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Does the MBA screen strain your eyes?

J

Jay.237

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 17, 2011
6
0
Hello everyone!
My MBA screen really strains my eyes after a while of use, I know to take regular breaks and it's not so bad when I'm just web browsing, but when I'm writing essays for college or something it just gets unbearable. I didn't have this problem with my previous laptop which was a cheap toshiba or with any other computer. It's got to the point where I'm seriously considering selling it. Does anyone else have the same problem?
 
Jay.237 said:
Hello everyone!
My MBA screen really strains my eyes after a while of use, I know to take regular breaks and it's not so bad when I'm just web browsing, but when I'm writing essays for college or something it just gets unbearable. I didn't have this problem with my previous laptop which was a cheap toshiba or with any other computer. It's got to the point where I'm seriously considering selling it. Does anyone else have the same problem?
Click to expand...

I am a college student and I have the same problem with my MBA (2011 model). From what I feel, it is due to the "high" resolution of the 13" screen. Therefore I avoid using it by itself and usually use it with a 24" external monitor. My old sony laptop did not have this issue, because it had lesser pixels (1200 x 800) on a 14.1" inches screen. It was very comfortable to use.

And for this very reason I am not a big fan on hi-res displays, except for rMBP, because it is done right there. In rMBP even though the number of pixels are high, the effective resolution is still the same as the previous generation.
 
Jay.237 said:
Hello everyone!
My MBA screen really strains my eyes after a while of use, I know to take regular breaks and it's not so bad when I'm just web browsing, but when I'm writing essays for college or something it just gets unbearable. I didn't have this problem with my previous laptop which was a cheap toshiba or with any other computer. It's got to the point where I'm seriously considering selling it. Does anyone else have the same problem?
Click to expand...

I do. I'm in the process of finishing my PhD, so I spend most of my days writing or coding. Even when I'm casually browsing the web I have eye strain. I'm trying to sell my MBA to go back to a MBP. Meanwhile, I use an external display as I couldn't identify what's the source of the problem. I tried several colour profiles and brightness settings, but none helped. A friend used my computer for a while on maximum brightness and he said it was comfortable, no strain at all.
 
Gustavo Carvalh said:
I do. I'm in the process of finishing my PhD, so I spend most of my days writing or coding. Even when I'm casually browsing the web I have eye strain. I'm trying to sell my MBA to go back to a MBP. Meanwhile, I use an external display as I couldn't identify what's the source of the problem. I tried several colour profiles and brightness settings, but none helped. A friend used my computer for a while on maximum brightness and he said it was comfortable, no strain at all.
Click to expand...

Did you try f.lux? It makes it little better, but not a whole lot.
 
Thanks for the replies! It’s nice to know I’m not the only one. Just out of interest do you have an LG or Samsung display? I have a 2011 base 13” with LG. I’ve been reading some of the threads on here and some people say there’s quite a big difference between the two. I’ve tried some of calibration profiles posted on here and they do improve the colour, but it is still uncomfortable to use.
 
I came to Mac's, first an MBP and then MBA's since 2008, because of eyestrain I got using Window's notebooks, Dell, Lenovo and Sony's.

My eyes burned using those machines, for different reasons, resolution too low resulting in pixelated fonts, or too high with tiny fonts, but most often it was just because of the low quality panels used, contrast, viewing angles and horrible anti-glare coating giving that 'screen door' / 'stretched panty hose effect. I bought many notebooks for my company, wasn't happy with displays until I bought a Mac. Anandtech describes it best if you search screen comparisons on their site, Apple uses better quality panels and it shows.

Their excellent displays was a large part of the reason we switched over. I find the Air's 11 and 13" display's very good for sharpness and clarity making text easy to read, not too big, not too small. Color accuracy could no doubt be better but for a workhorse machine for writing I couldn't be happier.

That being said, at dusk I find the display very straining on the eyes, properly lighting solves that. But, for example if I'm using my Air in bed late at night it is tiresome on the eyes, whereas my retina iPad isn't as bad.
 
Jay.237 said:
Thanks for the replies! It’s nice to know I’m not the only one. Just out of interest do you have an LG or Samsung display? I have a 2011 base 13” with LG. I’ve been reading some of the threads on here and some people say there’s quite a big difference between the two. I’ve tried some of calibration profiles posted on here and they do improve the colour, but it is still uncomfortable to use.
Click to expand...

