tl;dr: I had this issue with an M1 Mac mini which I returned back in July. I'm not sure how I triggered the issue but from what I remember it maybe had to do with black/dark backgrounds. Let me know what triggers it for you and I can test it with the new M1 Pro (16-inch) MBP and I'll keep you updated. It's also in my best interest to do this testing as extensively as possible because the return window is only 14-day.
I bought an M1 Mac mini back in July and was pleased with the performance but I encountered this "flickering" issue with external displays and unfortunately had to return it. I initially thought it was my display (Dell U2718Q) that was broken and asked Dell to exchange it under warranty. Dell didn't have the U2718Q so they sent me a (refurbished) U2720Q which is basically the 2020/improved version of the U2718Q (which was released in 2018). I continued to have the same issue and suspected there was something wrong with the Mac mini rather than my monitors. During this whole time (before, during, after) I had/have been using my Windows computer with the both monitors without issues (running at the same 4K resolution and 60Hz refresh rate). So it's definitely something wrong with the M1.
I will receive my 16-inch M1 Pro 16GB memory 1TB storage today and will be testing it with my U2720Q (as well as another monitor I have which is the Dell P2421). You can look up the specs of these monitors if you're not familiar but basically the U2720Q is a 4K (2160p) panel and the P2421 is a 1080p. To avoid falling to perform an extensive test of this issue, let me know the ways in which the issue gets triggered for you and I can test those in addition to browsing Reddit.com in dark mode (which was one of the things that triggered it for me from what I remember -- it's been a while)
I bought an M1 Mac mini back in July and was pleased with the performance but I encountered this "flickering" issue with external displays and unfortunately had to return it. I initially thought it was my display (Dell U2718Q) that was broken and asked Dell to exchange it under warranty. Dell didn't have the U2718Q so they sent me a (refurbished) U2720Q which is basically the 2020/improved version of the U2718Q (which was released in 2018). I continued to have the same issue and suspected there was something wrong with the Mac mini rather than my monitors. During this whole time (before, during, after) I had/have been using my Windows computer with the both monitors without issues (running at the same 4K resolution and 60Hz refresh rate). So it's definitely something wrong with the M1.
I will receive my 16-inch M1 Pro 16GB memory 1TB storage today and will be testing it with my U2720Q (as well as another monitor I have which is the Dell P2421). You can look up the specs of these monitors if you're not familiar but basically the U2720Q is a 4K (2160p) panel and the P2421 is a 1080p. To avoid falling to perform an extensive test of this issue, let me know the ways in which the issue gets triggered for you and I can test those in addition to browsing Reddit.com in dark mode (which was one of the things that triggered it for me from what I remember -- it's been a while)
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