MBP 16' M1 Max Display vs Mid-2012 MBPr Display

[Sitti]

Hello,

I have ordered maxed out 16" MBP and still waiting for it. Recently I noticed numerous posts about slow pixel response time. I became a bit concerned about it. Where I live, my local store didn't have a demo unit, so I haven't had a chance to see the display in person. I'd have to drive quite a distance to the nearest Apple store.

I currently have Mid-2012 MBP Retina. Is 16" MBP display response time any worse than 2012 MBPr display? Is this slow pixel response time blown out of proportion, and in real life usage you wouldn't really notice it?

I'm actually thinking about cancelling my order and get ASUS ProArt Studiobook Pro 16. But having really good speakers is really important to me as well. It's obvious that Asus speakers won't be anywhere close to as good as Apple.

 

[drxcm]

Totally blown out of proportion in my opinion. I have the new 16” and my partner has the 14”. Both are amazing. I don’t notice any issues whatsoever.

 

[metapunk2077fail]

Hello,

I have ordered maxed out 16" MBP and still waiting for it. Recently I noticed numerous posts about slow pixel response time. I became a bit concerned about it. Where I live, my local store didn't have a demo unit, so I haven't had a chance to see the display in person. I'd have to drive quite a distance to the nearest Apple store.

I currently have Mid-2012 MBP Retina. Is 16" MBP display response time any worse than 2012 MBPr display? Is this slow pixel response time blown out of proportion, and in real life usage you wouldn't really notice it?

I'm actually thinking about cancelling my order and get ASUS ProArt Studiobook Pro 16. But having really good speakers is really important to me as well. It's obvious that Asus speakers won't be anywhere close to as good as Apple.

The Studiobook will run hot.

The pixel response of the MBP will not make a difference to your productivity because overall the display and other specs are the best combination on the market.

 

[Sitti]

Thanks, I think I'll keep my MBP order.

 

[J.Gallardo]

…I‘m waiting for my M1pro to be delivered. I started to worry about this “response time” thing after following a thread about it, but it was full of nonsense and alarmist trolls.

I had to make my own research. Simplified, (sorry, non I’m not native English speaker) all the numbers and measures are important in some way, in a screen. Apple’s MacBooks are superb in resolution, brightness, contrast, refresh, calibration, and color gamut. It fails at pixel response time, but there’s no comparable screen with all the specs in top quality. By the way, I couldn’t find Apple XDR expensive monitor detailed measurements about this. And… it’s because “response time” is the less important for visual perception; and… because, technically, “response time“ seems difficult to reference to real pixel color changes; and… “response time” measuring methods usually give a mistaken optimistic number which is not real. Some people even find uneasy watching fast response screens.
A lot of characteristics are usually not measured or given (PWM frequency…) and, at the end, every screen has its unique functioning strategy.
I find even strange comparing fast screens where 1 pixel is “1 pixel” vs. retina screens, where 1 pixel is “4 pixels” in fact. So many substantial differences make this “response time” thing a mystery to me. I eagerly wait for my 16” to arrive and see by myself.

I was revealing to check how difficult is to find this particular spec data about well known good monitors, and finding it seems to be a gimmick to sell big pixel (but fast) screens to “serious gamers” (ain’t this an oxymoron?). It seems users can game for fun on an M1 with no problem.
Well, the quality of a screen is still defined by specs usually given by makers; if brightness is poor, resolution is so so… they can perhaps give a good “response time” number, but I don’t find interest about this spec when exploring webs or publications from image-pro users.

I suppose my iPad Pro 10.5” screen is “guilty” of similar behavior, and it’s ok for me. Resolution, color & brightness are first for me. ProMotion (high freq. refresh) is nice also. But I love my iMac 27” retina screen, and it’s just 60Hz. I like the screen in my 6s iphone. And their pixel response time? We never knew!!! Suddenly, this thing seems important…

 

[bolognese]

Regarding screen response times:
I've recorded (iPhone 12, 60FPS) my simple test on both screens using pre-installed Affinity Designer in store. The comparison is far from perfect (different tempo in both videos), but you can see the 16 longer ghost and smear and kinda choppyness. I must add the difference is more pronounced IRL, but at the same time tend I obsess a little too much with the details. Anyway, the 16" was disappointing for me. 14" striked me as significantly more fluid and responsive. I've changed my order from 16" to 14".

14":

16":

 

[Sanpete]

Regarding screen response times:
I've recorded (iPhone 12, 60FPS) my simple test on both screens using pre-installed Affinity Designer in store. The comparison is far from perfect (different tempo in both videos), but you can see the 16 longer ghost and smear and kinda choppyness. I must add the difference is more pronounced IRL, but at the same time tend I obsess a little too much with the details. Anyway, the 16" was disappointing for me. 14" striked me as significantly more fluid and responsive. I've changed my order from 16" to 14".

14":

16":

Don't see a significant difference in the amount of ghosting, but the difference in color is interesting.

 

[bolognese]

Don't see a significant difference in the amount of ghosting, but the difference in color is interesting.

be sure to watch it in 60 FPS.

On video it's less pronounced, but I think sill visible for those sensitive to this kind of stuff. For me it was a big deal IRL. I actually became a little sad in-store that I've ordered 16" xD

 

[J.Gallardo]

Regarding screen response times:
I've recorded (iPhone 12, 60FPS) my simple test on both screens using pre-installed Affinity Designer in store. The comparison is far from perfect (different tempo in both videos), but you can see the 16 longer ghost and smear and kinda choppyness. I must add the difference is more pronounced IRL, but at the same time tend I obsess a little too much with the details. Anyway, the 16" was disappointing for me. 14" striked me as significantly more fluid and responsive. I've changed my order from 16" to 14".

