Try to detect wich panels do you have in both Macs with the following command:

ioreg -lw0 | grep IODisplayEDID | sed “/[^<]*</s///” | xxd -p -r | strings -6

You could also make a comparison of both displays by using an app to measure flicker or with a spectrum meter device using a totally white picture as background.

    wlmsn Not sure, but I suspect that there's probably a higher chance that the 16" models have better quality control and are more often shipped with the "good" panel.

    I remember seeing two 14" MacBook Pros next to each other a few months ago where one looked bad like mine does, and one looked way better, so I think it's definitely possible that there are some of the smaller 14" models that actually have good screens — but it may be more rare.

    Someone on MacRumors also said that they had a bad experience with hazy feeling text on their 14", had to exchange it five times(!), and then finally got one where they immediately noticed that the colors felt uniform and text was way easier to read. (I can find that forum post if you want to see it…)

    I've also seen some people here say that they had a really bad experience with the 16", so likewise it's definitely possible for the 16" to have a bad panel too. (I'm actually surprised with your comment about the 15" Air, since a lot of people on this forum say that they're actually having worse experiences with the 15" M2 Air compared to the 13" M2 Air if I remember correctly.)

    I'm generally confident that this is primarily related to a "panel lottery", due to the fact that Apple has at least two mini-LED suppliers:

    • Taiwan-based Epistar
    • Germany-based Ams Osram

        DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs Yea I think the 15" thing is from the PWM Sensitive Reddit, a lot of people seem to have good luck with that (but not everyone of course). I haven't tried it yet myself though

          DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs Thank you so much for this response! I felt like I was losing my mind, truly. This is really helpful and such a relief to know that it's not just me. The background makes sense, and you're right - I should have included a photo from a phone! I can rule out the Sonoma factor which is also good to know. I'll do that and upload! Thank you again!

            GZunit I actually haven't used an external monitor in a long time. Eek! I am interested in buying or trying out whatever is needed to help solve this though! Is there one that you recommend or like to use?

              async Ahh! That is good to know! Thank you so much for the tips!! I will do that right now! I am not sure about the one issued by IT, but my personal computer hasn't been in a very long time and it looks terrible. Haha! I have makeup everywhere. That's a good call out, and something I will also look into though!!

                Sentiny Ohhh! Really? That's a good call out! I will look into that! Thank you so much!

                  I have a very similar problem. I have a PC with a monitor which I can use all day without issues. One day, I lend the monitor to a coworker. I told him he could keep it, and I bought a new one (of the same model). When it arrived I instantly felt dizzy by watching at the screen, as if I couldn't focus while I read. I switched monitor with my coworker and voila! I could watch it again all day without symptoms.

                  Is worth noting that even they were the same model, the first monitor was bought in 2022 and the second one in 2024. So maybe something changed in the panel. But this a prove that it's not only a software problem, it's also a hardware problem.

                    RobC on Macbook air m2 Sonoma 13 this command did not return anything.

                    • RobC replied to this.

                        Donux Try again with the right quotation marks. They were modified when I pasted the command:

                        ioreg -lw0 | grep IODisplayEDID | sed "/[^<]*</s///" | xxd -p -r | strings -6

                          Donux

                          A better option:

                          ioreg -lw0 | grep IODisplayEDID | sed "/[^<]*</s///"

                          If you put every answer with the "00ff…>" format into an edid-decoder like this one:

                          https://hverkuil.home.xs4all.nl/edid-decode/edid-decode.html

                          you could get much more details of your panels, like the vendor and date in which they were manufactured among others.

                            dev