and the LED screens on the MBP actually turn off the pixels or backlights when displaying black color giving completely black colors because the screen is actually off wherever it should be black.
True but I would like to add some precision here—MacBook Pro
cannot display
true black pixels in the same dimming zone where there is any image, hence there is bright blooming around lit objects. This is important to consider, especially if doing critical work (like video editing, color grading, graphic design). It cannot give "completely black colors" if there is a single lit pixel in the same zone.
@dizmonk Here is an image that displays blooming on the various Apple devices. Chances are you will not find your MacBook Pro's blooming as pronounced as this image, because your eyes adjust differently than a digital camera would, and/or you will not be bothered by it, and/or your use case with a laptop may not involve macOS' dark mode settings or watching dark media.
Don't let me dissuade you from buying it, most people don't seem to care. But it's good to know before buying what the imperfections are and why.
almost everyone values with a higher refresh rate
Some more precision—the 2023's MacBook Pro's pixel response is 38 milliseconds—which is 4x too slow to properly show you an image at 120 frames per second.
To explain: This is the equivalent of me taking text, blurring it in photoshop 4x, printing it, then moving it across your face at 120 frames per second. Yes, I moved the image at 120 frames per second, which is smoother a movement than moving it across your face at 60 frames per second, but you could not read the text clearly because I blurred it beforehand.
Apple is selling MacBook Pro users a flawed display in terms of the 120Hz ProMotion feature. Imagery is being blurred which is the opposite intended effect Apple is selling, which is
clarity in motion.
I believe Apple is not at fault because they have to prioritize the color accuracy on the MacBook Pro, and I believe pixel response has something to do with that (avoiding overshoot). I agree with Apple's prioritization because color is critical to professionals. I just can't help, when people try and sell the refresh rate on the MacBook Pro, to rebut that Apple is lying to us on that feature—but due to technicalities, they get away with it. Well isn't this what tech forums are for? To get into the details and clear things up?
We won't see true 120Hz refresh rate benefits (eg. clear text during motion) on a MacBook Pro until Apple get the pixel response at or below 8.3 milliseconds. When that happens, text and imagery will be super clear at 120Hz, making it easier to scan text during scrolling (important for knowledge workers and students) or play games with precision and fluidity, for example.
Where you
can find
true "ProMotion" is with iPhone models that have an OLED display because the response time is nearly instant, well below 8.3 milliseconds.
You know what MacBook Pro display feature betters it over the MacBook Air? The MacBook Pro
will adjust to 48Hz during movies and TV shows that were shot at 24fps, which means a smooth and even 1:1 pulldown. Where as the MacBook Air has 3:2 pull down, a form of jitter (like a micro-stutter). The MacBook Pro displays movies in the frame rate the filmmakers intended. Tom Cruise running to the bomb will be viewed in cinematic motion, so I bet he would approve of the MacBook Pro display for watching the Mission Impossible series.
Every display and model in Apple's lineup has Pros and Cons. How much those Pros or Cons matter depends on your use case. I am not here to claim one is better than the other, so much as to help people understand what they are buying and if it matters to them personally. There are no absolutes here. Maybe when Apple introduces OLED to MacBook Pro, we can laugh at the MacBook Air, but until then, these displays are still very close for a majority of computing application.
