Viewing angles on 14" MacBook Pro not great

[OhMyMy]

I've noticed some bad viewing angles on my M1 Pro 14" 10/16/16. When viewing from the side there's a bluish hue and the blooming effect is exacerbated. But when you look at it straight it all goes away. The screen looks uniform and everything looks great

Anyone else noticed this on their new 14" or even 16"?

 

[Sanpete]

I've noticed it on all my MBPs.

 

[TinyMito]

It's normal.

 

[OhMyMy]

So the MiniLEDs are no better with their viewing angles than older technologies then?

 

[Sanpete]

So the MiniLEDs are no better with their viewing angles than older technologies then?

Not that I can tell. Not something I notice in regular use, though.

 

[acorntoy]

So the MiniLEDs are no better with their viewing angles than older technologies then?

MiniLED is just what’s lighting up a panel, The panel type is what matters. For example You could have a mini-LED lighting an IPS panel that has poorer contrast but better viewing angles or a Mini-led VA panel that has better blacks but poorer viewing angles. It looks like Apple went for better blacks.

Apple used to advertise the MacBook Pro as IPS displays, they no longer do that on the MBP 14,16 meaning they've moved to a different panel type. Expect the newer models to feature VA panel characteristics
instead of IPS. From the comparison page on Apple's site between 13.3 and 14.2, as well as 16 and 16.2 MBP:

Some information about panel types.

IPS vs VA vs TN: Comparing LCD Types Found In Monitors

There are different monitor technologies that each affect picture quality in their unique way. Each panel technology has its strengths and weaknesses, and choosing the best one for you usually depends on your usage and personal preferences.

www.rtings.com

 

[Nocturnal-G]

I've noticed some bad viewing angles on my M1 Pro 14" 10/16/16. When viewing from the side there's a bluish hue and the blooming effect is exacerbated. But when you look at it straight it all goes away. The screen looks uniform and everything looks great

Anyone else noticed this on their new 14" or even 16"?

Let’s trade… mine has no blooming when viewing on angles. But has blooming on straight viewing. ?

Def a defect on mine… kind of curious what was done wrong.

 

[OhMyMy]

MiniLED is just what’s lighting up a panel, The panel type is what matters. For example You could have a mini-LED lighting an IPS panel that has poorer contrast but better viewing angles or a Mini-led VA panel that has better blacks but poorer viewing angles. It looks like Apple went for better blacks.

Apple used to advertise the MacBook Pro as IPS displays, they no longer do that on the MBP 14,16 meaning they've moved to a different panel type. Expect the newer models to feature VA panel characteristics
instead of IPS. From the comparison page on Apple's site between 13.3 and 14.2, as well as 16 and 16.2 MBP:
View attachment 1906300

View attachment 1906309

Some information about panel types.

IPS vs VA vs TN: Comparing LCD Types Found In Monitors

There are different monitor technologies that each affect picture quality in their unique way. Each panel technology has its strengths and weaknesses, and choosing the best one for you usually depends on your usage and personal preferences.

www.rtings.com

I thought MiniLED is like it's own tech like OLED and not something that's part of the panel. You learn something new everyday. Thanks!?

Let’s trade… mine has no blooming when viewing on angles. But has blooming on straight viewing. ?

Def a defect on mine… kind of curious what was done wrong.

Oh that's a great offer that I must politely decline. I'd much rather seat myself in front of my MBP than let it drive me insane with yours. At least now I can sleep in peace.?

 

[Sanpete]

The pixel arrays on the new screens look like IPS to me. NotebookCheck magnifies them in their review.

I don't notice any increase in viewing angle dimming over my 15".

Apple MacBook Pro 14 2021 M1 Pro Laptop in Review: How much "Pro" do you get with the base model?

Notebookcheck reviews the brand-new Apple MacBook Pro 14 with the M1 Pro CPU, 16 GB RAM, Liquid Retina XDR-Display with 120 Hz and improved speakers.

www.notebookcheck.net

 

[acorntoy]

The pixel arrays on the new screens look like IPS to me. NotebookCheck magnifies them in their review.

I don't notice any increase in viewing angle dimming over my 15".

Apple MacBook Pro 14 2021 M1 Pro Laptop in Review: How much "Pro" do you get with the base model?

Notebookcheck reviews the brand-new Apple MacBook Pro 14 with the M1 Pro CPU, 16 GB RAM, Liquid Retina XDR-Display with 120 Hz and improved speakers.

www.notebookcheck.net

It could be ADS which is similar but has worse viewing angles. Wording is extremely important, Apple didn’t drop that for no reason, it’s not an IPS panel.