14":

16":

…That’s the thing. You have to move violently a white object over a dark background to notice the problem. Nice. Just do the same a little bit slower. Relax. Be water.
I don’t remember forcing this procedure in my daily use; and media, movies, don’t need a very fast pixel response.
Apple couldn’t reach the top (surpassing all others) in every aspect of the screen at a reasonable cost, so they’ve sacrificed pixel response time. Having everything would be perfect, but improvements are in the most important aspects when making most typical tasks.
And at the end, it’s not the most aggressive defect against vision, but the most well accepted by brain. Even more if those happenings are rare.
Do you remember those vector screens in Asteroids arcade machines? Ghosting seemed natural and no eye hurting! (And we loved no pixelation).

 

[Natzoo]

The lagginess is kinda frustrating on the 16" when comparing to a 15" RetinaMBP. If you frequently swipe between windows, you will notice it.

 

[bolognese]

…That’s the thing. You have to move violently a white object over a dark background to notice the problem. Nice. Just do the same a little bit slower. Relax. Be water.
I don’t remember forcing this procedure in my daily use; and media, movies, don’t need a very fast pixel response.

And at the end, it’s not the most aggressive defect against vision, but the most well accepted by brain. Even more if those happenings are rare.
Do you remember those vector screens in Asteroids arcade machines? Ghosting seemed natural and no eye hurting!

Scrolling pages and documents which are mostly black text aganist white background is an everyday task for me ? more dynamic movies seem to also be affected.

Anyway, I still prefer the 2021’s 16”screen over 2015’s 15”, but the response time is too high IMO. I know it would frustrate me over time.

 

[Realityck]

Notebookcheck.net specifically looks at display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Both below are rather complete technical reviews.

Apple MacBook Pro 14 2021 M1 Pro Laptop in Review: How much "Pro" do you get with the base model?

Notebookcheck reviews the brand-new Apple MacBook Pro 14 with the M1 Pro CPU, 16 GB RAM, Liquid Retina XDR-Display with 120 Hz and improved speakers.

www.notebookcheck.net

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro in Review - The best Multimedia Laptop for Content Creators?

Notebookcheck reviews the new Apple MacBook Pro 16 with the M1 Pro SoC, Liquid Retina XDR Mini-LED display and 1 TB SSD.

www.notebookcheck.net

 

[Sitti]

Regarding screen response times:
I've recorded (iPhone 12, 60FPS) my simple test on both screens using pre-installed Affinity Designer in store. The comparison is far from perfect (different tempo in both videos), but you can see the 16 longer ghost and smear and kinda choppyness. I must add the difference is more pronounced IRL, but at the same time tend I obsess a little too much with the details. Anyway, the 16" was disappointing for me. 14" striked me as significantly more fluid and responsive. I've changed my order from 16" to 14".

14":

16":

Thanks for making these video. I can see the difference. 14" certainly looks smoother and clearer. 16", not great but not terrible.

I'm starting to have second thought again. If I had to pick just for a display, I would choose ASUS ProArt Studiobook Pro 16 OLED, but speakers on new MBP are absolute best. I don't really care much about Windows vs MacOS. I'd want to try M1 Max, but having Xeon and RTX A5000 wouldn't be bad either. It would also be great for gaming, but I hardly play games on a laptop anyway. The price of both configuration are about the same, around $6000. Difficult choice. And I can't see either one in person. Oh if I get asus, they'll give me a free backpack lol

 

[J.Gallardo]

Thanks for making these video. I can see the difference. 14" certainly looks smoother and clearer. 16", not great but not terrible.

I'm starting to have second thought again. If I had to pick just for a display, I would choose ASUS ProArt Studiobook Pro 16 OLED, but speakers on new MBP are absolute best. I don't really care much about Windows vs MacOS. I'd want to try M1 Max, but having Xeon and RTX A5000 wouldn't be bad either. It would also be great for gaming, but I hardly play games on a laptop anyway. The price of both configuration are about the same, around $6000. Difficult choice. And I can't see either one in person. Oh if I get asus, they'll give me a free backpack lol

…I suppose resolution is not important for you: 1920x1200 in 17” in a quite expensive Asus laptop. I think resolution is always at sight, and makes a big difference for me.
But sure: a 1920x1200 screen should be faster. (And it’s touch sensitive!)

Edit: Oh, the OLED screen in the Asus is better than I’ve written. (Still a worry about oled burning. And I couldn’t find its “pixel response time”)

 

[TheAnvil]

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Note the rainbow effect just above the person's head while scrolling up and down, even if you are doing it slowly.

It bothered me a lot. It still bothers me a little, but for the most part I am over it because at the end of the day these are the best laptops in the market. If I get rid of this and get something with an OLED, I will spend the next few years worrying about burn in. Just accept that ProMotion is nothing but a marketing gimmick in case of the MBP, a minor flaw on an otherwise almost perfect laptop.

 

[playtech1]

The pixel response time is a bit of a shame, but my overall impression of the 16 inch screen has been that overall it's the best laptop screen I have ever owned.

The brightness, colour and contrast are all top-notch (and the physical top notch is easy to ignore too).

The pixel response time isn't great, but the effect in real life is that it makes the 120Hz panel feel more like a 60Hz panel in terms of motion clarity. That's a shame, but it's also a very long way from being a big deal.

 

[Sitti]

In this video, this guy is playing CS:GO on 16" Unless he is an Apple ass-kisser, he seems to be really happy with it. He keeps emphasizing how smooth it is. So maybe it's not such a big deal after all. But I have some doubts with the part he mentioned he couldn't tell the difference between this and 120hz gaming monitor.