. The user benefits from a the better picture that glossy displays have in good conditions.

The anti-glare museum glass looks like a good option though. You seriously can't see this stuff unless you are up close in a museum.

[Johnny Mozzarella]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

In the meantime, customers adverse to the glossy displays are left with only a couple of options. They can plunk down the extra change for a 17-inch MacBook Pro with the antiglare option, or send their glossy MacBook Pro to solutions provides like TechRestore, which offers a third-party matte screen replacement program for $200.

"GlareBook Pro?" their Web site chides. "We don’t think so."

$200 -- I don't think so.

I went with the $35 option and I am very happy.
Power Support Antiglare Film for MacBook and MacBook Air
http://store.apple.com/us/product/TR410LL/A
Its just like the ones they make for the iPhone but larger.

I would prefer Apple offered it BTO.

[code4fun]

Please do it. I still have my 1st gen MacBook Pro Core Duo. No plans on upgrading unless they offer a matte display. When Apple announced Cinema Display 24" with glossy, I tried to find the older model. The only ones I could get were used, so I ended up purchasing on eBay.

[MacTripper]

From a post at MacMatte website

In all the Apple Stores there are cameras, the customers are video taped and the actions of the people in the store are analyzed and studied much like rats in a maze in some psychological experiment. This is Apple’s marketing secret, which only a few people like myself know about. It’s done under the guise of security naturally, that’s local, but all the video feeds are also sent to a central facility based in Texas for the marketing department to view.

Apple runs it’s stores just like any Las Vegas casino – they watch their customers to the point they can predict your behavior before you do. They know pretty much how you’re going to react based upon certain stimuli, they know the shopping experience is emotional and impulsive, that’s why the lust factor for Apple products and their prices, are so high. People naturally equate a higher price as a better product.

This would explain why Apple thinks "Our customers love glossy displays" as people naturally gravitate to shiny objects.

I've seen this occur in mixed high end art shops, the glassy baubles get all the attention.

So if Apple is going by their 'marketing research' from their stores, and ignoring the installed user base preferences need for anti-glare, would explain things and why they decided to make their screens even more glassy in the latest versions.

It would also explain the online polls from experienced users who prefer the anti-glare type screens.

I think Apple could do better than follow HP who has no experience in selling computers.

HP claims they introduced the more expensive glassy screens:

http://computershopper.com/shoptalk/...glossy-screens



Hmmm....

[Mr. H]

Excellent news.

Hope this comes to pass. Then we can start whining about lack of Blu-ray!

[paxman]

Originally Posted by jawporta

Funny you say the glass screens are easy to clean. We have those glass things at work and every day I come in there's a layer of dust on them, this never happened when we had the matte LCD screens.

You mean you didn't notice it. The quickest way to clean a glossy computer screen? Turn it on and Voila! dust and fingerprints are rendered invisible.

[paxman]

Originally Posted by Mr. H

Excellent news.

Hope this comes to pass. Then we can start whining about lack of Blu-ray!

Oh no - please no blueray. That bulky technology has no place in a laptop (in a desk-top I don't mind)

[ltcommander.data]

Having a glare-option seems like good proposition for Apple. It used to be offered for free, but now they can return it to make users happy and profit by charging $50. Since glossy looks to remain the default option, glossy supporters have little reason to complain.

Personally, I'm looking forward to a matte 15.4" Macbook Pro with ExpressCard, Clarksfield, and a 1GB GT240M.

[eldernorm]

Sorry but glossy is better than matte. You can get a cheap ($20) matte sheet to make a glossy screen matte but you cannot get ANY glossy sheet to make a matte screen brighter and more vibrant.

I would like to see Apple add a coupon for a matte screen with the computer paperwork. Neat idea. But given the real world options, the people with "I want a Mac that does.......( including screens, options, and super options (anti gravity, teleporting, running windows software(... opps we have that one. LOL )) hey, enjoy your dreams.

And remember, if Apple pisses you off enough, you can always buy a Dell. :-)

Just a thought.
en

[azcodemonkey]

I'm glad I didn't go buy a 13" MBP yesterday!

[roehlstation]

Originally Posted by eldernorm

Sorry but glossy is better than matte. You can get a cheap ($20) matte sheet to make a glossy screen matte but you cannot get ANY glossy sheet to make a matte screen brighter and more vibrant.

I would like to see Apple add a coupon for a matte screen with the computer paperwork. Neat idea. But given the real world options, the people with "I want a Mac that does.......( including screens, options, and super options (anti gravity, teleporting, running windows software(... opps we have that one. LOL )) hey, enjoy your dreams.

And remember, if Apple pisses you off enough, you can always buy a Dell. :-)

Just a thought.
en

...more than just anti-glare, Matte screens are far easier to colormatch to printers.

we only complain because we care.

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by MacTripper

... I'm glad Apple is realizing quite a lot of people absolutely will not buy a Mac with a glare type screen.


And before you all get started, I have examined all the alternatives:

1: Anti-glare films: Really? on a $3000 designer laptop? They dry out, yellow, crack and peel at the edges ...

I'm pretty sure that we are basically talking about a coating even on the "anti-gloss" Macs. It's not like they are going to be using sandblasted glass or anything.

Whether or not a coating cracks and peels depends on the technology in use. The new Oleophobic coating on the iPhone is obviously a plastic coating of some description adhering to a piece of glass and it seems fine so far.

I predict that this might even be sold as a similar kind of thing. They will likely devise a coating (or already have) that serves multiple purposes and all the new Macs will have it. Anyone who's seen the 3G and the 3GS side by side can see that the oleophobic coating already provides a slightly more matte experience without even trying.

[wilco]

Originally Posted by eldernorm

Just a thought.

Barely.

[Lancelot9201]

I for one didn't upgrade due to the glossy screen & the freaking internal battery. Some of us need to be in the field all day without worrying about glare or recharging. I need to be able to just quickly change the battery after 6 to 8 hrs. of use & recharge once I hit the hotel.