LG as well.
 
entatlrg said:
That being said, at dusk I find the display very straining on the eyes, properly lighting solves that. But, for example if I'm using my Air in bed late at night it is tiresome on the eyes, whereas my retina iPad isn't as bad.
Click to expand...

You might want to give f.lux a try
I've really appreciated it once I tried it
 
I had to return a 13" 2012 MBA for the very reason of eye fatigue. Course I am 48 and the ole eyesight is going. :)

Even though I loved everything else about the MBA I got a 13" MBP because it is so much easier on my eyes, go figure. Oh well, I don't really need the optical but I will just toss in a SSD & 8gb of RAM and be a happy camper.
 
Jay.237 said:
Hello everyone!
My MBA screen really strains my eyes after a while of use, I know to take regular breaks and it's not so bad when I'm just web browsing, but when I'm writing essays for college or something it just gets unbearable. I didn't have this problem with my previous laptop which was a cheap toshiba or with any other computer. It's got to the point where I'm seriously considering selling it. Does anyone else have the same problem?
Click to expand...

I have to agree with you. I went from a 2008 MacBook with 1280x800 resolution and the slightly increased resolution of the Air makes things just a little too small. I find myself constantly zooming in on webpages (usually with the double two-finger tap) to avoid straining. I almost exclusively use my Air on my lap, so the screen is a little farther away than if it were on a table or desk. When it is on a table, I have no problem.

I have the 2012 Air with Samsung display.

I have seriously considered upgrading to a 15" Pro due to this. I'm actually hoping that the rumoured 13" Retina Pro will be based on 1280x800 instead of 1440x900, so text isn't so small.
 
I have this issue too. Text often just needs to be a smidge bigger. On some websites, I'll enlarge the font by one size to make things easier to read.

Text on the iPad is small too, but the difference is the retina display and the fact that tablets can be held closer to the eyes.
 
F.lux works, but not on MacBook Air

MacDawg said:
You might want to give f.lux a try
I've really appreciated it once I tried it
Click to expand...

F.lux not only reduces eye strain, but at night the muted color of the screen makes it easier to fall asleep. It was great on previous computers (MacBook, MacBook Pro 15") but not really on the MacBook Air. Finding this thread was an "ah-hah" moment - this never occurred to me.

My eyes constantly hurt from straining and I can't stop rubbing them. Things appear a bit too small or askew and I actually spent an hour trying to fix the font on my Gmail account! Sometimes I realize I have moved inches from the screen while reading.

Now I know why F.lux hasn't helped, my glasses weren't working, etc. If there isn't a fix, at least I now know what's up and I can stop fiddling with the settings.

Thanks to all!
 
My strain comes from the little fonts of the 11" ! :) so am using the pinch-zoom a lot now.

Don't forget to make use of the brightness control (free), I do take it down a couple of notches at night and my eyes do feel better.
 
Everyone's eyes are different, but I know I cannot use glossy screens for a long time otherwise I start getting eye strain. I MUST use an anti-reflective matte screen. It's a well known fact that glossy screens cause more eye strain and other health issues than matte displays. That's why most companies always give their employees laptops/computers with matte screens. Also, if you're a professional designer (of any kind), staring at a screen heavily- matte is a must. The main problems with glossy is that it gives a lot of reflection, so you're eye is trying to focus on two images at once and constantly trying to "see through" the image you're looking at. This causes strain. Also, matte screens diffuse light, rather than project it directly. So, when using a glossy screen it's like staring into a bright light bulb directly, with a matte screen it's like staring at a lamp shade that has a bright light bulb underneath (less eye strain since you have the lamp shade protection).

It's a terrible shame that Apple used to offer more models with matte displays, they only offer it on the 15 inch MBP as an upgrade, which is very costly. Unfortunately, I cannot get another Mac mainly because of this. Apple's solution is to buy a matte film accessory, which I refuse to do. Not spending that kind of money to not even get what I really want from the start. I went Mac, and am going back. :D
 
Yep, I use an 11'' 2010 MBA here, the screen has a harsh, blue-ish colour that feels hard on my eyes. I use F.lux too, which does make a noticable improvement.
 
I am on the screen 3-4 hours, switching between the Air, iMac, and iPad and have not noticed any eye strain. I guess it's a good thing my eyes aren't as sensitive as others to things as the type of screen I am on.
 
No it doesn't. But I had to use my MBA without an external display for 2 days. When I finally started using it with an external display, my eyes hurt because the pixels on my external display are not as dense as the ones on my MBA's display. My eyes quickly got used to it, but the difference is obvious :)
 
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