Hey everyone. I thought I was kinda losing my mind for a sec. I knew there was something off with this display. for me light mode seems to be way crisper on text. For some reason pictures don't seem to be affected by this blurriness or haziness. Really things only seem kinda odd on dark mode. I will say that this screen isn't as easy to look at for a long time as say my older MacBook Pro or iMac Pro.
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Blurry/Hazy screen on new MBP 14”
- Thread starter Nocturnal-G
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OCD folks. Get over it. The new MBP screens are some of the best in the industry. Just enjoy your new computer and get on with your life. The screen on my new 14" MBP is perfect, FYI. I couldn't have asked for a nicer computer.
absolutely. interesting that this is also experienced on the 16 inch. I almost returned mine for a 16 inch to see if the issue still persisted. well, I guess are are all 'looking at it wrong' haha
Nah, it's not. I've owned maybe 20 Macs. never seen this on a screen before.
ok now go back to check facebook every few hours with your best in the industry screen ?
I (fortunately) am not experiencing this, but what laptops are you all upgrading from? Did any of you have the 2019 16" MBP (Intel)? I seem to recall there was a big thread about that computer with people experiencing what sounds like the same "oily" / "hazy" effect on the screen. I don't recall exactly (maybe someone also remember that), but I thought the take-away was that a small, but meaningful, group of people are sensitive to the PWM being done (even if by the numbers it should be imperceptible) on Apple's recent MBP line-up, starting with the 2019 16".
I’ve used a 2009 MBP, 3 different 2020 MacBook Pro M1s, and the 2021 14 inch MBP… no screen issues with any besides the 2021.
Same on my end. Have had a 2017 13 Pro, 2019 16in, and about to return my second 16in M1 Pro as it seems there is something specific to the 2021 models that my eyes can’t handle. I’m going back to my 2019 model… after going completely back to that one for a day all my issues disappeared. I do know that the PWM on the 2021 models are 10x worse, though theoretically still shouldn’t be noticeable. Either way I’ll have to see if future models address whatever issues I seem to have with these screens.
Was there any difference between the screens? I don’t think it’s a PWM issue for me since the iPhone 12 Pro screen doesn’t bother me at all.
I still feel like there was a difference between the screens; the second one did seem much better. It took a little bit longer but I ended up with the same headache/unpleasant feeling when looking at the screen as before. I agree - I have a 13 Pro and and PWM does not bother me at all on the phone. I wonder if it's screen size related? I have no idea. Something with these screens is bothering me and I've given up trying to figure out what it is.
Update - I received my new 14" MBP yesterday... the screen on this is fantastic, regarding the coating issue the other one had. Here are comparison pictures...
Light diffusion -
Old laptop - poor diffusion, very hard on the eyes. Using the laptop with a light source behind me was hell.
New laptop - excellent light diffusion... basically the way these laptops should come. No issues here.
Here's another comparison pic that MIGHT be hard for some people to see. But I can see it clearly... if you compare between old and new laptops... you can see the depth of field effect I previously mentioned, making it extremely hard to read or use the screen, with my eyes constantly trying to focus. Center of the screen was brightly lit. Sides of the screen were darker... caused by poorly applied coating, IMO.
Old - if you look at the wallpaper, you'll notice the left and right side of the sky being darker.
New - evenly lit screen... the sky is evenly lit, having a properly applied coating allows the miniLED's to light the screen evenly. Left and right sides of the sky are evenly lit.
Unfortunately I'm probably not keeping this one either though... the edges of the screen coating are damaged it seems. With spots visible and a scratch into the coating on the edge. There also seems to be a dead pixel or dirt right in the center of the screen.
Light diffusion -
Old laptop - poor diffusion, very hard on the eyes. Using the laptop with a light source behind me was hell.
New laptop - excellent light diffusion... basically the way these laptops should come. No issues here.
Here's another comparison pic that MIGHT be hard for some people to see. But I can see it clearly... if you compare between old and new laptops... you can see the depth of field effect I previously mentioned, making it extremely hard to read or use the screen, with my eyes constantly trying to focus. Center of the screen was brightly lit. Sides of the screen were darker... caused by poorly applied coating, IMO.
Old - if you look at the wallpaper, you'll notice the left and right side of the sky being darker.
New - evenly lit screen... the sky is evenly lit, having a properly applied coating allows the miniLED's to light the screen evenly. Left and right sides of the sky are evenly lit.
Unfortunately I'm probably not keeping this one either though... the edges of the screen coating are damaged it seems. With spots visible and a scratch into the coating on the edge. There also seems to be a dead pixel or dirt right in the center of the screen.
Wish mine was out of view. Have you tried running a pixel fix video? Not sure if those work... I ran one for about 10 mins and it didn't do anything, not sure if mine is a pixel defect or dirt.
I have tried running that for about 30 minutes, no change unfortunately. I'm considering ordering another machine to try my luck again since I have until Jan 8th to decide on keeping this one. Now I'm worried of a receiving a worse one lol
I think the more complicated they make the screens the more likely there will be uniformity issues. In the last few years we have gone from CFL edge backlit LCDs to OLEDs and mini LEDs with True Tone, wide color, FRC/temporal dithering, HDR, local array dimming, PWM, coatings, etc. It’s a lot of complexity that can be hard on the eyes and I’m sure is hard to make screens consistent from the factory.
Yeah IDK all I know is up until a couple years ago I didn’t have any issues with eye strain and screens and then I started noticing it. I’ve had probably dozens of LCDs of all types: computer screens, TVs, car LCDs other devices and then also plasma TVs, CRT screens, etc and none of them bothered me. The past couple of years of iPhones and Apple laptops it’s been hit or miss. Other screens are still fine. ?♂️
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Oh that's a bummer. It seems PWM has been causing a significant amount of people eye strain in recent years. I'm lucky to not be very sensitive to it