macsforme
but needs to be filled out with more specifics
Here we come up against the fact that macOS is a closed operating system, and we don't know many things about how it is structured internally.
there was mention of the macOS graphics pipeline internally using high-color-depth (12 IIRC, or even higher) buffers
This isn't something specific to macOS. In general, when it comes to signal processing, it's often more effective to work with higher-dimensional data and then reduce it to lower dimensions at the end of the process. This approach helps minimize rounding errors during calculations. Since most operating systems perform a lot of image processing, and GPUs handle much of this work, it makes sense for GPUs to process higher-dimensional data as well. The conversion to lower dimensions typically happens in the final stages of the GPU's pipeline, and the algorithms used for this process are more dependent on the GPU hardware than the operating system itself (on the driver's side, it is possible to select these algorithms from the list available in the hardware, but in any case, the processing itself will be performed on the hardware side).
I want to point out that the presence of such the conversion in certain hardware does not necessarily have a negative impact on the eyes. The impact on the eyes depends on the types of algorithms used in the process. Unfortunately, we lack are specific knowledge about these algorithms to fully understand the whole picture.
There were also discussions regarding font rendering, smoothing/bluriness, antialiasing (especially subpixel antialiasing, or lack thereof),
Apple disabled subpixel font smoothing (also known as subpixel anti-aliasing) starting with macOS Mojave, which was released in 2018. The company shifted to grayscale font smoothing instead. This change was made in part because subpixel rendering is less effective on modern high-resolution Retina displays, which have a much higher pixel density compared to older screens.
When choosing a HiDPI monitor, this problem is resolved. I’m currently away from home. I’m using an iPad Pro (iPadOS 14) 2017 as a monitor (Sidecar) for my MacBook. On the Retina display, the font looks perfect. But on my low-DPI display, there’s a slight blur. But subjectively, it has no effect on my eyes.
I have a hypothesis that this might be a plus for 6-bit+FRC monitors. Because this might slightly reduce the activity of the display's FRC module, as complex smoothing algorithms can increase the load on pixel brightness management. At least in Linux, using Grayscale font smoothing (or completely disabling it) strains the eyes less when reading text on such monitors.
I can’t quite recall any other major issues I’ve had with macOS on my M1, aside from the display challenges - which, for those with sensitive eyes, can be pretty frustrating in most cases. That said, I might be forgetting something important.