Nano-texture display: Is Apple’s anti-glare screen worth upgrade?

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Apple charges $100 to add nano-texture glass to the iPad Pro, and even more if you want to add the anti-glare tech to a MacBook Pro. The technology is undoubtedly impressive, but the real question is whether your work requires it.

Here’s what you need to know before spending your money on Apple’s matte display tech.

Apple’s nano-texture glass isn’t just another matte coating

Typical matte screen coatings work great at reducing glare, but they also affect contrast, wash out colors, and might add an unwelcome haze. You get less glare, but you’re just trading off one visual annoyance for another.

But that isn’t the case with Apple’s nano-texture glass. Unlike third-party solutions, Apple’s nano-texture glass is physically etched at a nanometer scale. These tiny etchings scatter ambient light with minimal impact on image quality.

Cupertino debuted the technology with the Pro Display XDR, then expanded it to the M4 iPad Pro and MacBook Pro. For the tablet, it adds $100 to the price. On a laptop, it bumps up the price by $150.

Also, there’s a catch.

Not all iPad Pro configurations get nano-texture

Apple limits the nano-texture glass option to the 1TB and 2TB storage configurations of the iPad Pro. That means the cheapest M5 iPad Pro with nano-texture glass will cost you $1,699 for the 11-inch model and $1,999 for the 13-inch one.

You aren’t just paying for the high-end screen; you’re also paying for 1TB of storage, whether you like it or not. For most people, the cost of the extra storage isn’t worth it just to reduce the screen’s glare.

Nano-texture glass is also harder to maintain than standard glass screens. Fingerprints and smudges that look barely noticeable indoors become very visible in brightly lit areas. Apple’s nano-texture glass really shines in bright conditions, but the fingerprints can be a bummer.

At least Apple…

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