Why Apple uses constant PWM on mbp 16 but not on MacBook Air 2020

[emraha06]

I have learned that MacBook Pro 16 is not pulse width modulation free and it flickers at 131000 hz always on every brightness. But MacBook Air 2020 starts flickering at %75 brightness level or below. For example imac pro starts flickering %50 brightness or below.

So what is the reason for that why MacBook Pro 16 is not flicker free on 75-100 brightness levels. Is it about battery concerns again.

it is hard to accept this because i know that my display is not actually on. It switches between on and off at any brightness level...

 

[bill-p]

Here you go.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/PWM-Ranking-Notebooks-Smartphones-and-Tablets-with-PWM.163979.0.html

The MacBook Air 2020 flickers at a lower frequency than the Pro. When I had the Air, I honestly did not notice much of an issue with anything, but I'm sure someone who is far more sensitive to this than I am will legitimately have a complaint.

Also you can see from that chart that pretty much any other laptop does this. It's just another day in the computing world with problems that are there for everyone else but some people act like Apple is doing something different/worse than before.

 

[emraha06]

Here you go.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/PWM-Ranking-Notebooks-Smartphones-and-Tablets-with-PWM.163979.0.html

The MacBook Air 2020 flickers at a lower frequency than the Pro. When I had the Air, I honestly did not notice much of an issue with anything, but I'm sure someone who is far more sensitive to this than I am will legitimately have a complaint.

Also you can see from that chart that pretty much any other laptop does this. It's just another day in the computing world with problems that are there for everyone else but some people act like Apple is doing something different/worse than before.

there is a point that you missing macbook air starts flickerin %75 or lower brightness levels but macbook pro flickers always on all level of brightness.

 

[bill-p]

there is a point that you missing macbook air starts flickerin %75 or lower brightness levels but macbook pro flickers always on all level of brightness.

I don't think you quite get it. If the backlight is controlled by PWM, the PWM is always on. It can't just "start flickering". It always flickers.

 

[emraha06]

I don't think you quite get it. If the backlight is controlled by PWM, the PWM is always on. It can't just "start flickering". It always flickers.

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could you please read the pwm part under the display title. ıt says that dislay starts flickering below %75 brightness

 

[bill-p]

Apple MacBook Air 2020 Core i5 Review – The best MacBook you can get? – No

Notebookcheck reviews the new Apple MacBook Air with the quad-core i5 CPU. The keyboard has been improved, but the performance is still the Achilles heel of the laptop.

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could you please read the pwm part under the display title. ıt says that dislay starts flickering below %75 brightness

It says the flickering can be detected below 75% brightness. But that doesn't mean it's not always on.

If the display is too bright, the light sensor that is used to measure PWM may not be able to pick up the signal (it's saturated) so in order to detect PWM, you need either a very good sensor, or the display needs to be at a low enough brightness.

Notebookcheck explained this in another post:

Why Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) is such a headache

Explanation of PWM, when and why it is bad, and possible solutions

www.notebookcheck.net

 

[Sanpete]

it is hard to accept this because i know that my display is not actually on. It switches between on and off at any brightness level...

Why is that hard to accept?

 

[ignatius345]

Why is that hard to accept?

Yeah, this is how the dimmable LEDs in your house work as well. If you don't believe that, whip your hand back and forth in front of one and watch the weird little ghost images of your fingers.

 

[Camarillo Brillo]

Let’s dig up all of emrahas threads about how much he hates his 16” MacBook Pro display