Apple's New Nanotexture Display - Is It Worth It?

Over the last several weeks I have taken this laptop with me everywhere. I’ve used it here in Arizona, in New York City, on airplanes, in coffee stores, at home, in the office, on the toilet you guys get the point. Well, there are certainly pros and cons.

Pros

The pros are that the Nanotexture display significantly reduces glare. And I do mean significantly. It’s like comparing a matte display to a glossy one. Prior to using it, I thought MacBooks didn’t really need such a thing. They already do a good job of combating reflections as their screens are super bright. 600 nits in standard lighting conditions, and the new M4 models go up to 1,000 in direct sunlight. However, I was wrong. After spending a couple of weeks using the Nanotexture display, I now can’t unsee reflections on the standard, glossier panel. On those MacBooks I never noticed that I was instinctively angling their displays to avoid reflections from the window behind me in my office.

Another benefit I've noticed is that I get better battery life from a MacBook with a Nanotexture display. That is because I don’t need to have the brightness as high. I found I was running my other MacBooks displays super bright because of the reflections. On my Nanotexture MacBook, I had its brightness two notches down from where I normally would.

Alright so sounds like the Nanotexture display is a winner, right? Well, hang tight.

Cons

The Nanotexture display isn’t free both figuratively and literally. Firstly, you may notice a screen door effect. This is where you can see colored pixels peeping through light colored content. This does happen on the standard glossy screen but isn’t as noticeable. And, in general, the Nanotexture display just looks a tad grainy whereas the glossy screen looks more vibrant.

Secondly, getting the Nanotexture display is expensive. Buying it requires you to custom configure your laptop. Most retailers don’t allow you to buy such a configuration from them. You have to buy it from Apple. Apple doesn’t discount their laptops, only their retailers do. So, it is likely that this upgrade will cost you $150 for the Nanotexture plus the amount you will be missing out on by not buying it on sale at a retailer. For example, I bought my MacBook Pro 14, 14-core for $300 off from Best Buy. I also used their credit card for an additional $100 back. If I would have ordered that laptop with the Nanotexture display, the true cost of that upgrade would have been $550.

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Recommendation

With all that said, here’s my recommendation. If you frequently use your laptop in a bright environment, and you are getting at least one other custom configuration (so it spreads out the cost), getting the Nanotexture makes sense. If you can afford it of course. If any of these aren’t you, save the money and put it towards a house, a car, your retirement, or something else.

As I said, prior to using my MacBook Pro with the Nanotexture display, reflections weren’t something I really considered as an issue on a MacBook Pro. Their screens get super bright, which helps combat reflections. On Windows laptops that aren't as bright with even glossier screens, like the ASUS Zenbook S 14? 100%, if there was a Nanotexture display on that laptop, you absolutely should buy it. But on a MacBook, it's more of a "nice to have".

Thanks for reading, and we hope you have an awesome rest of your day!