''Glass screens produce more vibrant colors and a generally clearer picture, but it also produces more glare in bright light. A matte (plastic) screen produces less vibrant colors and a slightly less clear picture, but handles direct light much better. Most (probably all) screen manufacturers offer both, and the companies purchasing the screens choose which one they want based on how they expect for their products to be used.

TVs often have glass screens since they are not moved around often and the consumer is expected to choose a placement that will allow for pleasurable viewing. Laptops are intended to be mobile so the screens have to perform well in all conditions so they tend to be plastic. Desktop screens are most commonly plastic because the largest consumers are businesses which may not have a much of a choice regarding placement of multiple identical screens, though glass screen desktop monitors are also readily available. Some glass screens do have an anti glare coating which allows them to perform on par with matte screens in varying lighting conditions, but these coatings are very expensive so these are generally reserved for higher end (read: more expensive) products such as Macbooks''