Today’s Question: I will be getting new MacBook Pro, but I’m completely stumped about whether I should get the new Nano-Textured display or the standard display. I’m really interested in your opinion on which option you would go with if you were getting a new MacBook Pro for doing all your image processing on?
Tim’s Quick Answer: While both the standard and nano-textured displays are very good, I prefer to use the standard display for better image quality and fidelity, along with easier maintenance.
More Detail: The decision between the standard display and the nano-textured display mostly comes down to deciding between greatly reduced glare versus higher image quality and fidelity. For photography applications, to me the image quality and fidelity is more important, which is why I prefer not to use a nano-textured display.
There is obviously a considerable benefit to having reduced glare on a nano-textured display. However, considering that it is always best to work in a somewhat darkened environment when evaluating and optimizing photos, glare reduction isn’t necessarily very important for photographers. It is helpful when you’re out in the world with your laptop, but much less of an issue when you’re in a controlled environment.
The key drawback of the nano-textured display is that the colors are slightly muted, contrast appears lower with blacks that aren’t as deep, and the display is slightly less sharp. In addition, because of the textured surface of the display, if you opt for the nano-textured display you need to use the included specialty cloth for cleaning, which reduced flexibility for cleaning and maintaining the display.
To be sure, both displays with and without the nano-textured surface are very good, but all things considered I prefer the standard display rather than the nano-textured display.
