I was really excited by all the stellar reviews for the Surface Laptop 3 15”. It big screen, robust processor, memory, and sleek design made it a great choice to replace my beat up Dell Latitude E Series laptop. I put off purchasing for numerous reasons. I didn’t have time and I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the inability of most docks to not to have the old school plop and dock. PS. I am not sure what I was fussing about after using the newer dock. It is one cable plugin that I adapted quickly to but I digress. I finally made the purchase, set aside a weekend to audit old data, and migrate whatever necessary to the new laptop.
Anyway, I tend to hang out on my outdoor patio on the weekends if I am working. However, I immediately noticed Surface Laptop 3 15”is a huge outdoor disappointment. How does Microsoft spend all this money in R&D and not work on an Antiglare for their glossy screen? At the very least, why don’t they have a Surface Laptop 3 matte screen option? I tried to be patient with the situation and look for a Band-Aid solution to my mirror reflection screen issue. Here’s what I found.
Drive down to Staples
3M™ Privacy Filter for 15.6″ Widescreen Laptop (16:9) with COMPLY Attachment System
- Great dogs pic but this $80 Band-Aid doesn’t do anything antiglare as the Reddit feeds said.
Amazon Prime?
· Whoever is writing these reviews doesn’t know the definition of antiglare. I walked down to the water for some late in the outdoor light. It’s better than the Staples $80 item but the Surface 3 Laptop is certainly useable outdoors for more than an hour.
What are you comparing the Surface laptop screen to?
Below is my old and somewhat reliable laptop. I can use the Dell Laptop E series laptop (left side) in the shade with ease. Both screen options on the right for the Surface Laptop 3 are a disaster. I threw up a compare and contrast with the matte covering half the screen.
Then I demonstrated the matte add-on on the Surface Laptop 3 to my old laptop matte screen on the right. Judge for yourself.
Replacement Surface Laptop 3 – Dell XPS 15 9500
This is not a glossy screen. The Dell XPS 16 9500 comes with a matte screen. Glossy or not, the matte screen still works well indoors. Glossy is supposedly better for cinema play but this is more than sufficient for my needs
Surface Laptop 3 Glossy vs Matte Screens Anti-Glare Summary
Stay away from the Surface Laptop 3 if you like the outdoors and being productive on your laptop. The Surface Laptop 3 Glossy is not available in matte. I ended up purchasing the Dell XPS 15′” 9500 plus the Thunderbolt Docking Station.
