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Death to the glossy display!

By | January 21, 2008, 10:12pm PST

Summary: (If you’re a big fan of glossy displays, you can probably skip this post) I’ve been gushing about the MacBook Air to anyone that will listen for the past week, but I have to admit that now that I’m back from Macworld Expo the Kool Aid is starting to wear off.Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t [...]

(If you’re a big fan of glossy displays, you can probably skip this post)

Death to the glossy display!

I’ve been gushing about the MacBook Air to anyone that will listen for the past week, but I have to admit that now that I’m back from Macworld Expo the Kool Aid is starting to wear off.Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t canceled my order or anything, but I’m really becoming troubled by Apple’s move exclusively to glossy displays. What started as an option on the MacBook Pro, became the only choice on the MacBook. Then the iMac. And now the MacBook Air.

The glossy screen annoys me so because of the incredible amount of glare that it reflects. Sure, it might be ok in a dimly lit studio, but as soon as you’re near an outdoor window it’s as reflective as a mirror. This effect is exponentially worse when used outdoors or in a car, train or airplane–the prime locations for using a notebook computer. Have you ever used a glossy display during the day in a vehicle? It’s horrible. Especially if you have a light-colored shirt on.

I can’t believe that Apple made the MBA exclusively glossy. In fact, I’m pissed. I’m getting myself more and more worked up as I write this, so I need to take a deep breath and go to bed.

Maybe I’ll wake up tomorrow to find out the the MBA’s glossy display was just a bad dream…

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Screen, MBA, Apple MacBook, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Jason D. O\'Grady

Jason O'Grady is a journalist and author specializing in mobile technology. He has published six books on Apple and mobile gadgets and his PowerPage blog has been publishing for over 15 years.

Disclosure

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady is the creator and editor of O'Grady's PowerPage, which has been publishing mobile technology news since 1995. He maintains an advertising relationship with the following legacy advertisers on the PowerPage:

  • Amazon Associates
  • Google Adsense
  • Tekserve

    • Advertising on the PowerPage is brokered by a third-party agency (BackBeat Media) and he recuses himself from these negotiations.

Biography

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady developed an affinity for Apple computers after using the original Lisa, and this affinity turned into a bona-fide obsession when he got the original 128 KB Macintosh in 1984.

He started writing one of the first Web sites about Apple (O'Grady's PowerPage) in 1995 and is considered to be one of the fathers of blogging. He has been a frequent speaker at the Macworld Expo conference and a member of the conference faculty. He also co-founded the first dedicated PowerBook User Group (PPUG) in the United States.

After winning a major legal battle with Apple in 2006, he set the precedent that independent journalists are entitled to the same protections under the First Amendment as members of the mainstream media.

O'Grady is the author of The Nexus One Pocket Guide, The Droid Pocket Guide, The Google Phone Pocket Guide, and The Garmin nuvi Pocket Guide (Peachpit Press), the author of Corporations That Changed the World: Apple Inc. (Greenwood Press), and a contributor to The Mac Bible (Peachpit Press). In addition, he has contributed to numerous Mac publications over the years, including MacWEEK, Macworld, and MacPower (Japan).

When he's not writing about Apple for ZDNet at The Apple Core, he enjoys spending time with his family in New Jersey.

Talkback Most Recent of 31 Talkback(s)

  • Amen brother Jason
    The iPhone, the MacBook, the MacBook Air, the latest iMac... What's next - the Cinema
    Displays??
    ZDNet Gravatar
    greg_glockner@...
    22nd Jan 2008
  • I know what you mean . . .
    My old PDA had a glossy screen (Axim X5A). My new one has a matte finish to it (ASUS MyPal A626), and I can't believe the difference . . .

    I've looked at glossy vs matte on Dell laptops, and they can keep the Glossy ones . . .
    ZDNet Gravatar
    JLHenry
    22nd Jan 2008
  • RE: Death to the glossy display!
    Glossies are great for movies but not appropriate for anything else (i.e., business applications - the purported market of the MBA).
    ZDNet Gravatar
    jwearley@...
    22nd Jan 2008
  • RE: Death to the glossy display!
    You utterly fail to understand the point of a glossy surface. As someone who used to make his own prints in the darkroom, I can explain. ANYTHING but a glossy surface acts to (a) dull colors by introducing extraneous white light into to what you see, and (b) significantly reduce visual sharpness (detail), by failing to provide a clear, simple path from light to eye.

    All serious print makers employ glossy surfaces. Why use an expensive lense if you're going to dull the effect with a matt surface. Ditto for a computer display.

    Glossy surfaces simply look better. As for glare, for pete's sake just shift your sitting position, as you do under other circumstances (to keep glare out of your face, etc.)
    ZDNet Gravatar
    tomcloyd
    22nd Jan 2008
  • You utterly fail...
    ...to understand the point of this article. How many of us do you figure are going to use a MBA solely for printing? As for constantly shifting positions when on a train to try and look for a (possibly nonexistent) angle with no glare...well, I'd rather just get a matte finish. Which I think is the point.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    skatersev
    22nd Jan 2008
  • It's about probability...
    First of all, the reference to "prints" was to photographic prints. I assumed that in this neighborhood people are technological enough that the reference would be understood.

