[mjkphoto]

Thank you for expressing a view shared by many of us ? the glass display is a deal breaker!

I'm a creative professional who uses a 15 inch FW800 PowerBook in my daily business. In the office, it is connected to an external matte display. When I'm out in the field, at a client, or away from my desk, I rely on the matte display. Years ago I worked on an PowerMac G4 with an Apple Display. The display was housed in a hood I made out of black foam board, which helped to minimize glare and reflections but didn't eliminate the problem. I was so glad to get the matte display on the PowerBook.

I recently had to replace the hard drive on my PowerBook. I'm still running Tiger and the 1.25 GHz processor is showing its age. I was ready to purchase a new MacBook Pro yesterday. I had waited patiently for that day. But when I saw the glass display on a real-time blog and later heard Mr. Jobs confirm Apple's commitment to only the glass display, my heart sank. I knew that I'd never buy a new MacBook Pro, at least not the one announced yesterday. Never.

I called Apple and expressed my dismay at this disastrous decision. My comments were taken and I was given a case number. I was assured someone would read it. I hope others will voice their comments as well. Articles like this one are very important. We need to yell it to the rooftops ? bring back the matte display option on the MacBook Pro. It is a vital, relied upon feature for countless creative professionals and others who use their Apple notebooks in their daily business. To ask us to move our notebook or adjust brightness to relieve reflection and glare is idiotic. We're professionals and we know better. Consumers may love it, but we hate it. Why, because we work on our notebooks for 8 or more hours a day. We know better. Matte is in, gloss is out.

The recent recall of the MacBook Pro (previous issue) due to video chip problems has me apprehensive about buying a previous generation MacBook Pro, even with the matte display. Yes, a good deal can be had. But will I get a notebook that requires repairs out of the box? I'll continue to use my trusty PowerBook until it either fails or software upgrades and my business needs require a faster processor. When that time comes, I may be looking to another notebook manufacturer and that will mean leaving Apple. I hope that day never comes.

My confidence in Apple has been shaken. Apple has put all its eggs in the consumer basket. The absence of the matte display and FireWire 400 indicate a shift away from creative professionals. That is sad. Wake up Apple and admit your mistake. Bring back the matte display. I'm ready to buy when you do.

[lwdesign]

Dear All,
Apple still has matte screen MacBooks and MacBook Pros in the Refurb area of the online store. You can also get the previous models at places like www.powermax.com both new and refurbished, so if you act quickly and can't live with with the glossy screen, and need to have either a MacBook or MBPro, get 'em while their hot!
I think this is one of the most universally disliked decisions Apple has ever made, if the comments in this forum are any indicator. If sales drop and enough people complain on the Apple feedback line, Apple would be cutting its own throat to not make some accommodation and come out with a matte screen.
I've been a Mac user since 1989 (started with an SE/30). Even CRT monitors had anti-glare coatings on their screens to prevent eyestrain and reflections. In the last year I've noticed that flat screen TVs suddenly came out with glossy glass screens--a new "invention" that baffled me. Now Apple has followed suit and it boggles my mind.
I just bought a Mac Pro and a 30" Cinema Display recently, so I'm OK for the next 2-3 years, but I'm dismayed by Apple's seeming inability to think that glossy screens are NOT a good idea. Apple's market share has come so far in the last couple of years that I'd hate to see it tumble now due to a boneheaded decision to not allow the matte screen option. Moving to Windows is completely out of the question, but this means using Mac Pros or minis and a matte monitor (by Apple or some 3rd party).
All Apple has to do is come to its senses and announce a matte screen option, and the professional community will heave a huge sigh of relief and come back on board.

[shish1]

I personally don't care for glossy screens at all. The reflection is awful. If a Macbook has to have glossy, fine. But professional users like the choice offered with the silver MBP's. Why not keep that same choice with the new MBP's too?
However, because they did, there will be numerous companies who will manufacture antiglare films for the new screens, and of course only one or two manufacturers will do a good job. Hopefully Apple will get their act together and offer choices in MBPs in future releases.

[montgomery_burns]

It occurs to me that before Apple ever introduced a laptop with a glossy screen, I have never heard any Mac user say "Gee, the glossy screen on that Dell laptop sure looks nice. I wish Macs had glossy screens like that." Which leads me to wonder:

Are the Mac users who are defending the glossy-only policy doing so because they actually believe it, or are they defending it just because that's what Apple is doing at the moment? Just like:

There will be no video iPod. Nobody wants to watch video on iPods.

Apple will never make a cell phone.

Apple will never switch to Intel processors.

[montgomery_burns]

"Apple senior VP Phil Schiller’s response to a question about matte screens was that you can simply turn a notebook however you want."
That guy seems to have a history of giving lame non-answers. A few years ago, he was asked about lack of radio tuner on iPods. He responded with "You can listen to radio by downloading podcasts".

