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Blurry/Hazy screen on new MBP 14”

N

Nocturnal-G

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 18, 2012
129
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Just got my laptop in yesterday and have been having constant eye strain issues… almost like my eyes are having trouble focusing. Seems like there is an anti reflective coating on the screen that’s applied excessively?

Is anyone else having this issue? It’s almost like there is less clarity and everything looks blurry. If you look at the screen from diff angles under light you’ll see the coating. Gives off a red hue… the wallpaper almost feels like it’s moving? Makes me feel nauseous.
 
Could it be PWM? I know apple doesn't use the best quality panels on the new MBP's. They flicker at all brightness's now.
 
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Natzoo said:
Could it be PWM? I know apple doesn't use the best quality panels on the new MBP's. They flicker at all brightness's now.
Click to expand...

That’s what I was thinking too but not sure… turning up the backlight helps slightly, but I still feel like my eyes are trying to focus. Would PWM affect blooming?
 
Nocturnal-G said:
Just got my laptop in yesterday and have been having constant eye strain issues…
Click to expand...

Have you tried reducing the resolution? I'm running 1352x878 with mine to reduce eye strain and... it's been perfect. Text is still plenty sharp and I don't have to strain to read some ultra small texts.
 
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bill-p said:
Have you tried reducing the resolution? I'm running 1352x878 with mine to reduce eye strain and... it's been perfect. Text is still plenty sharp and I don't have to strain to read some ultra small texts.
Click to expand...

I have… doesn’t help. It almost feels like there is no uniformity in color. Like the coating is blocking clarity. I will def check out the demos at the Apple store.
 
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Yeah, sounds like your screen may be defective. My 14" MacBook looks much sharper than my iPad Pro 12.9" with an anti-glare screen protector.
 
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bill-p said:
Yeah, sounds like your screen may be defective. My 14" MacBook looks much sharper than my iPad Pro 12.9" with an anti-glare screen protector.
Click to expand...

After really analyzing it... the best word I found that describes it is oily. It looks like the screen is oily and my eyes are constantly fighting it to focus, which in turn makes me dizzy and nauseous. I wasn't planning on playing the return game, even overlooked scratches on the bottom case but this is unacceptable. SMH.
 
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Nocturnal-G said:
After really analyzing it... the best word I found that describes it is oily. It looks like the screen is oily and my eyes are constantly fighting it to focus, which in turn makes me dizzy and nauseous. I wasn't planning on playing the return game, even overlooked scratches on the bottom case but this is unacceptable. SMH.
Click to expand...

I would say mine is the exact same way. I was thinking how to describe it and thats it perfect.
 
Nocturnal-G said:
After really analyzing it... the best word I found that describes it is oily.
Click to expand...

Have you tried wiping the screen at all?

Mine is definitely not... oily. It's basically the same clear and clean glass as any other display I own.
 
ducati1212 said:
I would say mine is the exact same way. I was thinking how to describe it and thats it perfect.
Click to expand...
My friend who purchased the 14, despite all my pleas to get the 16, mentioned something similar. He has restarted a few times and reset it but he’s still experiencing this same issue. I did not notice it when I tested it out last week.
 
ducati1212 said:
I would say mine is the exact same way. I was thinking how to describe it and thats it perfect.
Click to expand...

What are you planning on doing? Going to return it? Have you checked others?

bill-p said:
Have you tried wiping the screen at all?

Mine is definitely not... oily. It's basically the same clear and clean glass as any other display I own.
Click to expand...

I haven't.
 
Mysterious. Hope you figure it out.

PWM on the 14" is way high, almost 15000Hz at all brightness settings, so not likely to be an issue with that.
 
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Sanpete said:
Mysterious. Hope you figure it out.

PWM on the 14" is way high, almost 15000Hz at all brightness settings, so not likely to be an issue with that.
Click to expand...

Thanks… Yeah, I don’t think it’s PWM. I use my iPhone 12 Pro all day and it’s fine.
 
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I actually experience this too, super weird! Thought I was the only one. I have ordered a 16" and went to my friends house yesterday to check his new 14" out. I also thought the display was weird! I also had problems with "focusing" on the screen, and it was almost like I needed glasses or something even though my eyes work just fine on my old Macbook. OP, what do you think you will do?
 
deez_nuts_ said:
I actually experience this too, super weird! Thought I was the only one. I have ordered a 16" and went to my friends house yesterday to check his new 14" out. I also thought the display was weird! I also had problems with "focusing" on the screen, and it was almost like I needed glasses or something even though my eyes work just fine on my old Macbook. OP, what do you think you will do?
Click to expand...

