When will Apple on Apple silicon start support Billion of colors aka. 10-bit output for external monitor ?

[Lazyass0]

I am asking myself (I should also Apple Devs but it is hard to come to them) when will Apple on Apple silicon start support for Billion of colors aka. 10-bit output ?

This is when it was introduced for Intel and worked on all later Intel machines .... Intel start of support for Billion of colors

.... where on any Apple silicone there is no support for 10-bit at all !!! or ?

Here was talk about it: is the M1 chip true 10 bit capable, not 8+2 FRC, over hdmi or display port?

You can also clearly see that Intel machine support it on External monitor where Apple silicone supports it only for Built-in display :

 

[iStorm]

Don't they already? Here's the tech specs of the 16" M1 MBP...and that one does state "billions of colors".

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

support.apple.com

I don't think Apple omitting "over a billion colors" on the newer models mean anything, unless I'm missing something.

 

[Lazyass0]

Don't they already? Here's the tech specs of the 16" M1 MBP...and that one does state "billions of colors".

View attachment 2312262

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

support.apple.com

I don't think Apple omitting "over a billion colors" on the newer models mean anything, unless I'm missing something.

Yes you are missing ... it exactly says "on the built-in display" where for Intel Mac's it says exactly for external displays (check image in my original post or pdf I attached)

 

[leman]

I’m fairly certain Apple Silicon supports 10-bit color output. After all, Pro Display XDR is 10-bit, and it works fine. Also, the thread you have linked literally confirms that 10-bit output works.

 

[Lazyass0]

I’m fairly certain Apple Silicon supports 10-bit color output. After all, Pro Display XDR is 10-bit, and it works fine. Also, the thread you have linked literally confirms that 10-bit output works.

Check thread link again, I have by mistake posted just one link where it says it "supports" ....

 

[theorist9]

It seems to be just a copy editing issue. As @iStorm posted, the M1 specs explicitly state it supports a billion colors on externals, so surely the M3 is just as capable.


The billions modifier is also missing from the copy for the M2. I'm wondering if they accidentally removed it, and no one's fixed it yet:

 

[leman]

Check thread link again, I have by mistake posted just one link where it says it "supports" ....

Well, what is it you are asking exactly? Whether Apple Silicon supports 10-bit (because it sure seems it does) or why Apple doesn’t mention 1 billion colors on the website?

 

[deconstruct60]

I am asking myself (I should also Apple Devs but it is hard to come to them) when will Apple on Apple silicon start support for Billion of colors aka. 10-bit output ?

The already did. The root cause issue here is that Apple "tech specs" seem largely governed the sales marketing department and not primarily by reasonable technical support clarity criteria. There is an objective in Apple's Tech Specs to sell Apple product first and communicate tech specifications second.

In the original MBP 14" Tech spec

" ...

• Up to three external displays with up to 6K resolution and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors (M1 Max) .."

https://support.apple.com/kb/SP854?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

In later ones that narrows down to

" ...

• Up to three external displays: Up to two external displays with 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one external display with up to 8K resolution at 60Hz or one external display with 4K resolution at 240Hz over HDMI

..."

MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2023) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

support.apple.com

and
"...

• Up to three external displays: Up to two external displays with 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one external display with up to 8K resolution at 60Hz or one external display with 4K resolution at 240Hz over HDMI

..."

MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3 Pro or M3 Max, Nov 2023) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

support.apple.com

Apple is far more focused on hyping you potential buyers on acquiring the 6K XDR display than they are on explicitly delivering the technical specs with clarity and specificity. Implicitly the "billion colors" thing is buried in the "don't you want to go look at that XDR sales page" references.

And not only that but trying to upsell folks into the Max.


When Apple had to sell directly against the prior AMD/Intel GPU models they mention the 'billion colors' , but now that things are incrementally more closed ecosystem focused ... it is just go buy that XDR monitor ( color specs come for free with that. ).


I suspect this is not cut-and-paste errors. It is contrived omissions to sell product. Technical support at Apple is more about making customers 'happy' than 'informed'.

 

[theorist9]

Apple is far more focused on hyping you potential buyers on acquiring the 6K XDR display than they are on explicitly delivering the technical specs with clarity and specificity. Implicitly the "billion colors" thing is buried in the "don't you want to go look at that XDR sales page" references.

And not only that but trying to upsell folks into the Max.


When Apple had to sell directly against the prior AMD/Intel GPU models they mention the 'billion colors' , but now that things are incrementally more closed ecosystem focused ... it is just go buy that XDR monitor ( color specs come for free with that. ).


I suspect this is not cut-and-paste errors. It is contrived omissions to sell product. Technical support at Apple is more about making customers 'happy' than 'informed'.

I'm not seeing that. I don't see any link from the display support section of their MBP tech specs to either the ASD or the XDR, nor any mention of either of those displays in that section. So no attempt at an upsell there. There are links to those products, but they are buried at the very bottom of that page

Further, the tech specs play less of a marketing role than before. Previously on Apple's website, the link to the tech specs was right at the top after you clicked on the model. But with the recent redesign, that link is hidden until you start to scroll down.

 

[Lazyass0]

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...not-support-10-bit-when-m1-connected.2328335/

 

[Pressure]

I currently have a M1 MacBook Pro connected to an OLED TV and get this information straight from it. It looks like full chroma 4:4:4 and RGB 10-bit (don't mind the moiré from the crappy camera).

 

[deconstruct60]

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...not-support-10-bit-when-m1-connected.2328335/

You mean post #26 in that thread? ( not the ancient stuff posted year ago with software most aren't using anymore. )

10-bit color doesn't magically manifest out of thin air. The whole stack from you app down through the OS and drivers and out the wires to the monitor have to be enabled for 10-bit to work.

 

[EncryptedUser]

According to an email I got from Eizo and the previous flickering problem the Mx macs had on some Eizo monitors was due to the Apple Silicon did not output true 10-bit like the Intel Macs - but instead they did 8+2 output.

 

[PaulD-UK]

It’s the monitor panel hardware that makes the monitor true 10 bit
If it isn’t then the monitor behaves in a different way.

The solution is called FRC, Frame Rate Control.
The 8 bit display is rapidly switched to display the extra two bits.

The problem is that rapid switching requires the highest quality cabling and circuitry.

It isn’t a problem on some cheaper monitors - DIY 5K iMac conversions don’t suffer from it, so it isn’t always a problem.

There is s/w like Better Display that allows it to be disabled.