Filed under: Hardware, Portables, MacBook
Swap a Macbook's glossy display for matte
Users have a love/hate relationship with Apple's glossy displays. Namely, they either love them or they hate them. I haven't used one myself, as I'll be hanging on to my original MacBook Pro until it ceases to work.
Until now, shoppers could get either a glossy or matte display with the 15" MacBook Pro, but not the 13" model. TechRestore has stepped in to do the "repair." For $200, they'll remove your 13" MacBook or MacBook Pro's glossy display and slap a matte screen in its place. The work comes with a 1-year warranty and TechRestore says they'll have your precious back to you within 24 hours of receipt. Note that this requires a trade-in of your existing screen; you won't get it back.
If you have this service done, please let us know how it goes. Enjoy your glare-free computing!
For comparison, RadTech sells an anti-glare film that can be applied over a glossy display. They're available for the 13in MacBook/Pro (unibody), the 15in MacBook Pro (unibody), the 17in MacBook Pro (unibody) and various iMacs. You can get the full list here. The films start at $19.95US each.
[Via Cult Of Mac]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dustmankix51 said 4:17PM on 10-12-2009
The film works fine for me.
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ipodrulz said 4:24PM on 10-12-2009
Did you have an issue where you could see a thin glossy line around the edges, or does it goe all the way to the rubber?
steve said 4:43PM on 10-12-2009
anyone else have success with the film, I am considering getting one
Erik Calissendorff said 3:13PM on 10-15-2009
I just got the Anti-Glare film from RadTech for my 13" Unibody MB and I'm really pleased with the result. There are a slightly shimering effect from the film and it doesn't go all the way to the edges leaving a glossy black border around the screeen. See my blogpost regarding the film at http://tansaki.blogspot.com
gittenlucky said 4:20PM on 10-12-2009
The glossy screen is the main reason I'm hanging on to my non unibody MBP. I also like the old keyboard better.
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macmatte2009 said 4:28PM on 10-12-2009
Mac users who need matte screens need to keep the pressure on Apple by signing petition sites like http://macmatte.wordpress.com where there are over 550 detailed petitions. Apple could easily have give a matte screen to the 13" MBP when it brought back matte to the 15". It seems, therefore, that Apple is testing the market to see the response. And what about the iMac? We need matte there too.
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csmitty said 4:36PM on 10-12-2009
I got my 15" MBP right after they added the option for the antiglare as they call it. I thought it matched the screen on my e08 MB more than the glossy, even though the MB was technically glossy. I rather like the silver bezel but having the black with antiglare looks nice as well.
I still don't see why they call the 13" a pro machine, with only on board graphics its hard to get alot of big stuff done. that said the size is awesome and i would have gone with another 13" but I needed the screen real estate as its now my primary computer and the 512MB 9600.
I"ve got an anitglare screen protector on my iPhone and its ok, you can tell the film is there when looking at a white background as its kinda colorful as opposed to seeing right through. But I should have read the package better when I bought them, oh well. 3 more to go.
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Clselig said 4:49PM on 10-12-2009
Not all "pros" require discrete graphics. Simple as that. The industry seems to be under the dellusion that every pro field requires crazy graphics. Ridiculous.
Plus, the 13" is as pro as it gets for that size. It's physically impossible to fit another graphics card in there.
rippon said 5:01PM on 10-12-2009
You'd be surprised what you can do with integrated graphics. My wife works as an artist in the game industry, and Photoshop and Illustrator run just fine on her 13" Macbook Pro as you might expect, but even advanced 3D modeling packages run quite well. When you're modeling low-poly video game assets you're not pushing the hardware very hard, and even when you're doing a full scene, it still runs at an acceptable frame rate. Maybe not high enough to successfully frag a giant ogre at 60hz, but enough to see if your scene looks good.
Christian Selig said 4:49PM on 10-12-2009
Hmm, interesting. I may explore this route.
Questions, though:
Does it void Applecare?
Available in Canada?
If I have a scratch on the top of my MBP will it be repl aed by the repair? I read that to replace the display you have to take the whole top off.
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Harvey said 4:43PM on 10-12-2009
I like my new glossy screen. It's nice to be able to use a laptop outside or next to a window/lamp. Watching tv & movies which I do quite a bit looks much nicer as well.
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Benoit Cerrina said 2:47AM on 10-13-2009
the glossy screen is actually my worst issue with my imac 24" the other one would be the inability to replace the hard drive as I would have liked to switch in an ssd.
My desk is next to a window and due to the screen I have to keep the shutters closed all the time I use the computer.
genr8r said 5:09PM on 10-12-2009
I actually got the matte film from Moshi and I love it. Unlike the other companies, they cut the film to fit the screen perfectly and it has a black frame to match the screen. It went one really easy too. Much cheaper than the replacement screen.
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Eroded Fallacy said 7:20PM on 10-12-2009
I think i will be buying this for my Macbook there are times when the glare is annoying but the screen is awesome. I believe that we should have an option by default to choose matte or glossy for no added cost.
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alansky said 8:56PM on 10-12-2009
I'd call the 13" MacBook Pro an extremely worthy update of the venerable 12" Powerbook G4, which was dearly loved by a generation of pros and amateurs alike.
There is no question that reflections can be a problem in some environments. But there is also no question that the glossy screen is much brighter and sharper than the matte screen on previous models. I was very skeptical of the glossy screens until I compared them side-by-side. Except for the reflections, it's no contest really.
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Chris Johnston said 11:40PM on 10-12-2009
I never really find the glossy display to be a problem. I guess if I had really bright lights in my house or if I used my computer outside it might be more of a problem.
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Gautam said 12:11AM on 10-13-2009
Comments on battery life? Increases or decreases for the most part?
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PSM said 12:16AM on 10-13-2009
Nice to see this being provided by somebody. It's too bad that Apple stopped offering the option on all models.
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EdgyB said 12:30PM on 10-13-2009
I had this done on my white MacBook about 6 weeks ago as I had to get the screen replaced anyway due to a soda explosion. I have to tell you, it is SO worth the money! It is a noticeable improvement from the stock screen (on the older style cases, anyway). I didn't notice any change in battery life with the new screen. I had a few questions I emailed them before I spent the money and they ansewered my compleatly and quickly.
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keith said 7:11PM on 10-13-2009
I am using the power support film on my unibody MBP. I do not have any of the line issues and you can't see the glossy at all, in fact it's almost as good (if not as good) as my matte screens I already own.
I can highly recommend the Power Support anti-glare film.
I looked at the Moshi film. and it's horrible in comparison. I did not like it at all.
And as far as the 13" goes, the 9400m is a pretty powerful graphics card in spite of being integrated. A vast improvement from x3100/gma950's of yesteryear.
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