Does that shimmering effect on your iPad Air cause you any eye strain- or is it not bad enough to cause any problems?
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Did the M2 MBA solve the eyestrain/headache issue for you?
- Thread starter ghanwani
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I had a lot of problems with M1 air, I read M2 air was better so I bought one. It was definitely better than M1 but ultimately I returned it. Hoping they figure out whatever the problem is by M3
donatas_s
macrumors newbie
Is there anyone that can clearly say - yep M2 did it for me? I mean there might be other irritants, such as glare, small screen, maybe fonts. However, PWM or any other flicker has clear long term effect on the eyes and nervous system, its not just eye strain, its total failure of eye ability to look at a screen at easy without having its reflexes triggered due to flicker causing.
I keep coming back to see if there are solutions. Not in small part because even though I have evaluated Windows laptops, I just can't seem to find something I am comfortable with when it comes to a combination of fan noise, heat, form factor, sales and support. Every now and then I pop into the local Apple store to try the newer machines/OS versions to see if anything has changed. So far, I'm not finding much difference.
donatas_s
macrumors newbie
I saw those conflicting reviews about macbook air M2, highlighting on one side notebookcheck.com PWM free claims and other side youtube videos showing clear PWM. I have a suspicion that PWM on macbook air m2 is triggered by something, obviously specific brightness setting, or it could be for example battery mode or something like that. I'm really tempted to replace macbook air m1 with macbook air m2, but just need those reassurances at least from some percentage of users. As it comes to actual stores, I personally find it difficult to test it in the store, as there is so much lighting and you need to spend considerable amount of time to feel it. Also, there will be some folks that are really triggered a lot by other factors too such as shiny screens and actual screen technology. This would obviously render any incremental improvements of minor significance. As a side note, I have researched that VA panels might be good for low eye strain as external monitors, but this is a bit off the topic, since I would assume most users appreciate mobility of these machines as key factor.
Sony's Vaio is now an independent company. I tried a Vaio SX 12 (12.5" display, 2 lb laptop) and found that it had an excellent matte display (no eye strain), but it's let down by the trackpad (older style with physical buttons) and continuously running fan.
ric22
Suspended
Mine is a Sony branded monitor, not Sony Vaio... I always liked their monitors, going back to the end of the last millennium.
Got my macbook air m2 and here are my settings:
- brightness - one step before the middle;
- true tone - off;
- profile white point - 5500;
I feel like if making brighter it becomes much more uncomfortable. Good luck to "The Brotherhood with Picky Eyes" 🙂
- brightness - one step before the middle;
- true tone - off;
- profile white point - 5500;
I feel like if making brighter it becomes much more uncomfortable. Good luck to "The Brotherhood with Picky Eyes" 🙂
Sorry for the delay in responding. It was better than M1 but yea still was causing issues. I may have been able to tweak some settings to make it mostly tolerable but it's just way too expensive to merely tolerate it.
Fingers crossed on M3 I guess
I returned both the M1 and M2 after about a week of testing each. Sadly, just using my extremely old MBP for now.
My Macbook Air M1 has just become unbearable to work on recently - teary eyes, headaches etc; so I did a test and switched back to my trusty old 2011 Macbook Pro (mostly for research and text work).
The difference is night and day - for the past week or so, I worked around 5-8 hours/day on this machine and my eyes aren't fatigued at all.
So it really comes down to the M1 Air and its display that's irritating me.
I have various newer and older Windows laptops (like Dell XPS', Lenovo Thinkbooks) for work purposes that don't irritate my eyes at all.
I'm wondering if the current M2 Air or the upcoming 15 inch air will be any better - it's just a hassle to buy, test and return such expensive machines.
I'm also wondering, has anyone tried the M1 iMac 24? - I haven't found much regarding eye strain with this model. It would maybe be a solution for an at home machine for me - so if anyone's got any feedback regarding that I'd be grateful.
The difference is night and day - for the past week or so, I worked around 5-8 hours/day on this machine and my eyes aren't fatigued at all.
So it really comes down to the M1 Air and its display that's irritating me.
I have various newer and older Windows laptops (like Dell XPS', Lenovo Thinkbooks) for work purposes that don't irritate my eyes at all.
I'm wondering if the current M2 Air or the upcoming 15 inch air will be any better - it's just a hassle to buy, test and return such expensive machines.
I'm also wondering, has anyone tried the M1 iMac 24? - I haven't found much regarding eye strain with this model. It would maybe be a solution for an at home machine for me - so if anyone's got any feedback regarding that I'd be grateful.
I've tolerated the M1 iMac the best of all of the M series computers. IDK why. Its worth a try though.
Anyone experience vision issue (screen does not look crisp and it bothers my eyes after 30 minutes) on a M1 Air but not on a MB Pro 14"? That is my case, and I am wondering if the M2 Air will be better.
I would prefer to carry a M2 Air for its form factor but would get the MB Pro 14" if it means less eye strain.
I would prefer to carry a M2 Air for its form factor but would get the MB Pro 14" if it means less eye strain.
ric22
Suspended
Bouncing back and forth from my MacBook Air M1 and Pro 16 M2, I can't actually decide which I like looking at least. I'm typing this on the Air.
CE3
macrumors 68000
I clocked quite a few hours on my M1 Air last week, photo editing at night when eye strain is usually the most problematic, and surprisingly experienced no issues. One thing I did a while back was switch the color profile to SRGB, so I’d recommend trying this. No guarantees, of course, but I also find this profile more reliable and color accurate than the default one.
I've been looking at all the forums and posts related to this and bought both the M2 Air and M2 13" pro myself to do some comparisons so hopefully this should help some people:
The M2 Air definitely has temporal dithering/PWM. Notebookcheck was wrong or somehow missed this in their measurement. Recording in slow-mo reveals that some shimmering effect is absolutely present, especially when displaying gray. This does not happen on the M2 13" Pro. Because of this I would recommend getting the 13" Pro if you're sensitive to flickering like I am. While the M2 Air wasn't unusable, like many here I feel like I shouldn't have to simply tolerate looking at a $1000+ screen.
The M2 Air definitely has temporal dithering/PWM. Notebookcheck was wrong or somehow missed this in their measurement. Recording in slow-mo reveals that some shimmering effect is absolutely present, especially when displaying gray. This does not happen on the M2 13" Pro. Because of this I would recommend getting the 13" Pro if you're sensitive to flickering like I am. While the M2 Air wasn't unusable, like many here I feel like I shouldn't have to simply tolerate looking at a $1000+ screen.
I meant specifically the 13.3" pro, not the 14". It's still 3 lbs as opposed to 2.7 lbs on the M2 Macbook Air and has the older design. I would have preferred the newer models but it's the only one that works.
Ah ok. I had a problem with that once it moved to M1, not to mention that I'm not a fan of the touch bar. But maybe I will check it again now that it is on M2.
jimmy_uk
macrumors 68030
Like the OLED iPhones, I've abandoned hope of an iPad I can now use as I clearly have a sensitivity to PWM & dithering (fine on iphone 11). So this leaves me with the Macbook, ideally the MBA M2 for silent operation. It's disappointing to read some are suffering eye strain with these despite them not having PWM. I really don't want to drop 2k on a laptop I might have to return, it certainly wouldn't be a convenient return process.
Is anyone with PWM/OLED sensitivity having luck with the MBA M2 or is this exactly like asking about OLED iPhones - got to try it for myself?
Is anyone with PWM/OLED sensitivity having luck with the MBA M2 or is this exactly like asking about OLED iPhones - got to try it for myself?