We're not so sure about HP Sure View

If you've ever worked on important documents or presentations while flying coach, then you've probably had awkward moments involving strangers peeking over your shoulder and screen. HP Sure View technology addresses these sorts of privacy concerns by limiting the viewing angle of the display to make it harder for peripheral viewers to see. It manifests as a special "light control" film within the display that blocks or passes the backlight at different angles depending on the setting. Unlike the generic plastic privacy filters you can buy over the counter, HP Sure View can be electronically toggled on or off with a button.

After testing a handful of HP laptops with Sure View, however, we can't say we're big fans of the technology. Sure View displays are noticeably blurrier and almost oily when compared to the typical non-Sure View glossy displays that are crisper and more vivid including HP's own Spectre series. Furthermore, apparent brightness would begin dropping much sooner and at shallower angles to make portrait mode difficult to use. To make matters worse, these drawbacks would occur even when Sure View is disabled meaning owners of Sure View laptops would be stuck with blurry displays and limited viewing angles no matter the setting; enabling Sure View would simply magnify these disadvantages.

We like the concept of Sure View as a security feature to combat "visual hacking". Unfortunately, Sure View impacts the visual experience for the primary user almost as much as any nearby visual hacker. it does its job very well albeit at a high cost. A good security feature should never be a major inconvenience to the primary user that it is supposed to protect. In this case, it's hard to ignore the disadvantages of Sure View if you value preserving viewing angles and a crisp picture.