Was your friends the same way? I’m going to go to my local Apple store and see all the others on display. If they all have it, I’ll see if I can figure out a way around it… I don’t know if it’s from inside the screen or it’s a coating. It’s almost a depth of field like feeling. It might be from inside the screen. Here’s a picture of light being diffused.

61E5F294-418B-4358-8493-661AECE8FA06.png


I’m trying to learn more about the coatings, optical films and what Apple uses but to no avail. No one really mentions anything. I just know there is 7 behind the panel and maybe one on the screen?
 
Sorry I wasn't clear, my 16" hasn't arrived yet. I have only seen the 14" of my friend, which I tested for about 15 minutes to check if it had any blooming at which point I noticed that I had a hard time focusing on elements of the screen. I'm using a mid-2017 Macbook Pro right now which has no issues with the screen, and definitely nothing I saw on the 14" of my friend or like in your picture. I think it has something to do with what's on top of the screen, a coating or something else since I don't understand how it could be the pixels themselves. My 16" should come in a couple of weeks, so I will investigate it thoroughly when I actually get it. Meanwhile I have started to think about if I will notice the PWM, but that's another story. Will you update the thread if you ever get to the bottom of it?
 
deez_nuts_ said:
Sorry I wasn't clear, my 16" hasn't arrived yet. I have only seen the 14" of my friend, which I tested for about 15 minutes to check if it had any blooming at which point I noticed that I had a hard time focusing on elements of the screen. I'm using a mid-2017 Macbook Pro right now which has no issues with the screen, and definitely nothing I saw on the 14" of my friend or like in your picture. I think it has something to do with what's on top of the screen, a coating or something else since I don't understand how it could be the pixels themselves. My 16" should come in a couple of weeks, so I will investigate it thoroughly when I actually get it. Meanwhile I have started to think about if I will notice the PWM, but that's another story. Will you update the thread if you ever get to the bottom of it?
Click to expand...

Yeah I’ll update the thread. It’s most likely not a PWM issue or a panel issue. It’s one of the optical films or coating issue.
 
Update - touched the screen... felt grabby, decided to wipe the screen down with some glass cleaner diluted with distilled water. Made no difference. The only difference it made was... the screen went from grabby to smooth.

Moving my head mere centimeters causes the lighting to change... especially when reading.
 
same, I find it impossible to read any sort of text in dark mode . goes alll blurry for me even though I love dark mode. Is there a way to enable font smoothing? Maybe that may help ?
 
Nocturnal-G said:
Update - touched the screen... felt grabby, decided to wipe the screen down with some glass cleaner diluted with distilled water. Made no difference. The only difference it made was... the screen went from grabby to smooth.

Moving my head mere centimeters causes the lighting to change... especially when reading.
Click to expand...
Any updates? I've been having similar issues on my 16' M1 Pro ... eye strain/headaches after prolonged use and the sense that the screen is off somehow. I'm on week two now and it seems like it has gotten slightly better, though could also be that I'm getting out of the honeymoon period and not staring at the screen 24/7. I don't think it could be PWM as I have no issues with my 13 pro ... and the PWM refresh rate on the iPhone is significantly slower. I have until the 20th to return, and if I don't see any meaningful improvement it will likely be going back. Hugh bummer because I absolutely love this computer otherwise.

Would love to hear if it has improved for anyone or if anyone has found a "fix" or mitigation for whatever this might be...
 
Strangely, the default scaling on the 16" appears blurry to me, and the "more space" option doesn't. I know this doesn't make any sense, since 'more space' is non integer scaling and the default is native 2x. It might just me not being used the default scaling (I prefer 'more space' and use that the most often), but it definitely looks hazy to me on default.
 
they use cheap displays with a ton of software tricks to make them "pop"
this includes : color dithering, a ton of antialiasing, variable fresh rate (I hate it); crazy gamma settings, PMW and so on. Booting the OS in safe mode should turn off some of these tricks, try it and see if it gets better.
 
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They are using a lot of filters to reduce the blooming. Maybe they are distracting you.
 
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