I just bought a new MacBook Air two weeks ago, and when I use it in a room with fluorescent or other bright overhead lights there is a terrible glare that hurts your eyes. Is there anything to do about this?
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 15.6
I have a Kensingtom magnetic privacy screen for my work Mac that also serves to cut glare (as long as the matte side is out, not the glossy side).
Apple sells them (though IIRC, I bought mine from Amazon), here are the MBA versions:
If you have “bright overhead lights”, one would think you would open the laptop less, making the screen more vertical, to avoid glare. As opposed to “all the way laying down”, send the screen in the opposite direction.
The point is, I have multiple laptops, and only the new MacBook Air presents such intense glare problems. I was wondering if other customers have experienced the same thing. I don't want to put a giant box over my computer, I want a screen that doesn't have so much glare. I'm not saying the sun is the problem, I'm saying this computer is the problem.
Yes, I can do that, but I am wondering why this MacBook Air has such intense glare problems when my other computers do not. Is it something with the way the screen is built? I do not know, but I know how to move my laptop up and down.
There is no need to be so snarky. I know how to move a laptop screen. The point I am trying to bring up is whether there is something about the latest MacBook Air screens and the way they're built that causes such reflective glare.
I work in brightly lit environments frequently. My personal Mac is an M4 Pro MacBook Pro with the nano-texture display. But my work Mac is an M1 Pro MBP with the regular display (nano-texture wasn't an option), and I don't find the glare to be bad.
Macs notebook computers have gone back and forth between matte/anti-glare and glossy screens. The current crop of Macs, with the exception of the optional nano-texture screen available on M4 MacBook Pros, are all glossy. The advantage of glossy screens is increased contrast, at the expense of propensity for glare. You can see the difference easily with a light source reflected from an old matte PowerBook G4 and a more recent Mac.
The glossier the screen, the greater the apparent contrast. It was a choice on Apple's part, other manufacturers make different choices (and as stated, Apple now offers an option, but not for the MacBook Air).
Thank you, this was a helpful response! Is there any recommended product like a screen cover to help with this issue? (I just hate having blinding lights in my eyes all day if I have the screen tilted at the best angle for working.)
If that happened to me, I would try changing the screen angle relative to the keyboard - in other words, opening or closing the Mac a bit more.
Well, of course, I can do that, but I don't want to have my laptop opened all the way laying down to use it. The glare is too much no matter the angle, for the most part.
Then block the glare with a product designed to do just that.
(And I don't mean the gigantic ugly screen cover box lol. I just mean like something sleek that fits right onto your screen.)
Cool, I can definitely get a privacy screen from work for free, good to know it may reduce glare. I'll ask my IT dept. Thanks!
Glare and reflective screen on new MacBook Air