[PhoTobes]

Seems like there are enough people that agree.
Can we start a petition of some sort? Maybe if we put up enough fuss Apple will offer us a matte option.

[PhoTobes]

Here's a group starting. Bring back the Matte Apple.
http://www.facebook....?gid=4927233386

[lsloan]

This is a great article. I care about a matte vs. glossy screen, too. I would like to see how well the anti-glare films actually work. An idea I had was that one could use a very fine textured polishing compound to rough up the screen just slightly enough to remove some or all of the glare.
I don't want to be the first person to try it, though.

[griffman]

I visited the local Apple Store last night -- there weren't any MacBook Pros in stock yet, but they did have three new MacBooks out on display.

After playing around with one for 15 minutes, here's my executive summary: the new MacBook (and I would assume, the MacBook Pro) is an incredibly well-engineered, fast-performing Mac that's completely unusable for me, simply due to the high-gloss screen.

It really is a marvel of engineering, and while I disagree with the mix of colors, it doesn't look as bad in person as it does in photographs. But there's just no way I can use that screen on a regular basis; the glare and reflections were as prevalent in the new MacBook as I recall them being in my original.

And that's too bad, because these really do look to be incredible machines.

-rob.

[rogrerogre]

If there was a good demand for matte screens on 13 and 15 inch macs Apple would offer it. The big downside I see in all of this is that Apple seems to have lost efforts to provide good tools for lower end professionals. The consumer market is so good for Apple that it pushes all Apples decisions. But Apple was a consumer company from the start. By providing less options Apple can offer more in each product while keeping high margins; Choice get expensive.
The Mac Pro cost a lot but it is not expensive. It is hard for me to buy a Mac Pro now that I am older and work less, but it is about the same price as what I have always payed for a Mac tower. With a Tower you can buy any display you want, and that is probably why Apple has not replaced their displays for so long.
Back to the glossy screen: It would probably cost Apple a couple of bucks each screen to offer a choice. When you account for the volume Apple is starting to sell it ads up fast. Apple does not want a bunch of custom orders and that shows in the price they charge for RAM. Apple wants to ship standard configurations and that this is a main reason why they put every thing they can on each model. I would bet this and RAM price is why they have started to put enough RAM on the standard Macs they ship. Having their own retail stores and using BestBuy has probably pushed the desire to move away from custom orders.

[griffman]

I imagine that every single person in this thread (those who want matte, that is) would be willing to pay a bit more for a matte screen. In my case, I'd probably be willing to pay $250 or so -- which, I think, would easily cover any expenses Apple might incur in making such an option available via build to order (BTO). I'm not arguing that Apple needs to put matte screens on machines that are headed for the channel -- those can all be shiny happy glossy screens. But a matte screen BTO option wouldn't cost them anything other than a bit of engineering expense up front, and then they'd make money any time someone purchased that version.

It'd be sad if I have to pay for something that used to be free, but lately, that seems to be the Apple way (remote, display adapters, docking stations for iPods/iPhones....)

-rob.

[SomeTechGuy]

What about the rumors that Apple will be updating the 17" design to the new design within the next few months? They could be doing a Matte option for that line. It would create incentive to shell out money for a 17", plus it does appeal to those professionals who really need to work with Matte.


I guess what I'm saying is, Apple could be making Matte a more exclusive option. I think it'll be available when we see those new 17" MBPs.

[griffman]

You may be right, but that'd be a short-sighted decision. The 15" is the most popular model, and for good reasons -- it's small enough to use in most places (excluding coach seats on certain airlines when the twit in front of you reclines his/her seat), but big enough to offer decent resolution so you can actually get some work done. The 17" is just too big (and too heavy) to carry around regularly -- at least for me.

-rob.

[SomeTechGuy]

No argument there. 15" is really the sweet spot for most people. That's just the right display size for a laptop. Probably so much so that obviously most people buy those and the regular MacBooks. I think that's all the more reason to give more exclusivity to the 17". The Air is not as powerful as the MacBook - especially after the new update - but they have that exclusive factor: It's thinness. I think Apple is moving the 17" farther down that line towards professionals. One of those options - an exclusive offer only for the 17" - would be Matte. That'll get people to buy 'em. It's all about incentives and exclusivity. You see it with the Air and I think Apple is branching out the 17" more. With the rumored update of the 17" coming in the next few months, I think it's a very good possibility.


To those who say that they don't want to spend that kind of money for a Matte screen on a 17", hey, Apple is a business. They gotta make money and they gotta give you reason to buy a higher-end laptop that wouldn't sell as much without the exclusive Matte option.



EDIT: Also, see the Firewire port on the new MBP. Firewire is no longer available on the MB, which will make some move towards the MBP who wouldn't have otherwise. I think the Matte screen is another option to move some to the 17".