 

[Sanpete]

I believe ADS is considered an improvement, including in viewing angles, but its pixel arrays seem to look different. Anyway, doesn't seem any different than before to me in viewing from an angle.

ADS vs IPS: Which is better?

China-based BOE is a leading manufacturer in the innovation and development of TFT LCD technology. The global share of BOE in the field of liquid crystal panels took first place in 2018.

www.techweekmag.com

 

[TinyMito]

I don't think you guys know what you are seeing. Different shade of light is due to the films between the Mini-LED and the LCD that is centre focus for the brightest 1600nits experience as much as possible. That shade of light create a side effect on the LCD image. I can read text just fine on the side.

It is designed that your head sit in front of the laptop. Why would you view from an angle? Get a TV? External monitor in that case?

 

[OhMyMy]

I don't think you guys know what you are seeing. Different shade of light is due to the films between the Mini-LED and the LCD that is centre focus for the brightest 1600nits experience as much as possible. That shade of light create a side effect on the LCD image. I can read text just fine on the side.

It is designed that your head sit in front of the laptop. Why would you view from an angle? Get a TV? External monitor in that case?

No one looks at their laptop from the side deliberately. This is a stupid argument. People do move around to get things done while watching a movie every now and then and try to catch a glimpse to keep things running. It’s not a typical scenario but it does happen often.

 

[Jensend]

In my experience, portable LCD displays tend to have worse viewing angles than desktop displays.
Here's an example of with a 24" desktop monitor, my iPad Pro 10.5", and a Kindle Paperwhite.
From straight on, a slight angle, and a more oblique angle. I desaturated the pictures to make color temperature differences in the displays less noticeable. Exposure setting is the same on each of the three pictures.

I would guess that the worse viewing angles on portable displays is at least partly due to power efficiency. Any light that isn't reaching your eyes is basically wasted power.

I suspect one of the reasons many people find e-ink displays more pleasant to read is that the brightness stays almost perfectly consistent at any angle. Here you can see how much the iPad changes brightness with even small viewing angle changes. Compare the brightness of the left bezel with the display as the viewing angle changes.

 

[acorntoy]

I believe ADS is considered an improvement, including in viewing angles, but its pixel arrays seem to look different. Anyway, doesn't seem any different than before to me in viewing from an angle.

ADS vs IPS: Which is better?

China-based BOE is a leading manufacturer in the innovation and development of TFT LCD technology. The global share of BOE in the field of liquid crystal panels took first place in 2018.

www.techweekmag.com

I’ve seen mixed reviews of it. Take the Apple (tech spec) pages wording as exact, technical and chosen for a purpose. Apple has claimed a lot about the displays but has been hush about viewing angles.I don’t believe the new MacBooks have any wide viewing technology (not ADS,IPS, or even VA with a angle filter), I think Apple went with a traditional VA panel to fully show the miniLED advantage. Im even more sure of this because with the miniLED iPad they do still advertise wide viewing.As others have mentioned it really doesn’t matter for screens this small, but I wont be surprised if more people like OP notice in passing. I also wouldn’t be surprised if the iPads drop the IPS in the future, TV’s using IPS and miniLED often show worse blooming, which might be why it’s so noticeable on the iPad. Hell it might’ve been the backlash to the 12.9 that caused Apple to adopt a different panel. Apples been advertising IPS on tech specs since the first retina MBP and the first iPad. The omission on the new MBP models is not a error.

 

[Significant1]

I thought MiniLED is like it's own tech like OLED and not something that's part of the panel. You learn something new everyday. Thanks!?

That is MicroLED, which promises the advantages of LED and OLED combined (including viewing angles), but are not quite ready for mainstream yet.

 

[Sanpete]

I’ve seen mixed reviews of it. Take the Apple (tech spec) pages wording as exact, technical and chosen for a purpose. Apple has claimed a lot about the displays but has been hush about viewing angles.I don’t believe the new MacBooks have any wide viewing technology (not ADS,IPS, or even VA with a angle filter), I think Apple went with a traditional VA panel to fully show the miniLED advantage. Im even more sure of this because with the miniLED iPad they do still advertise wide viewing.As others have mentioned it really doesn’t matter for screens this small, but I wont be surprised if more people like OP notice in passing. I also wouldn’t be surprised if the iPads drop the IPS in the future, TV’s using IPS and miniLED often show worse blooming, which might be why it’s so noticeable on the iPad. Hell it might’ve been the backlash to the 12.9 that caused Apple to adopt a different panel. Apples been advertising IPS on tech specs since the first retina MBP and the first iPad. The omission on the new MBP models is not a error.
View attachment 1907276

I worry less about what Apple says (or doesn't say in this case) and more about what the screen actually shows itself to be, and even more, what I see, which is the same as with my previous MBP.