M1 Macbook air brightness vs M1 Macbook Pro 13" brightness

[0906742]

Go to the store and try. No way you get pro to air brightness with one click.

I have tested the same in store couple weeks ago. It was exactly the same result there too.
But I'm sure displays have variance, so you could have MBA that equals MBP minus 3 clicks.

Assuming 16 levels of brightness change proportionally.
Air = 16 = 400 nits = 25 nits per change
Pro = 16 = 500 nits = 31.25 nits per change = to get to 400 you need 12.8 clicks so lets say roughly 13 which is exactly 3 clicks less then full power.

Brightness control in MBA or MBP is not linear. You cannot count it like that.
Last couple clicks make rather large steps in nits really.

 

[0906742]

When i look at the letters there i can see lack of sharpness.
This is what i see with my iphone camera.

I tried this test with my MBA M1 and it looks fine. I think font and scaling is what it is, so font is a bit soft but background is even, no pink tint and I don't think font looks any softer than what it should. Sure MBA contrast ratio is worse than MBP so it will be more contrasty and due to that maybe sharped looking. I tried this test with my iPad Air 2019 too and it was a bit more contrasty (it has a bit higher contrast ratio than MBA M1).

But I find my MBA screen fine, not MBP level but I was expecting to see a bit worse. But I'm not very happy that my MBA M1 screen black uniformity is not that good, it has reddish glow on the right edge. White image uniformity is very good (easily as good as my MBP was or even a bit better).

I see no softness or sharpness issues with MacOS menus or text anywhere.

 

[blwegrzyn]

I think that's just a terrible font. The font in the settings is way more crisp.

I created a file that is 4K resolution and has text with no font smoothing applied.
If you open that image and look at it in 1:1 size the letters should be super sharp.

Edit:
it seems like the forum engine modifies the original.

image hosted at ImgBB

Image image hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

 

[0906742]

I created a file that is 4K resolution and has text with no font smoothing applied.
If you open that image and look at it in 1:1 size the letters should be super sharp.

Yes, looks fine and sharp with my MBA M1.

 

[K_90918]

...has anyone got a picture of the pro and air side by side outside? Would be good to have some sort of impression of the difference when using them outdoors..thanks

 

[antwormcity]

can you take a photo of this page (SELECT SHARPNESS)

EIZO monitors for offices, photos & design, medicine, gaming and industry

EIZO MONITOR TEST

www.eizo.be

When i look at the letters there i can see lack of sharpness.
This is what i see with my iphone camera.

View attachment 1689841

Came here looking to figure out whats wrong with my MBA M1 screen - it doesnt seem as crisp as a retina display in our phones or on iPads.

Using an EIZO 4K display for ext. display setup and when I switch to the MBA screen it looks quite off to my eyes. Got severe dry eyes just using it this evening for 3 hours - never so with my 2013 rMBP 15inch.

That EIZO monitor test is quite awesome, for all things it can show, been using that for several years!

On the MBA M1 - it must be the low contrast, I cant explain it otherwise. Had tried the same test and some general reading on the M1 MBP two weeks back at a friend's place and was quite pleased with the display quality as a reference. It was 'comfortable to eyes' to use it for a while if that makes sense. I have a feeling the displays are not the same on MBA and MBP M1, they are marketed as both P3 color gamut though, the backlight might be cheaper on the Air.

I am displeased with my MBA M1 overall, seems not up to the par, performance is blistering except the infamous disk swaps. I personally would have to wait for a real 'updated' MB Pro in 14 or 16 inch screen size for my use case.

Tempted to get a mac mini as an interim compute platform and not worry about the display problems/buy the overpriced touchbar 13" MBP. Everything will be outdated in less than a year like other Apple first gen products.

 

[darknetone]

Something else you might consider is that the MBA will not to 4K HDR externaly, the MBP will.

 

[M12020_16gb_500gb]

Hi, in march I bought an M1 macbook air but had to return it because my eyes couldn’t stand the display for watherver reason… I had dry eyes and pins an needls in my eyes when using it for several hours, which never happened with my 2015 MBA (I know it’s old).
I was at best buy today and compared the two screen of the M1 MBA and MBP after I read this thread, and because I also thought I saw a difference between the two the first time I saw them.
Well, the difference is really small, but I think it is there. I attached a bunch of pictures so you can compare and see for yourself if this difference is one to influence your decision.
MBA is always the first picture, MBP is the second one.
Auto brightness and night shift was turned off and both display were at mid brightness.

 

[Budgiemac]

im using a 16 265 and i keep the screen in the middle brightness.