Laptops and monitors use matte, glossy and anti-glare screen coatings. At first glance, with the first two options everything seems quite simple: matrices with a matte surface effectively resist glare, while matrices with a glossy surface shine and reflect light. But what practical conclusions can be drawn from this?.. It's important to delve deeper and analyze each coating type separately.

Matte coating

Matte screens used in laptops and monitors, are justified if you need to spend a long time at the computer. They are best suited for working with text documents and provide excellent readability of the display image in any ambient lighting conditions. And due to the slightly muted contrast, much less eye fatigue is ensured.

Matte screens do not reflect glare and maintain excellent picture readability in any ambient lighting conditions.

Matte-screen laptops are ideal for users on the go, working in various locations like cafes, parks, different offices and travel a lot. These screens provide a comfortable viewing experience even in bright sunlight. Additionally, matte monitors are a great choice for setting up a workspace near windows or in well-lit rooms.

Advantages of matte coatings:

  • external lighting has almost no effect on the readability of the picture;
  • minimal amount of glare and reflections;
  • reduced strain on the user's eyes;
  • comfortable work with text documents.

Disadvantages of matte coatings:

  • the contrast of the picture is weaker and the colors are less saturated (compared to glossy screens);
  • there may be a slight blurring effect of graphic images;
  • matte matrices are more expensive.

Within matte-screen options, there's a distinct category tailored for professionals dealing with photo and video editing. These panels accurately reproduce colors without distortion or oversaturation.

Laptops with matte screen

Glossy coating

Laptop and monitor screens with a gloss provide high contrast, bright and rich color reproduction. They are great for watching multimedia content and playing games. The pronounced black color in such panels adds depth to the broadcast picture. Watching movies on glossy screens is a real pleasure. In addition, glossy coatings are often cheaper to produce than matte ones.

This is what reflections look like on glossy laptop screens, making it difficult to work at the computer.

Glossy screens have their drawbacks, notably the pronounced glare from various light sources like sunlight or strong backlighting. Additionally, they exhibit a "mirror effect" on dark screens, reflecting the user and the surroundings. Another downside is their propensity to attract dirt, making dust particles and fingerprints highly visible.

Advantages of glossy coatings:

  • bright and rich color rendering;
  • high contrast and deep black;
  • lower cost compared to matte screens.

Disadvantages of glossy coatings:

  • due to high contrast there is a possibility of color distortion;
  • glare on a glossy surface interferes with work and tires the eyes;
  • “mirror effect” on a dark screen;
  • any contamination such as dust or fingerprints is noticeable.

It's worth noting that in low-light settings or when using a laptop or monitor in the dark, you won't experience glare issues with a glossy screen. For home or office use in such conditions, glossy displays perform exceptionally well.

Apple MacBook laptops are equipped with entirely glossy screens.

All Apple laptops feature glossy screens, which is an exception to the norm in terms of graphics processing. MacBooks typically excel in handling graphic-intensive tasks, often achieving top-notch performance.

Laptops with a glossy screen

Anti-glare coating

Apart from purely matte and purely glossy coatings, there are screens with specialized anti-reflective layers. Typically, laptop and monitor screens, more frequently glossy, are coated with an anti-glare surface. This additional polarizer layer diffuses incoming light to minimize glare during image viewing, although it doesn't entirely eliminate it, but rather diminishes its impact.

Glossy monitors with an anti-glare screen coating reduce eye fatigue for users.

Glossy screens with an anti-reflective coating cause less eye fatigue, but the image on matrices with an anti-reflective layer turns out to be less contrasty than on “pure” gloss. At the same time, color rendition may suffer slightly — it is not lost, but slightly reduced.

Advantages of glossy anti-glare coatings:

  • minimizing glare and reflections;
  • reducing strain on the user's eyes

Disadvantages of glossy anti-glare coatings:

  • color rendering quality decreases;
  • there is a possibility of obtaining a slight blurring effect of light spots.

Matte screens are coated with an anti-reflective layer much less often than glossy ones. This is done in order to further reduce the glare level of the panel in bright ambient light.

Special films give glossy screen coatings a more matte appearance.

Anti-reflective films can be purchased to create a matte effect on glossy screens, serving as a temporary solution for working in bright light conditions with a laptop. However, it's important to note that they can't transform a glossy display into a high-quality matte one. One drawback of using these films is the potential for the picture to appear grainy or blurry.

Laptops with anti-glare screen


In summary, when considering computer usage for extended periods in well-lit environments, opting for matte screens is advisable. For gaming and multimedia consumption on laptops or monitors, glossy screens deliver a more vibrant and contrast-rich display. A versatile choice would be panels with a glossy anti-glare coating. Lastly, for tasks like graphics and design processing that demand precise color reproduction, high-quality matte screens are the preferred option.