Macbook air 2018 screen brightness

[DDustiNN]

I honestly don't get the dim screen complaints. I just got mine yesterday and have been using it at about 60% brightness indoors. Plugged it in to charge just now, and it went to max brightness, which was almost blinding. It was also very crisp and bright when I looked at the demo model in the Apple Store.

Maybe it's different for people who use them in the sun I guess? What am I missing here?

 

[ManuCH]

Did you use calibration tool or just adjust on your own.

I did it on my own using the tools Apple makes available in the control panel (ie. manually adjusting the sliders several times so that the Apple logo has the same color as the background lines). For sure it's not perfectly accurate (ie. for photo editing), but it's crisp and pleasing to my eyes.
[doublepost=1542536636][/doublepost]

Maybe it's different for people who use them in the sun I guess? What am I missing here?

I think it's only really relevant if you use the MBA in the sun, or, as in my case, on a train (or other public transportation) on a sunny day.

When inside I use it at around 65%.

 

[applesed]

I didn't think on it before, but without flux the screen seems blueish. I tried the calibrate with no difference, but I also didn't change any settings. Any profiles out there that are worthy of trying out?

 

[Wags]

I didn't think on it before, but without flux the screen seems blueish. I tried the calibrate with no difference, but I also didn't change any settings. Any profiles out there that are worthy of trying out?

Notebookcheck
https://www.notebookcheck.net/uploads/tx_nbc2/mba.icc

 

[Penlocky]

Sure, I'll put in in a DropBox folder later today. The other thing to try is the NotebookCheck.com profile that's in their review of the rMBA. I didn't find any of the four I've tried (original profile, original profile calibrated with System Preferences, NBC.com profile or my i1Display Pro profile) more than subtly different. Profiles don't change basic luminance, so they can't really improve basic contrast ratio.

Thank you very much for your profile! I will try it out and tell you how it goes. Do you think this display issue if because of apple's intentionally choosing such displays or is it due to the display supplier and its early batch might be a bit experimental. Hence is it possible that a few months down the line that the display manufacturing will be sorted out.
[doublepost=1542604294][/doublepost]

The colours not being as good on the MBA as the MBP shouldn't come as a big surprise, since the MBA doesn't have the wide colour gamut screen that the MBP has. This is to be expected. You'll see the same differences between the MB vs. the MBP, since the MB doesn't have a wide colour gamut screen either.

The surprising part is the fact MBA is dimmer than even the MB.

In average indoor lighting the dimness of the MBA probably won't matter much, but in a bright windowed room it may matter and outdoors during the day it would definitely matter.

So in your conclusion what do you think of the new Macbook Air overall and in particular, it's screen?
[doublepost=1542604791][/doublepost]About the new Air displays being more yellow compared to other Macbooks, does this mean the display longetivity is going to be worse down in time? Because displays gradually get more yellow as they are used. Does this mean the other macbooks, being more blue has longer life ahead than the air?

And why does calibration not completely fix the colour according to some people here? Is it because the physical blue pixels/etc are smaller in the new air display than the other macbook display?

Any display experts or display experienced people that understands this?

 

[newellj]

Thank you very much for your profile! I will try it out and tell you how it goes. Do you think this display issue if because of apple's intentionally choosing such displays or is it due to the display supplier and its early batch might be a bit experimental. Hence is it possible that a few months down the line that the display manufacturing will be sorted out.
[doublepost=1542604294][/doublepost]
So in your conclusion what do you think of the new Macbook Air overall and in particular, it's screen?
[doublepost=1542604791][/doublepost]About the new Air displays being more yellow compared to other Macbooks, does this mean the display longetivity is going to be worse down in time? Because displays gradually get more yellow as they are used. Does this mean the other macbooks, being more blue has longer life ahead than the air?

And why does calibration not completely fix the colour according to some people here? Is it because the physical blue pixels/etc are smaller in the new air display than the other macbook display?

Any display experts or display experienced people that understands this?

