MacBook Pro 16' M1 Display Viewing Angle

[Jaw3000]

Has anyone noticed an extremely narrow viewing angle with the new 16" MacBook Pro? Apple claims exceptional viewing angles, but I am seeing fairly large luminance shifts on the sides of the screen (especially the right side) just slightly moving my head while sitting directly in front the screen (no off angle). When looking from the middle of the screen, and then tilting your head ever so slightly towards one side or the other, you can see the side getting brighter as you are in front of it. I understand this is typical for LCDs, but it seems more extreme and noticeable on the MacBook Pro 16" than I have seen on other displays (for moving head only a fraction while directly in front). If your head is towards one side of the display, the entire other half gets significantly dimmer (and yet I am still directly in front of the screen). It's worse the closer you are to the screen and with white backgrounds. It's even worse off angle, and way worse viewing angles than my old 2013 MacBook Pro.

I've also noticed a slight dark line across the bottom of the screen, about an inch up. I'm using the screen uniformity test from Eizo in the attached image. It doesn't show up as visible in the image as when looking at it. I assume this has to do with the backlighting, but I have not noticed anything like this on other displays. Does anyone else's MacBook Pro 16" display such a line?

I'm not sure if any of this is normal, or if I got a defective screen?

 

[chongsen]

It is quite normal for mini led at current stage. That is why OLED is superior.

I think it is acceptable on laptop though.

 

[Sanpete]

How far from the screen is that shot? My 16" doesn't have such a pronounced difference as shown in your photo, and I don't see any line.

 

[Jaw3000]

How far from the screen is that shot? My 16" doesn't have such a pronounced difference as shown in your photo, and I don't see any line.

About two feet. Arms length, in a dark room.

The color seems good and there is only limited blooming, but the brightness uniformity seems off with the extreme jumps. This is a good shot showing the center and the darker sides. If you move in front of the sides, then the center to opposite side looks dark while the side you are directly in front of looks normal brightness. I except this kind of behavior when viewing indirectly, but not directly in front of it. Interesting about the line. I wonder if others see this?

 

[Jaw3000]

I normally wouldn’t be this picky, but this is a $3000 computer, with the display as the selling point and I wouldn't want a defective display from the display lottery.

 

[Sanpete]

Yeah, mine doesn't look like that from that distance. If you have access to other machines, say at a store, compare to them at whatever brightness you normally use. (You don't need to run a uniformity test to compare. You can quickly load a white screen in a browser by typing about:blank and clicking return in the address window and then clicking fn-F to get full screen view.)

Edit: the gray scales the Eizo test uses might show more of an effect, though mine still isn't that pronounced.

 

[Jaw3000]

Yeah, mine doesn't look like that from that distance.

Edit: the gray scales the Eizo test uses might show more of an effect, though mine still isn't that pronounced.

The brightness issue is most noticeable on a white screen, but happens with anything. It’s also worse closer to the screen. Worse at 2-3t than at 3-4ft away, but it’s still there. The bottom black line is more visible on darker screens (like the Eizo gray).

I hadn’t noticed the black line until I wan the Eizo test, but once you know it’s there it’s hard to unsee it. The brightness issue I noticed as soon as I started using it, and it’s honestly quite annoying with how much the brightness/blue hue changes based on such little movement of a head. Reading an article on a white screen, with it constantly shimmering because you happen to move your head slightly while reading. It’s not good for color reproduction either, as the color (based on brightness) is quite different based on whether your eye is directly in front of that part of the screen.

 

[Sanpete]

Try to get to another machine to compare if you can. Doesn't seem normal to me. There have been a couple complaints about screens that actually make people feel sick, which what you describe might well do.