Filed under: Hardware, Bad Apple, Macbook Pro, MacBook, MacBook Air
Mac laptop glossy screens hazardous to your posture?
Well, we're still not sure our iPhones are safe to use, and now comes word from Australia that our brand spanking new glossy screens might be hurting us as well, through bad ergonomics.An HR advisory from Queensland University of Technology suggests that:
"Reflections and glare on high gloss monitor screens and their relation to the angle of the monitor screen, could cause the operator to adopt awkward postures when viewing the monitor screen and using related equipment. These reflections on the screen can be from internal and external sources such as the overhead lighting and/or position of windows.
Awkward postures adopted by the operator may in turn lead to an injury."
Of course Apple has moved to high gloss screens on every laptop except the 17" MacBook Pro, and the matte screen option on that laptop costs an extra fifty bucks. The iMacs are also only available with glossy screens.
Of course there are other health hazards associated with having Apple equipment, such as a tendency to have panic attacks or heart palpitations when you learn you can't update your iPhone cheaply through AT&T. At any rate, there is one advantage to those glossy screens. You'll be able to clearly see your pained face as you try to stretch into position to avoid those reflections on those mirror-like screens. So there.
Thanks to one of our readers who tipped us to this happy news via this web site
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Shunnabunich said 5:08PM on 6-14-2009
As if they didn't suck hard enough already.
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Cowicide said 6:52PM on 6-14-2009
Agreed... I don't understand what the stupid, stupid fascination is with some coating on the screen that makes it more difficult to see what you are viewing. Glossy screens are for morons. I will NEVER purchase a laptop with a glossy screen and I would even switch to another company if Apple forced this on me. Oh well, we live in a world where people still think the Earth is 6000 years old or whatever... it should be no surprise that they also think putting glare in your face is helpful for some reason.
turkay said 5:15PM on 6-14-2009
My eyes hurt sometimes..hmm...
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Eric said 5:19PM on 6-14-2009
I saw a MacBook Pro in the Apple store a while ago that seemed to have the glass screen removed, leaving a surface very similar to the previous generation machine... I don't know how difficult this would be to do, but it may be an option.
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waiownsyou said 5:51PM on 6-14-2009
Well that doesn't sound like the 17" unibody with the $50 matte screen option at all!
Ted Lemon said 5:24PM on 6-14-2009
Oh please. Laptops are horrible for your posture even in the default position. If this is a concern, get an external keyboard and put the laptop up on a box, and adjust the viewing angle 1º left or right to get rid of glare. Turn the laptop, not your head. The problem with matte screens is that you get glare from every angle, as compared to a glossy screen that reflects glare only at one angle.
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Cowicide said 6:54PM on 6-14-2009
Um, no... a matte screen diffuses light from all directions... you're confused.
Ted Lemon said 10:19PM on 6-14-2009
Glare is light reflected from the screen. Diffuse glare is still glare. And matte screens do not diffuse light in all directions - they diffuse light in some directions, a significant percentage toward the viewer. So matte works better in situations where there is very little light hitting the screen, but it's disastrous in situations where there's a lot of light hitting the screen.
hmlong said 2:12AM on 6-15-2009
Matte screens also diffuse the light comning THROUGH the screen, resulting in text and images that lack sharpness and exhibit reduced color saturation.
This is a inescapable result of adding a filter to the screen solely in an attempt to reduce glare in every situation, regardless if needed or not.
I'm typing this on a 17" unibody MBP and all I can say is that I love the sharp, saturated screen. Glare and the aforementioned "posture" problems are, IMHO, overblown issues propogated primarily by those afraid to spend more than five minutes confronting their own prejudices.
ErnieP said 5:26PM on 6-14-2009
Just another reason why I won't ever buy one the new Apple laptops. I hate those glass screens with a passion. S wake me up when they have a free matte option. I'm going back to an IBM Thinkpad in the meantime.