Link sent. I don't know about what's going on. Possibly factory calibration is not great, but NotebookCheck found that the calibration of their test machine was excellent. Maybe there are variability issues, either on a single production line or between multiple vendors? And I do think there are inherent limitations with a panel that is only displaying 250-300 nits max. Among other things, that will limit the contrast ratio. I think for most users it's more than good enough. I was able to get the display on my 2015 rMBP calibrated accurately enough to edit photos. I'm not sure that the rMBA will do that (and I'm not sure how it will feel about crunching dozens or hundreds of raw files - but that issue is driven by my needs and wants, not by any design "defect" - it is a lightweight machine and you have to live with the design balance of the product if you buy it).

 

[applesed]

Notebookcheck
https://www.notebookcheck.net/uploads/tx_nbc2/mba.icc

thanks. I tried this, and it looks the same. maybe this is what people mean by it looking dim. whites look blueish/greyish when the screen is not bright enough? this is with flux or night shift off.

edit: I just turned off flux on my 2013 mbp, and that looks kind of blue-ish as well. I guess because I use my computer is perpetual night mode (yellow-ish) that when that's disabled I really see the "blues". heh.

 

[MacRazySwe]

I remembered reading a post here about someone saying the screen looked closer to the pro by just changing the white point from native to 7000. After trying it myself, I can definitely agree and its now even harder to see a difference (the only place I was noticing it, discord, now looks the same color wise at 7.25K-7.5K). Comparing discord and my website (which has a fair bit of blue) side by side with my ntb pro and air, I'd say 7.25K-7.5K makes the screens feel nearly identical, at least to my eyes.

Thanks for this!

I set the white point to 7800. This actually improved it a lot!

 

[JPH675]

Question:

Is screen brightness strictly a hardware issue or could it be increased, say up to 350-400 nits, with a Mac OS software fix?

By analogy, within my iOS iPhone X, (Settings<General<Accessibility<larger text) the font size can be easily increased by selecting the toggle and made larger to whatever font size is desired. Logic seems to suggest the dim screen issue can be fixed by slightly adding brightness with a Mac OS software fix. Thoughts?

 

[Ma2k5]

Question:

Is screen brightness strictly a hardware issue or could it be increased, say up to 350-400 nits, with a Mac OS software fix?

By analogy, within my iOS iPhone X, (Settings<General<Accessibility<larger text) the font size can be easily increased by selecting the toggle and made larger to whatever font size is desired. Logic seems to suggest the dim screen issue can be fixed by slightly adding brightness with a Mac OS software fix. Thoughts?

No.

 

[PalidinoDH]

So, assuming you get one of the better screens (since that seems to be a thing), here's what to expect. If it isn't already obvious, they're different screens and the air's screen is not as good as the pro. If you don't do photo editing, I believe you quickly forget about the difference in colors. As for brightness, I believe 2 notches down puts them nearly identical, and as such, each picture is a max brightness side by side, and then the ntb pro 2 notches down next to the air at full.
I'd also like to note that these pictures are all with the air's whitepoint set to 7.25K instead of the native option.

I didn't include any pictures of native whitepoint vs 7.25K as I can't seem to find a wallpaper that makes the differences noticeable through a picture. It seems to be more of an in-person type of deal to see the difference and see how 7K-7.25K makes the screen much closer to the pro.

max:

2 notches:

max:

2 notches:

max (camera doing something weird with the pro, see pic 2):

2 notches:

max:

2 notches:

My take (comparing in person), is that colors can be more dull on the air but mostly only if you're comparing it side-by-side the pro screen. Whites and blacks are also nicer/deeper on the pro, so if you use your mac for watching movies a lot you might notice the difference.

 

[Barna Biro]

I see everyone is just comparing the screens, but has anyone actually tried calibrating the Air? Can we perhaps have a pre- and post- calibration comparisons as well? I'm totally happy with the Air screen and colors, but I'm curious... and unfortunately also lazy to try it myself (especially since it's a non-issue for me).

 

[newellj]

I see everyone is just comparing the screens, but has anyone actually tried calibrating the Air? Can we perhaps have a pre- and post- calibration comparisons as well? I'm totally happy with the Air screen and colors, but I'm curious... and unfortunately also lazy to try it myself (especially since it's a non-issue for me).

I did, with an i1Display Pro. Minimal color improvement. And, obviously, no increase in contrast. These may not be issues for email, productivity and web browsing, but if you're going to do color-sensitive work (like photo editing) it's big problem.

