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Please note that the glass panel is there for a REASON. Since the actual surface of the LCD panel is never intended to be exposed, the surface of it (which has an anti-glare coating) is very fragile. If you get get anything on it - fingerprints, cigarette smoke, even dust to some extent - it'll be almost impossible to get off without damaging the surface. In their service procedures, Apple specifies special cleaning tools for the inside of the glass, and says not to touch the LCD at all.

Not, in my mind, a good idea.

This MacFrame looks like one of the many cheap, useless junks after buying it, use it for a day then sit in a corner of you room collecting dust and eventually goes to the landfill to pollute the environment. Putting a cheap piece of crap on the beautifully made iMac is a crime!

scotts13, on 07 August 2012 - 03:58 AM, said:

Considering mild cigarette smoke creates a cloud film between the glass and LCD anyway, prompting removal of the glass for cleaning, you almost have to wonder which is worse.

If my iMac wasn't still under warranty, I'd be looking into something that seals the inside better than the lousy foam Apple uses.

Oh, and I use a water & HEPA-based air purifier next to my desk, and it still doesn't make much difference.

Why don't they simply make a complete replacement panel with a protective anti-glare surface? With the amount of complaining that goes on around this topic, I would think it would be a great accessory. I don't like the idea of leaving the LCD unprotected. One good sneeze (and an attempt to clean it) could ruin your day.

scotts13, on 07 August 2012 - 03:58 AM, said:

The Retina MacBook Pro doesn't have a glass panel in front of the LCD.

Even if I wanted to risk exposing my 27” iMac LCD screen to the environment unprotected, the small amount of actual glare reduction illustrated in your photos would not be worth the risk.

MrLizard, on 07 August 2012 - 06:07 AM, said:

Yes, it does. It's just bonded to the LCD with no air space in between. The other MB Pros have the glass bonded at the edges only, making it semi-replaceable if broken. The retinas, no.

scotts13, on 07 August 2012 - 03:58 AM, said:

Then Apple should have designed the iMac so accessing the internal parts can be done without having to expose or remove the LCD panel. Just like the original iMac G5. Designing the iMac in the current manner and then telling technicians "don't expose or touch the LCD" is just not helpful, since removing the glass panel is the first step to disassembling all of these iMacs. Not all technicians are able to work in sterile clean rooms while wearing bunny suits.

Apple technicians should send all iMacs to Jonny Ive and have him do the repairs himself.

This post has been edited by kosh: 07 August 2012 - 08:32 AM

Since I'm the guy who designed the Macframe, I thought I'd jump in here.

I have 3 Macframes on my iMacs (2 -21.5" and 1-27"). To clean the LCD I use iKlear and it works great. On another Mac forum there was a poster who was using his iMac without the glass cover. He tried iKlear, some screen cleaner from Walmart, and something from the dollar store. He said they all worked fine.

I tried to design the Macframe to look like the original glass screen as much as possible. It closely matches the original screen size and is powder coated (not painted) black. I think, to most people (including my Mac friends) it looks factory.

For my situation it made a big difference in the amount of glare. I have overhead lights and a big front window, and on sunny days trying to edit photos would drive me crazy. It's why I started thinking about the Macframe in the first place. It's hard to show the difference in pictures, but I've gotten so much positive feedback from users, that I know it works for them too.

As a side note, I've even sold a couple to users at a certain Cupertino address!

kosh, on 07 August 2012 - 08:27 AM, said:

Would it be nice if the innards were accessible from the rear as on previous generations? Sure. Is it a big problem? No. In the service department I managed, we stocked the Apple cleaning equipment and took reasonable precautions, and never had a problem with it. Pull off the glass, a few screws, 2-4 wires and the whole mechanism is exposed. You just have to be careful. What we DID see was ruined displays from people who tried to figure out the disassembly procedure themselves. Like most current Apple products, the iMacs were designed to be sleek and compact, not hobbyist-serviceable. I don't have a problem with that.

The glass panel on the iMac has magical properties that keep the elves inside. Remove the glass, the elves escape and your iMac ceases to function. It's not worth the risk.

I've been looking seriously at a Macframe, so thanks for the report. I recently tried to switch to an iMac 27" at work, but had a headache after just two hours of use. Some of it was the smaller dot pitch, but the rest was the reflection, even though I had done all I could to control it (all artificial lighting off, screen perpendicular to window, vertical blinds closed). I'm now trying to decide between a Mac mini with matte displays and a used iMac (20 or 24") with no glass. A 21.5" iMac with a Macframe would be my alternate choice.

And to @mcleodglen, just cranking up the brightness is no good when you need to do colour-sensitive work.

MrLizard, on 07 August 2012 - 06:07 AM, said:

You're right, it doesn't. However, that just means that the Retina MacBook Pro has some sort of protective layer laminated directly on the LCD. Something the LCD in the iMac doesn't since it wasn't intended to be exposed.