tl;dr retuned it because of the display flicker.
Two reasons I returned the machine were:
1. (the main reason) the 15 kHz backlight flicker from the PWM dimming. Yes, I tried all of the suggestions, and no, they did not fix the issue. Suggestions included turning off ProMotion, turning off HDR, making the screen dimmer via changing the display to Apple Display (P3 600-nits), or turning up the brightness (which lessens dimming, but burns the eyes in another way).
2. (the secondary minor reason) the speakers are too bass-heavy for the content I typically consume on my laptop. Yes, there are some third party add-on options, but I didn't like the idea of needing to install an app on my brand new computer to "fix" it.
Well made machine, but at least a couple of things need to be addressed such as macOS needs a good built-in audio equalizer like all TVs have so users can tweak bass response and spoken content output to their liking, and for the 5-10% of people who are sensitive to PWM Apple needs a substantial solution beyond, for example, turning on Night Shift all day everyday.
I will consider my options in the future such as a newer MBA. For now myself and my eyes are happy back on my 11-yo MBA. Another thing I noticed about the MBP, because the display can get so bright each step in brightness is more of a jump than on older machines, which makes setting the brightness just right trickier. I'm sure there's a keyboard combo to move those brightness steps in smaller increments, but it's something I noticed. Oh, and the heavier weight coming from a MBA bothered my a bit more than I thought it would. Also, it's a shame newer MBA models no longer feature an SD Card like this older one.
Bottom like: if I was happy with the audio and display out of the box I would have kept the machine.
Two reasons I returned the machine were:
1. (the main reason) the 15 kHz backlight flicker from the PWM dimming. Yes, I tried all of the suggestions, and no, they did not fix the issue. Suggestions included turning off ProMotion, turning off HDR, making the screen dimmer via changing the display to Apple Display (P3 600-nits), or turning up the brightness (which lessens dimming, but burns the eyes in another way).
2. (the secondary minor reason) the speakers are too bass-heavy for the content I typically consume on my laptop. Yes, there are some third party add-on options, but I didn't like the idea of needing to install an app on my brand new computer to "fix" it.
Well made machine, but at least a couple of things need to be addressed such as macOS needs a good built-in audio equalizer like all TVs have so users can tweak bass response and spoken content output to their liking, and for the 5-10% of people who are sensitive to PWM Apple needs a substantial solution beyond, for example, turning on Night Shift all day everyday.
I will consider my options in the future such as a newer MBA. For now myself and my eyes are happy back on my 11-yo MBA. Another thing I noticed about the MBP, because the display can get so bright each step in brightness is more of a jump than on older machines, which makes setting the brightness just right trickier. I'm sure there's a keyboard combo to move those brightness steps in smaller increments, but it's something I noticed. Oh, and the heavier weight coming from a MBA bothered my a bit more than I thought it would. Also, it's a shame newer MBA models no longer feature an SD Card like this older one.
Bottom like: if I was happy with the audio and display out of the box I would have kept the machine.
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