Just out of interest have you tried a PRAM reset since 10.15.4? I’ve been able to use mine all week with very little strain or motion sickness. Before I could look at the screen for around 5 minutes and had to shutdown and revert to my 2016 TB MBP
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Eye strain - Returned my 2019 16" Macbook Pro
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Just out of interest have you tried a PRAM reset since 10.15.4? I’ve been able to use mine all week with very little strain or motion sickness. Before I could look at the screen for around 5 minutes and had to shutdown and revert to my 2016 TB MBP
Hi, i dont read all the post but guys what resolution you use? When i get my MBP16 it was my first MBP so i cant compare to older models screens but first 3 days i use with default resolution 1792x1120 and yes i feel the eyes strain , then i decide to switch to half retina resolution that is 1536x960 and my eyes strain stoped. Did you try this?
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Yes. I tried everything I found in the internet. Macbook geeks/bloggers recommend resetting a PRAM as a first thing you should always do with the new MacBook even if there is no any issues.
Really interesting. 2 years ago I bought an Ipad Pro 10.5" and it caused me eye strain (iPad air 2 is super fine instead) so I returned it. But I found many topics about that Ipad and many users tried to buy other units of the same device and with some units, they were sick and with others they were fines.
I would try too but I can't buy many times the same device
;TLDR
Looks like a fascinating read - I simply don't have the time.
Could someone please fill me in, and let me know if there is a FIX for the physical distress/nausea being caused by these latest Macs, or if you have some medical condition/physiology, are you screwed??
Right now I have a 2009 (?) MBP and a 2015 (?) rMBP, both 13" and I love them, but sooner or later I'll be forced to upgrade, and since it sounds like the new 2020 MBP's are pretty sweet - especially since they fixed the screens. (Would be perfect if you could remove the SSD amd RAM!!)
Anyway, it would be nice to know if there is a way to fix, or adapt to these new Macs or not.
Thanks!
Looks like a fascinating read - I simply don't have the time.
Could someone please fill me in, and let me know if there is a FIX for the physical distress/nausea being caused by these latest Macs, or if you have some medical condition/physiology, are you screwed??
Right now I have a 2009 (?) MBP and a 2015 (?) rMBP, both 13" and I love them, but sooner or later I'll be forced to upgrade, and since it sounds like the new 2020 MBP's are pretty sweet - especially since they fixed the screens. (Would be perfect if you could remove the SSD amd RAM!!)
Anyway, it would be nice to know if there is a way to fix, or adapt to these new Macs or not.
Thanks!
It's not really about "these latest" Macs. The latest Macs are really good. And displays are quite conformable. The issue (in the topic of the thread in the original post) is that some sporadic units/panels (probably defective ones or from different manufactures) might cause eye strain when looking at static text (hard to focus) for some people with sensitive eyes, while being ok for others. The only fix that worked for me was replacing the unit. For others their eyes might adapt after some time. Resetting PRAM sometimes works. It looks like for the vast majority of people there is no any issues.
If you're asking about the low black to white pixel response time - it's just a spec that you cannot fix. This is not an issue. It happens on dynamic pictures and doesn't relate to the first issue.
I have very sensitive eyes, that have undergone two operations (vor various reasons) and I love the display of my 16" MacBook Pro. No eye strain whatsoever. I actually prefer this display from the 13" MacBook Pro and even after hours of continuous usage I have no issues with it,
So when did this issue first start happening with MacBook Pros?
(Fwiw, I've bookmarked this thread, and before I would ever buy a new MBP, I will read this thread start-to-end, but for now, I appreciate the help getting to the point!)
Sure sounds like an expensive proposition to have to drop 2-3 grand on a new laptop, take it home, try it out for a few days, then return it if you don't like it, and repeat?!
It's not macbook/apple only. People who experiment this issues are very sensitive and it seems it is related to Pwm, dither algorithm and stuff. Microsoft and linux machines often present the same issues, although there are more workarounds. It's just new tech.
I don't think you need to worry. If you feel some discomfort just return it.
There is an user above stating that after having returned it, a new one works fine for him. Hopefully this could be the case for many, but there is little evidence.
Just don't think about it. Brain could trick you sometimes if you're expecting or searching for stuff/problems.
Fortunately for me, I am out of work, financially broke, and under lockdown, so it'll be a while before I end up buying a new Mac!
Does switching to one lower level of scaling below "Default" help? Then you're at true -2x resolution.
ps: I just got my MBP 16" yesterday and I'm struggling a bit too. It's better when I switch to 1536x920, but the text then is like reading a billboard
Also, for me, switch to Adobe RGB Color helped a lot.
ps: I just got my MBP 16" yesterday and I'm struggling a bit too. It's better when I switch to 1536x920, but the text then is like reading a billboard
Also, for me, switch to Adobe RGB Color helped a lot.
ps: I just got my MBP 16" yesterday and I'm struggling a bit too. It's better when I switch to 1536x920, but the text then is like reading a billboard
Did you try resetting NVRAM & PRAM? Sometimes it works.
Funny you mentioned this as I was wondering if there was something of fault with the display on my new 13" 2020 MacBook Pro?