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Dan said 5:53PM on 6-14-2009
They may or may not be harmful to your posture, but they're certainly harmful to your picture if you're editing it while trying to get a faithful rendition of how it'll actually look on other people's monitors or in print! :)
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Tony said 8:54PM on 6-14-2009
Ars Technica did a pretty good job of debunking that myth...
ywamer said 5:42PM on 6-14-2009
A few months ago I sold my 3-year-old first gen Macbook Pro (which had a matte screen) with the plan of upgrading. But one trip to an Apple Store with huge glass windows and lots of glare on those new screens left me a bit torn. One one hand, I needed a new laptop. On the other, I need my eyes to not hurt.
Now, 3 months later, I still have not broken down and picked up a new Macbook Pro. And 3 months with NO laptop.
It seems that the newer the Apple product, the more glass and metal they have to add. It just gets worse and worse. First there were matte screens. Then the simple glossy screens. And starting with the unibody MacBooks and iMac we have those wretched ultra glossy glass LCDs that reflect every slightly reflective object known to man.
Now, I'm seriously thinking of downgrading to the Air - the last bastion of hope and semi-glarelessness in the Macbook range - short of the $2549 17" option.
And to add more hurt, it's as if every plastic Windows PC sitting in my local Best Buy yells at me, "Hey, loser fanboy. I have a matte screen. THAT's something that Macs don't have!"
It's almost enough to make me convert back to using a PC. Albeit a modified hackintosh matte screen version. Seriously.
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JamieD said 5:44PM on 6-14-2009
In my opinion the forced glossy screen is one of the worst design decisions Apple ever made. Time after time I come across siutations where a glossy screen is the inferior option, if not virtually unusable.
I have first has experience where the glossy screen directly affects my posture and has caused me neck an back pain. I have a stand for my laptop and and external keyboard an mouse. The office I work in has overhead lights and I'm next to a row of windows. It doesn't matter what position I put the laptop in or sit I get horrible reflections. I can't wear anything with light colours on because all I can see on the screen is the reflection of whatever I'm wearing.
I'd be happy to pay an extra $100 to get rid of this crap but Apple doens't even provide that option.
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Cowicide said 6:56PM on 6-14-2009
> In my opinion the forced glossy screen is one
> of the worst design decisions Apple ever made.
Agreed.
Ted Lemon said 10:19PM on 6-14-2009
Polarizing filters cost a lot less than $100. I recommend you get one. I'm sorry your office situation sucks so badly, but it seems like if they want people to be working on screens all day, maybe they ought to do something about that - a matte screen might make things better in your situation, but you're still looking at eyestrain because of all the light reflected off even a matte screen.
Raheem said 5:52PM on 6-14-2009
I seriously don't get a problem with the reflection, and I love the screen- it's one of the reasons I chose the new Macbook and love playing Eve Online on it too. Everything looks awesomer :P
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Adrian said 12:47AM on 6-15-2009
Of all the people who complain so categorical against glossy screens, how many have actually used one over a longer period?
I've switched from an old MacBook Pro to a new MacBook unibody a few months back and was first doubtful of the new screen.
I have a long commute to work by train and usually work on the way in the mornings and evenings, when the sun is shining flat, and the train makes a lot of turns so that wherever I sit, the sun is going to shine from all directions.
I was amazed how well that worked with the glossy screen. For one it is perfectly visible under direct sunlight. There's a slight rainbow on the colors but there's no worrying that the sun shines on your screen. Then there's the bright backlight that is bright enough for when the sun shines at things reflected in the screen. And finally, while it's true that the screen picks up reflections, it actually picks up less ambient light. So if you simply focus on the image and not on the reflection, it turns out to be better legible than a matte screen.
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Ryan S. said 6:17PM on 6-14-2009
I love the glossy screen on my Macbook and iMac. I position the screen to where it's good, not the other way around. Seriously people. A little furniture rearranging and you don't have that problem. x_x
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Mike P. said 7:54PM on 6-14-2009
Good luck explaining it to the stewardess when you "rearrange" the seats on a plane because there's too much glare. Or when you rearrange the board room because you can't see your presentation. Et cetera. It defeats the point of a laptop--a laptop is meant to be used in a variety of environments!