How much better is the M3 MacBook Pro Display vs the M3 MacBook Air display?

[jonjames505]

For a long time, iPad Air displays were good enough. But then I got my first iPad Pro with Pro Motion 120hz refresh and now I can never go back. I’m in the market to replace my 2018 MBA retina and I’m wondering if the better display on the MacBook Pro is worth it over the Air? Is it as drastic of a difference on the MacBooks as it is on the iPads?

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

For a long time, iPad Air displays were good enough. But then I got my first iPad Pro with Pro Motion 120hz refresh and now I can never go back. I’m in the market to replace my 2018 MBA retina and I’m wondering if the better display on the MacBook Pro is worth it over the Air? Is it as drastic of a difference on the MacBooks as it is on the iPads?

As someone who has gone from MBP back to MBA I would say the macOS implementation of ProMotion is not as good as iPadOS/iOS. Lots of programs on macOS don’t know how to use the variable refresh rate and any browser other than Safari will have slight stutters or heavy ghosting. Best non-Safari browser was Firefox with smooth scrolling enabled but it still had it’s moments. I reserve ProMotion for devices I tend to read/scroll more on and that’s mobile devices.

 

[jonjames505]

As someone who has gone from MBP back to MBA I would say the macOS implementation of ProMotion is not as good as iPadOS/iOS. Lots of programs on macOS don’t know how to use the variable refresh rate and any browser other than Safari will have slight stutters or heavy ghosting. Best non-Safari browser was Firefox with smooth scrolling enabled but it still had its moments. I reserve ProMotion for devices I tend to read/scroll more on and that’s mobile devices.

All good points, thanks

 

[Salty Pirate]

What about the brightness difference?

I was messing with a 15 air m3 at costco, and the display brightness was at maximum. I think it could have clicked a few ticks higher of brightness or is this something that **most** users would not notice?