Matte or glossy computer display?

Hardware
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What is your opinion on display types? Glossy or matte, which is the way to go?

I’m looking to purchase a new laptop (my circumstances does not allow me to procure a desktop setup) and have begun filtering on the following:

  • RAM (≥8 GB),
  • processor (i5/i7 from 2016 (arbitrary) and later),
  • screen size (≥15,6"),
  • IPS display.

I am looking at the storage configurations, but that is not really a deal breaker since most have SSD anyway, and I still do standalone backups.

However, when it comes to display surface, the right path eludes me.

  • How annoying would it be to use a glossy display, when it comes to reflections?
  • How “off” is the color and contrast of a matte display?
  • Could a half-way (“hybrid”) type display be the way to go?

I am using a 14" laptop with matte display today and I never knew it to be off.

2

Hej Mattias & välkommen!

This comparison is a bit old, however, I believe that the pros and the cons show up quite well:

Have fun!
Claes i Lund

2 Likes
3

I have had glossy display in the past :frowning: . I’ll never want anymore a glossy display.

A matte one is imho much better.

As for the cpu, i suggest a cpu that has at least a score of 8.000 at cpu benchmark. If it is possible to upgrade cpu in the future, even better.

Anyway often notebook display are far off speaking about color accuracy, think about a spyder.

2 Likes
4

Never ever a glossy display ever.

3 Likes
5

Thank you for the specifics.
What is a spyder? DuckDuckGo does not give me relevant search results.

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6

Tack!

Always great with visual examples.

7

I think that settles it. :slightly_smiling_face:

8

I think mattes are rarer and more expensive. Rarer because they don’t sell as well since they aren’t as pretty as first impressions go in a electronics store. Expensive because the demand is lower and I guess it caters to a more discerning crowd. Of course, there are pros and cons too but if I had a choice, based on what I have read, matte does appear to be the better choice.

9

Hej igen!

A Spyder? Oh, it is a creepy thing, building nets…
In this context, however, it is a gadget to calibrate/profile monitors and printers.

Like these:

or these:
http://colormunki.com/

https://www.argyllcms.com/
https://www.ludd.ltu.se/~torger/photography/argyll-print.html

Mvh
Claes i Lund

1 Like
10

Among the first 50 results in my search there was only one glossy. :grin:

11

Also touch displays are generally less bright or they lower the battery life.

12

@Embridioum Maybe I am living under a glossy rock. :joy_cat:

One thing to be aware of is a spec sheet won’t tell you everything that there is to know about a display. You need to see it, compare it, calibrate / profile it and ask around.

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Yeah, touch is not going to happen.

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So as you are planning to buy a laptop then it is obvious that you will take it to many places with you and be found working at different outdoor places. So if I am not wrong about this then you should definitely go for matte, as it does not reflect light and you will be able to see the screen very clearly.

15

It’s totally no problem if you sit in the right spot. I use it mostly in the evening when it’s darker.

And sometimes at breakfast with a window behind me, now that’s quite bad. You need to move your head a lot because areas where the reflections are are totally blind.

Keep in mind that many notebook have glossy screens, I don’t want to limit my buy choice too much - and if you are serious about photo edits you probably get an external screen anyway. A 14" screen is not really good for darktable, but I can see that 15.6" will be marginally better :wink:

My next notebook will 13-14" with 16:10/4:3 screen (with good power and some GPU) + external monitor. Maybe early next year, Intel’s Tiger Lake look good.

16

Matte or glossy? Given that choice, other things being equal, for doing stuff with images, I’d go for glossy.

Raysosher said “matte … does not reflect light”. But it does, and when light hits it, it reflects the light in all directions. Glossy also reflects light, but acts more like a mirror. So glossy will reflect whatever is illuminated behind the user. Matte will reflect light from all directions, so will reflect light from all directions into the user’s eyes. This will show in the image shadows and black text, which will be lighter than they should be. Degrees of shadows in images will be less distinguishable.

Put another way, if you have any ambient lighting, matte screens have lower contrast. Glossy screens can generally be angled to avoid direct reflections.

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