Glossy vs. matte
When I was going to order my new MacBook Pro with the new LED display, one of the most difficult decisions was the one between glossy and matte display. I haven’t been happy with the matte display of my old 17″ PowerBook, which is almost unusable in outdoor situations. As we have a beautiful garden and camp a lot when we travel, being able to use my laptop outdoors is quiet important. When you search for information and experiences with both display types, you will find a lot of different opinions and usually people love or hate the glossy display. What I did not find was a good real world comparison, esp. in outdoor situations. I took the chance and went for the new glossy display with LED technology and today I compared them both in the real world.
Left: MacBook Pro 15" glossy LED display
Right: PowerBook 17" matte display
Both displays are set to full brightness.
Situation 1: In full sun
Both laptops in the full sun – a tough situations for most laptops. The matte display of the PowerBook is hardly readable while the glossy is still usable.
Situation 2: In the shadow
In the shadow with bright blue sky behind me. Glossy display has some reflexions now but is better readable. Choosing a darker background reduces the visible reflections. Matte display is readable but not usable for activities like image editing (a typical outdoor activity of me when we are traveling).
Situation 3: In the shadow with dark background
Another one in the shadow, now with dark background. The glossy display is perfect, just like indoor. Matte is dull and very sensitive to direct sunlight.
Verdict
I think the results speak for themselves. With this display the laptop actually is worthy being called a mobile computer. Current matte displays will probably perform slightly better as they are brighter than my almost 2 year old PowerBook and some owners actually report that it works good as well in the sun. The few reflections on the glossy display hardly disturb me and by changing position or angle, those can usually easily be avoided.
Comments(6)
Thanks for that. Ive just ordered a new 15″ with the glossy screen, and was starting to get a little concerned because of all the negative comments on the net. You have set my mind at ease.
Finally a good side by side/real situation review!!.
Thanks. that helped me a lot.
really liked your post, but then i saw you used an older matte model. you definitely can’t compare a led and a non-led. there’s a huuuge difference.
can u update the post with a led matte?
@Thorsten: I’ve read people claiming, that the led matte is much better but until now I haven’t seen a comparison yet. Personally I can not imagine how any matte display works well in direct sunlight, even if it is brighter (as with the new led technology).
Well, the problem is that yes, you can’t compare the old 17″ with a new MBP LED since the brightness is SO different. The old 17″ powerbook had an even dimmer screen than the regular 15″ powerbooks.
the new LED matte MBP are very good in sunlight, a little less bright than the glossy but without the reflections.
I can confirm, that LED vs non-LED makes a really big difference. I own a MacBook with non-LED glossy screen which is quite good. But while my MB was in repair I had a MBPro with a LED glossy screen (the one I had during Agile Open in Utrecht) and the difference was enormous.