As others have said it feeling almost like the display backlight is varying the brightness. I've been comparing it to my 2016 12" MacBook and I'm not seeing a similar effect on it ? I wondered if it could just be my eyesight but it definitely feels like something is "off" with the panel on my new 13" MBP?
I was wondering if my screen was faulty though. Is there a way to test for this issue?
As others have said it feeling almost like the display backlight is varying the brightness. I've been comparing it to my 2016 12" MacBook and I'm not seeing a similar effect on it ? I wondered if it could just be my eyesight but it definitely feels like something is "off" with the panel on my new 13" MBP?
I was wondering if my screen was faulty though. Is there a way to test for this issue?
Am I glad to have run into this thread.
Exactly the same issues - Picked up a MBP 16" from Costco to upgrade from my 2012 MBP - My eyes are killing me. Drained, and tired at the end of the day, and headaches too.
Something definitely not right with the display. Wife has the same issues - saying it's super draining on the eyes and too bright even when dimmed.
(Sadly) will be returning it. Wondering if the MBP Air has the same issues.
Exactly the same issues - Picked up a MBP 16" from Costco to upgrade from my 2012 MBP - My eyes are killing me. Drained, and tired at the end of the day, and headaches too.
Something definitely not right with the display. Wife has the same issues - saying it's super draining on the eyes and too bright even when dimmed.
(Sadly) will be returning it. Wondering if the MBP Air has the same issues.
Same issues here. Out of the box the screen was very uncomfortable (much more so than the 2019 air or 13" Pro).
This is much more comfortable for me compared to the default:
- Full brightness (auto brightness off)
- Night shift on all the time set to the middle
- True Tone off
- Scaled to middle option (1536x960)
I have strain problems with all screens except e-ink, but they were particularly bad on with this laptop out of the box. Seems acceptable to me after these changes.
This is much more comfortable for me compared to the default:
- Full brightness (auto brightness off)
- Night shift on all the time set to the middle
- True Tone off
- Scaled to middle option (1536x960)
I have strain problems with all screens except e-ink, but they were particularly bad on with this laptop out of the box. Seems acceptable to me after these changes.
Here is a summary list of negative symptoms you might experience with such kind of panels. I experienced them all.
- Haze effect (slightly yellowish w/o TrueTone enabled comparing to normal panels),
- Noticeable flickering effect, especially when making brightness level lower,
- Feel difficulty focusing on text like wearing too strong glasses,
- Eyes strain when reading text. Eyes get relaxed after switching to normal panels of older MBP models. No eyes strain in dynamic scenes like movies or games
- Enabling TrueTone makes things worse for eyes strain.
- Enabling TrueTone adds strange reddish effect.
- Enabling Night Shift brings more eyes strain.
- Auto-brightness adds more eyes strain and difficulties focusing on text.
On normal panels the above symptoms do not appear. Enabling TrueTone makes eyes feel slightly more comfortable. True Tone doesn't add reddish effect but looks like a real white point.
What will help:
- Switching off auto-brightness, TrueTone and Night Shift.
- Switching to discrete graphics (on MBP 16'', is not an option for MBP 13''). You can make it by:
a) Settings -> Energy Saver -> Automatic graphics switching. Disabling the checkbox will use discrete graphics
b) Using gfxCardStatus utility that can switch between i/d graphics programmatically
- Keeping full brightness and working in bright lightning conditions
- Always keep full brightness level, but adjust gamma instead in dark conditions with "Gamma Control" utility to tune the brightness at software level
- resetting NVRAM & PRAM
- After two or three weeks your eyes might adapt getting all these negative effects away. Or might not.
- Using moisture eyes drops helps
- Rebooting to safe mode that theoretically disables graphic drivers (is not an option for work, just to compare the effect)
- Replacing your unit
For me the last options worked best of all.
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Something I did to make the text more legible for me was to turn on subpixel font rendering (using CLI.) I don't like the way the fonts changed and all my screens (including the 4K and internal monitor on the 16) look much much better.
Sadly, my eyes are suffering terribly from the new 16" macbook. I've had this issue with the "higher end" Lenovo X1 displays as well. When I downgraded the Lenovo screen to a cheaper one, it no longer caused eye strain.
To me, the screen and text appears blotchy. I get double vision within seconds of looking at the screen. Photos and icons look great, but reading any text kills me.
Apparently, my eyes can't handle expensive screens.
To me, the screen and text appears blotchy. I get double vision within seconds of looking at the screen. Photos and icons look great, but reading any text kills me.
Apparently, my eyes can't handle expensive screens.
Those are certainly the issues I experienced with the 2020 13" Macbook Pro unfortunately. Everything here does seem to suggest an issue with the Intel display driver rather than the panel itself though it could be a combination of things causing it I guess?
I'm sure I saw this text issue even on my external display (when my 2020 13" MBP was connected) and I've never noticed issues with it previously on my Windows PC or my old 2016 12" Macbook. I think there's definitely something funny going on with Intel's recent display drivers and the screens on Macbook Pro's appear to accentuate whatever the issue is for many users.
Does anyone know if the 2020 Macbook Air 13" has this issue as the 2020 Macbook Pro 13" and 2019 Macbook Pro 16" both appear to?
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