    What's true about the physics of the surface of photographic prints is true for the surface of any image, and that's why computer screens have gone glossy. I've actually been waiting for years for this to happen, since I always knew that they'd be better, if glossy. And they are.

    Trains? Using laptops on trains? Would you care to guess what percentage of folks do that? For them, matte finish might indeed be better. That Apple isn't offer that option is is likely a business decision. The market is likely seen as too small. And THAT suggests that the percentage of potential users is not great, doesn't it? One sells to the largest market first, and to other if it makes any sense.

    So - there are two things the author didn't quite grasp: the physics of image surfaces and market economics. 'Ya keepin' up?

    I use an almost-full glossy monitor right next to a window, all day. It's not problem, 'cause I keep it shaded - mostly so it's easier to see. Solves both problems. Don't know is something like this could be possible for those deviant train people. happy
    ZDNet Gravatar
    tomcloyd
    22nd Jan 2008
  • planes, trains, automobiles... differing environments...
    really, glossy is put up with by most people, so, they go for glossy. but most people HATE glare. if given the option of "vivid" or "glare free", when sitting out in the sun, we all know what they'd pick.

    they want to sit however they want, where-ever they want.

    the sheeple have been told they want a glossy to watch movies, and then they didn't remember that they rarely watch movies, or work on photos, etc.

    there's a reason that IBM was never selling glossy screens. IBM sold business machines, not consumer ones. enjoying DVD playback, or editing pictures weren't part of the routine. They just wanted a simple machine for the business user.
    Guess what? I prefer the stuff they had, for the screens. Video editing and photo work are the rarity among usage of a machine, comparatively.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    shryko
    22nd Jan 2008
  • Two things
    Not that I don't agree with you....I personally prefer glossy as well.

    But
    Trains? Using laptops on trains? Would you care to guess what percentage of folks do that?

    When was the last time you rode the train? You'd be hard pressed to find someone on the train NOT using a laptop. The same goes for planes, buses, cabs, other forms of public transportation (not as often on the subway - I guess it's more crowded and you're more likely to be robbed...but I've seen it...). Glare is a problem and it's impossible to move to avoid it. If you're lucky, you are next to a window and can pull the shade or the person next to you who is next to the window will pull it for you. If not, it's a hassle to make out what's on the screen.

    And,
    That Apple isn't offer that option is is likely a business decision. The market is likely seen as too small. And THAT suggests that the percentage of potential users is not great, doesn't it?

    Two words for you: Macbook Air. Who exactly do you think it's marketed it? People who travel (or else why the thin/light thing?). Travelers will be on trains/planes/buses/etc.


    So...I'm with you on glossy.

    Take the train sometime. It's relaxing. happy
    ZDNet Gravatar
    laura.b
    22nd Jan 2008
  • Wrong!
    "What's true about the physics of the surface of photographic prints is true for the surface of any image, and that's why computer screens have gone glossy."

    Prints have reflective colour, screens have transmissive colour - totally different methods of illumination. With prints, the gloss allows the light to be reflected back to the user making it pass through the ink twice (once on the way in and once on the way out) and thus making the colours strong and bold. This does not happen with a display unit.

    The two are not comparable - your reasoning is flawed.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    bportlock
    23rd Jan 2008
  • Not flawed.
    Reflective and transmissive is important when combining colors (one is additive, the
    other subtractive). But in both cases, the light must pass through a medium on the
    way back to the eye.

    In a transmissive display, the light must also pass through the "ink" (the LCD cells) on
    the way to the eye, so the argument still holds. Non-glare screens achieve their result
    by scattering the light, reducing richness and intensity.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    frgough
    23rd Jan 2008
  • am i alone?
    i really like the glossy display. i wish my white imac had one!
    ZDNet Gravatar
    lostarchitect
    22nd Jan 2008

  • ZDNet Blogger

    That's because you have a desktop...
    ... a glossy machine on a portable (frequently used outside) is an *entirely* different
    animal IMHO.

    - Jason
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Jason D. O'Grady
    22nd Jan 2008
  • i have a laptop, too...
    i have a G4 powerbook (matte screen), and i used to have a dell 17" laptop with a glossy screen, and i prefered the screen on the dell. however, i almost never used it outside, so that doesn't negate your point. but if i bought another laptop, i would probably go glossy again. hopefully i won't regret it!
    ZDNet Gravatar
    lostarchitect
    23rd Jan 2008
  • I think you may be missing the point
    I'm pretty sure all of these glossy screens are leading up to touch screen use in the very near future. You can't use touch screen with a matte finish.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Kid Icarus-21097050858087920245213802267493
    22nd Jan 2008
  • says who? it's all in the choice of materials... (nt)
    (nt)
    ZDNet Gravatar
    shryko
    22nd Jan 2008
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