2018 MacBook Pro Screen Uniformity

U

usrockband

macrumors newbie
Hi,

I've been looking to get a 2018 15" MBP and have been having a terribly annoying buying process. For different reasons I've now gone through several different units (13" and 15".) Among things, I've noticed that many (probably the majority) of the panels on these laptops have absolutely terrible white balance uniformity. Has anyone else noticed this on their machine? 9/10 the left third or half of the screen is orange / red while the right half is much cooler. Not a big deal unless you do anything on the internet (which of course I do.) It's such an annoyance to me that I'm seriously considering ditching Apple altogether (I don't want to - I like Logic and would prefer not going to Pro Tools.)

Just wanted to get your thoughts. Is this something that bothers you? Does this really live up to the Apple screen standard in your view? I'm really tired of playing the lottery (and feel bad for Apple for having to do these exchanges), but is it worth trying again? I should note that this issue isn't on all machines - I've seen some that were fine and some that were nearly perfect, but they seem to be a dime a dozen.

Thanks in advance!
 
If you're using Logic and not doing color work, I don't think why the screen should matter so much to you. The screen is lovely there's a little reddish tint on mind but I guess it's because of the P3 display panel (wide color gamut) (I really dig this panel but of course OLED would be a perfect one). It's the same for iPhone 7 plus. If you're not used to it, I guess you should consider ditching Apple or use an external display.
 
i don't have any screen uniformity...remember the lcd in the 2018 has a different approach
at least my 2018 has no more the 2 common issues that previous had, no more bleeding and no more uniformity
 
maplingstorie said:
If you're using Logic and not doing color work, I don't think why the screen should matter so much to you. The screen is lovely there's a little reddish tint on mind but I guess it's because of the P3 display panel (wide color gamut) (I really dig this panel but of course OLED would be a perfect one). It's the same for iPhone 7 plus. If you're not used to it, I guess you should consider ditching Apple or use an external display.
Click to expand...

Yep it's not a problem in Logic but whenever I'm doing any sort of web browsing (such as right here on this forum, or reddit, or google, or YouTube...) or word processing, or work in Excel, it is very much noticeable. A tint on the whole screen wouldn't bother me at all - its the lack of uniformity across the panel that does.
 
usrockband said:
Yep it's not a problem in Logic but whenever I'm doing any sort of web browsing (such as right here on this forum, or reddit, or google, or YouTube...) or word processing, or work in Excel, it is very much noticeable. A tint on the whole screen wouldn't bother me at all - its the lack of uniformity across the panel that does.
Click to expand...
I guess I'm one of the lucky ones because I do not see any lack of uniformity of my current and before one. (And I have quite a sensitive sight)
 
fokmik said:
i don't have any screen uniformity...remember the lcd in the 2018 has a different approach
at least my 2018 has no more the 2 common issues that previous had, no more bleeding and no more uniformity
Click to expand...

Yeah interesting. Haven't seen a pre-2016 model that had any of these uniformity issues. Guess the screen quality has to go down somewhere when it goes up somewhere else. Shame.
 
usrockband said:
Yeah interesting. Haven't seen a pre-2016 model that had any of these uniformity issues. Guess the screen quality has to go down somewhere when it goes up somewhere else. Shame.
Click to expand...
trust me, try an 2018 display..the lcd now its raped around the bezels, so this mean no more backlit bleed, screen is more uniform than ever...the only downside, but its not for the naked eye, is that the 2018 display is a little bit dim than the 2016-2017 at around 470nits vs 501 nits, but again this i found with a proper tool
 
fokmik said:
trust me, try an 2018 display..the lcd now its raped around the bezels, so this mean no more backlit bleed, screen is more uniform than ever...the only downside, but its not for the naked eye, is that the 2018 display is a little bit dim than the 2016-2017 at around 470nits vs 501 nits, but again this i found with a proper tool
Click to expand...

Honestly, personally, the uniformity issues are faaaar more annoying than backlight bleeding. I'd take some backlight bleeding over non-uniform whites. The backlight bleeding is only noticeable now and then on dark screens. White uniformity is noticeable much more frequently.

I have noticed backlight bleed on these panels is exceptional (basically non-existent), but I can't say I agree with your assessment of uniformity. In my experience Apple's screens have only gotten worse in this regard since the 2016 refresh.
 
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i have 2x15" MBP 2018...so at least im speaking objectively , doesn't heart to try a unit even in an apple store
For me both backlight bleed and uniformity are important for drawing on white and autocad projects
 
fokmik said:
i have 2x15" MBP 2018...so at least im speaking objectively , doesn't heart to try a unit even in an apple store
For me both backlight bleed and uniformity are important for drawing on white and autocad projects
Click to expand...

Oh, sorry if I wasn't clear. I have looked at / tried several 2018 models. Many of them (probably most) had the bad uniformity I am talking about. Some of them though were fine - the good ones were almost all silver. Maybe it's a batch thing?

Not sure what I'll do at this point. Disappointing that the screen QC seems to have gone downhill when the rest is so great.
 
I've had five 15" MacBook Pro 2018 model and all have had uniformity issues or left pink/right blue issues. In my opinion, the screens are junk and Apple have a quality control issue - I've checked multiple models in the stores with the same problems also and some are much worse than others.
 
Balders said:
I've had five 15" MacBook Pro 2018 model and all have had uniformity issues or left pink/right blue issues. In my opinion, the screens are junk and Apple have a quality control issue - I've checked multiple models in the stores with the same problems also and some are much worse than others.
Click to expand...

I think the left pink right blue issue is what I've been struggling with. Bummer to hear that you've had no luck.
 
Balders said:
I've had five 15" MacBook Pro 2018 model and all have had uniformity issues or left pink/right blue issues. In my opinion, the screens are junk and Apple have a quality control issue - I've checked multiple models in the stores with the same problems also and some are much worse than others.
Click to expand...

Did you attempt any screen replacements?
 
I'm going through this too. Just ordered my second Macbook Pro to compare to this one.

I saw one in a John Lewis downtown today though that was pretty good.

So, good ones do exist! I just hope they aren't too rare!

I don't think the screen on this computer is fitting of a 3 grand machine!
 
pendragon1984 said:
Total BS!
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That is what I told him as well, but he refuses to believe it. I even sent him here (under the Display heading) to dispute his claims that the MBP has 98% Adobe RGB accuracy, but the response from him was that the testing was flawed. Apple is industry leading. None better. Oh well hahaha
 
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Dropped mine off at apple for a screen replacement. Before I left, I looked at the store demo units and noticed they looked similar as well with the pinkish green hues. There goes some of my hopes.
 
Not sure about uniformity but I've returned 3 2018 13" refurbs now for PWM flicker. I'm very sensitive to this. My 2017 exhibits none (A034 panel) of this (although the keyboard has failed several times) but every 2018 13" I've tried (A03E) panel flickers and causes my eyes to get sore. I was in NYC over the weekend and tried several in store and all had the A03E panel and all were uncomfortable to look at for more than 10 minutes.

I've just taken delivery of a 15" and that is fine.
 
usrockband said:
Oh, sorry if I wasn't clear. I have looked at / tried several 2018 models. Many of them (probably most) had the bad uniformity I am talking about. Some of them though were fine - the good ones were almost all silver. Maybe it's a batch thing?

Not sure what I'll do at this point. Disappointing that the screen QC seems to have gone downhill when the rest is so great.
Click to expand...
Great? You mean, faulty keyboards and throttling?
 
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