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M2 air PWM vs MBP Pro

A

aibo82

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 11, 2010
507
469
Hi

I’ve had my MBP pro 16 a while now and it’s still a killer to use it’s burns my eyes and causes me eye strain with pwm.

I keep wanting to sell the thing it’s getting on nerves and losing more value.

I’ve been going back to my trusty 2012 retina as it’s more comfortable and can spend ages on it.

Is the new MacBook Air using PWM and would it be more comfortable?

I know it’s a big step down in screen size and power but my MBP 16 rarely has the lid open I hate the screen, I’ve never had so much pain using a laptop my muscles in my eyes go into spasm using the thing!
 
Hi,

I have similar problem, I bought the MBP 14 last week and my eyes are really tired after 3-4 hours of using it. I discovered the PWM yesterday and I found the website with PWM ranking: https://www.notebookcheck.net/PWM-Ranking-Notebooks-Smartphones-and-Tablets-with-PWM.163979.0.html

Well, the site says that the screen in MacBook Pro 14 has ~15000 Hz PWM. For comparison I am using Samsung Galaxy s8 for years now and it has 250 Hz and Galaxy Tab s7 for almost 2 years and it has ~60000 Hz. Had totally no problems with them both. I think the range of correct values really depends on person. But I am thinking about buying MBA M2 too, because it has the same screen as iPad mini 6 and it has 180000 hz PWM (MBA review is not there yet).

Let me know what you think, I will let you know as soon as I get the MBA (5 weeks sadly) if it gets any better.
 
I don't have an option to switch to millions of colors in SwitchResX. Any idea why? Also I wanted to change the color preset in preferences to sRGB, but it's way too dark and I can't change the brightness. Got any solutions?
 
Navnexx said:
I don't have an option to switch to millions of colors in SwitchResX. Any idea why? Also I wanted to change the color preset in preferences to sRGB, but it's way too dark and I can't change the brightness. Got any solutions?
Click to expand...
Alas, I don't. I haven't tried SwitchResX myself. You can try and send a direct message to the person that proposed it in the link above and see if he responds. Changing sRGB profiles didn't help me either, although I did not notice darkness.
 
I’ve read recently that the Air has PWM as well, which may push me to try the Pro regardless since there are limited options. The display did appear to have it in videos taken at WWDC.
 
MICHAELSD said:
I’ve read recently that the Air has PWM as well, which may push me to try the Pro regardless since there are limited options. The display did appear to have it in videos taken at WWDC.
Click to expand...
Pretty much all of the laptops have PWM but the frequency is high enough (on the order of 1000x compared to OLED phones) that it is probably not the cause of headaches. The Intel MBAs also had PWM and I was fine with that.
 
ghanwani said:
Pretty much all of the laptops have PWM but the frequency is high enough (on the order of 1000x compared to OLED phones) that it is probably not the cause of headaches. The Intel MBAs also had PWM and I was fine with that.
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I have some concerns, but I’m not sure I’d step down to an older model or the 13” MacBook Pro which also has an OLED Touch Bar with PWM if even the extremely high PWM rates on the 14” MacBook Pro and likely M2 MacBook Air cause notable issues.
 
MICHAELSD said:
I have some concerns, but I’m not sure I’d step down to an older model or the 13” MacBook Pro which also has an OLED Touch Bar with PWM if even the extremely high PWM rates on the 14” MacBook Pro and likely M2 MacBook Air cause notable issues.
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All of the M1 machines have this problem, at least for me. So unless you're talking about an older macbook which is no longer sold by Apple, there is no solution for me. I almost never use my MBA now, only when if I absolutely have to and even then do so grudgingly. I needed it for taxes. And now it looks like I will need it for updating maps on my car. Anything web-based is done on my work computer or phone.
 
johnscully said:
Any other experiences with the M2 MaI’ve read recently that the Air has PWM as well, which may push me to try the Pro regardless since there are limited options. The display did appear to have it in videos taken at WWDC.
Click to expand...
MICHAELSD said:
I’ve read recently that the Air has PWM as well, which may push me to try the Pro regardless since there are limited options. The display did appear to have it in videos taken at WWDC.
Click to expand...
There is no PWM flicker on the new M2 MacBook Air, according to notebookcheck. 🎉
 
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Had to return my 14” because of the same issues. Really hoping the M2 Air will be alright for me, but am still hesitant to buy. Would love to hear anyone’s opinions if you’ve tried it and noticed an improvement.
 
spraycansoul said:
Yes on the MBP 14 , which is what I’m comparing it too. It was also detected on the MBA M1. Obviously different panels but for the MBA M2 to have no PWM detected is a BIG plus for some people on the forum.
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This is very interesting (and surprising) news. I've never been particularly sensitive to PWM, but I would always rather have a display without it. This does make me consider the Air a little more for my next machine.
 
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I read elsewhere that apparently the need for temporal dithering could have been eliminated as well, unless they use FRC to get P3.
“the panel now supports the wider P3 color gamut”
 
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Google says: FRC is a form of temporal dithering which cycles between different color shades with each new frame to simulate an intermediate shade. This can create a potentially noticeable 30 Hz (half frame rate) flicker.
 
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I doubt they are using a true 10 bit panel on the new air. So that means it’s likely using temporal dithering to achieve the p3 wide color. AFAIK the only actual 10 bit display Apple sells is the Pro Display XDR. I’d love to be wrong though.
 
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asus389 said:
I doubt they are using a true 10 bit panel on the new air. So that means it’s likely using temporal dithering to achieve the p3 wide color. AFAIK the only actual 10 bit display Apple sells is the Pro Display XDR. I’d love to be wrong though.
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This would make sense as the M2 MBA does absolutely nothing for my eye strain and headaches. Nor does the 14 MBP.
 
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