 

[ascender]

Any new owners want to comment on the 2018 air screen brightness. Is it an issue as some reviews have pointed out (doesn’t get bright enough).

Nice and bright here, just over halfway on the scale. Have recently come from a 2018 MBP and am happy to say the brightness on the new MBA is a non-issue for me.

 

[urusai]

I took these today at a fnac store in Seville FWIW. 1. Adaptive desktop: mid and max brightness. 2. Static: mid and max. 3. Notes: mid and max. Both unplugged and with auto brightness off.

 

[ascender]

So, the MBP screens are brighter than the Air, but that’s in the specs so we all knew that. If you compare them side by side you’re bound to notice the difference.

If you’re in any doubt, pop to an Apple Store and have a look for yourself, or buy one in the knowledge that they’re bright enough for many people and if it’s not, return it.

 

[galactic orange]

I used my 2009 MacBook Pro sometimes in the dark. Noticeably lower minimum brightness than my white 2008 MacBook and it made a real world difference.

If you can understand it for an iPad, you can understand it for a laptop.

I'm interested in getting a 2018 Air. I've been using a mid-2009 MBP and I found some specs that its brightness is around 229 max (not sure if this is nits or another measurement). If the new Air is moderately brighter it will be bright enough for me. When comparing to older MBPs, does the Air fare fairly well there?

 

[EugW]

I'm interested in getting a 2018 Air. I've been using a mid-2009 MBP and I found some specs that its brightness is around 229 max (not sure if this is nits or another measurement). If the new Air is moderately brighter it will be bright enough for me. When comparing to older MBPs, does the Air fare fairly well there?

The really old MacBook Pros are not very bright. I find my 2009 13" MacBook Pro quite dim in a very bright room.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Apple-MacBook-Pro-13-Mid-2009-2-53-GHz.18780.0.html

Note though that while my 2017 12" MacBook is noticeably brighter, it still struggles a bit with a very bright room, and the new 2018 MacBook Air is dimmer than the 12" MacBook. The ones that do well here are the 2017 and 2018 MacBook Pros.

That said, for the vast majority of my personal usage, the 12" MacBook is fine. I'm almost always using it indoors, and if necessary, I'll close the blinds.

 

[Cehape]

I am using the new Air for a little over 3 weeks now and in my opinion the brightness discussion is blown way out of proportion.
I only use it indoor, but my desk is directly beside a window and I have not thought once, that the screen is not bright enough.
Just my 2 Cents.

 

[smaslov]

I am using the new Air for a little over 3 weeks now and in my opinion the brightness discussion is blown way out of proportion.
I only use it indoor, but my desk is directly beside a window and I have not thought once, that the screen is not bright enough.
Just my 2 Cents.

Fully agree! With a 7.25k white calibration the screen is absolutely usable for any office related work, including some light photo-editing.

Now, the real problem with the screen is not its characteristics, but rather the staingate - yes, it's here! - the antireflective coating started to peel out on my screen in the area of trackpad. Apparently, somehow the laptop was pushed in the backpack (although being very nice padded there) and buttons&trackpad touched the screen - so it seems that screen protector is a must. Very unfortunate as that would decrease the screen quality adding some graininess to it.
Antireflective coating is really gentle, what a shame for a £2k device.

Anyone else noticed marks/stains from the buttons/trackpad?

 

[kooky]

Would anyone experiencing issues with the screen brightness and contrast please post the factory where yours come from, which you can get from your serial number, as explained in this post, https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/air-returns-why.2154103/page-7#post-26873814 - perhaps in that thread? There are quite a few with serial numbers starting with C0xxxxxxx that are happy, mine is FVxxxxxx and I'm unhappy. Need to hear from some FVxxxxxx serial number owners. Thank you.

 

[Cehape]

Mine has a C0 serial and I think it´s bright enough.

 

[smaslov]

Same, C0 - bright enough

 

[kooky]

At least 4 peeps in the other thread with C0 and all happy. Not yet seen anyone that's unhappy quote their serial, nor seen any feedback from another FV.

 

[redhot47fla]

At least 4 peeps in the other thread with C0 and all happy. Not yet seen anyone that's unhappy quote their serial, nor seen any feedback from another FV.

Kooky, as I've mentioned on your other thread, C0 here and very happy with the screen. I think you're onto something here...