Macbook air m4 15 incher, any better then previous iterations

MAS-76

whystrainwhy Same exact. I'm still on a 2015 MBP. Every MBP or Mac Air 2019 forward has caused eye strain.

Clokwork

MAS-76 Every MBP or Mac Air 2019 forward has caused eye strain.

Is that when they switched to their own silicon?

AshX

I went to yet another Best Buy and tested the suggested code in terminal. I will go to the Best Buy with the model I found most comfortable tomorrow to compare, but here are the results.

Sky Blue 13” M4:

"raw-panel-serial-number"
<"FP1HD40066S0000G2A+A+5A2F4Z0172A5CH+PR
OD+Y451545244527+Y12241103Y01941119+449T2437GJ29309A4BG438H0004AJ49W06610J8A5137
981+15024108502430150243M50251150261D50261015026195">

Silver 13” M4:

"raw-panel-serial-number"
<"FP1HD90004G0000G29+A+5A2F4Z0452B1EC+PR
OD+B452750135021+P820R1217Y91941122+449T2437GJ53909A4AH443H0004A340M06610J8A5183
388+C25031224503310950331750323850323U50331085033105">

Once again, the Sky Blue was more comfortable, but less comfortable than the previous unit at the other store. This could be because they had abohr the worst overhead fluorescent/LED lighting I’ve ever seen. I could not even look at the carpet it was so bad.

And I can also tell you all it is not placebo because of my COVID complications my left eye is incredibly sensitive to light and flashing lights of any kind and will protectively shut when exposed. So it’s a sure way for me to tell within 5 seconds whether a screen is uncomfortable.

All this being said, that doesn’t mean I - or any of you - will be able to tolerate this computer over a long period of time. I’ve been going to stores because I need a Mac for work and I’m trying to rule out these computers before I waste my time buying them and returning them. Like I said, I can tell almost immediately whether I can tolerate a screen so I don’t need to take several days to see, unless the computer causes very minimal issues in which case I’ll put it through the paces. But I’ve not been able to find one in 2 years.

MAS-76

AshX FP1HD9000

AshX Interesting that they both had the FP starting characters. And very much looking forward to what you find tomorrow when you go back to the previous Best Buy. Particularly with any 15" or 16" that are comfortable for you.

I hear you that it's not Placebo. I can definitely tell as well within a few secs/mins of using a Mac whether it has bad effects, even in the store. Though as you said, I can't tell necessarily whether I can tolerate the screen long term.

Guess we're all holding out hope that the panel lottery is real and that there are "good" screens out there by a particular manufacturer. Appreciate you going to the stores and posting the results!

NewDwarf

Clokwork BTW, Intel based MBP 16 2019 and MBP 13 2020 already had the screen issues.

Personally, I have been using MBP 15 2019 which is the last usable Apple's laptop for me.

MAS-76

@Clokwork that was for 2019 Intel as well, even before Apple Silicon.

NewDwarf that's interesting. I only ever tried the 16" 2019 MBP and it was horrible on my eyes; I didn't try the 15" 2019 MBP. Not ideal, I'd love 16", and not a tremendous upgrade from my current 2015 15" MBP, but at least that would be a little more power and TB3.

AshX

MAS-76

I believe I was correct. I just went back today. The Sky Blue panels end in G2A and the Silver ones end in G29 in the first string of code.

From the most recent store:

Sky Blue 2:

"raw-panel-serial-number"=

‹"FP1HD20049Y0000G2A+A+5A2F4Z0337A9DF+PR

OD+Y452550115015+PA18R1201Y21941114+44924G509414380004A4906610J8B4BX5

012+B25022208502310250231M50231150232D50232015023295">

demouser@CXCDG3G4FK-MacBook-Air~%

Silver:

"raw-panel-serial-number"

<"FP1HD100BYD0000G29+A+5A2F4Z0247B8GD+PR

OD+B451645245011+PA18R1201Y51141104+446T2432GH54000A4AK433Y0004AJ492065401184BEK

184+25021308502220150222M50222150222D502220150222B5">

demouser@M7F6K203YN-MacBook-Air~%

I could be wrong and this could just be a signifier for each color but I feel like I’m not. When I tell you the difference is night and day, it is. This only applies to the 13” Sky Blue. The 15” Sky Blue is still bad though not as bad as the other 13”s.

I am going to bite the bullet and buy a 13” Sky Blue from Apple. I’m going to get the 16GB/512 GB option because it has more GPU cores in the hope that it will be less prone to dithering. But I am starting to feel like this is a screen manufacturing problem.

I will report back later this week, both once I have the 13” to test in a better lighting environment and also on the upgraded 13” to see if the better GPU helps or hurts things.

I know I’m mostly relying on my intuitive hunch here guys, but I’m desperate because I’m striking out with every other computer and I need something for work. Of course 13” is tiny and finding an external monitor will be a whole other problem, but it would be nice if we could have access to an M4 machine that is tolerable.

Rikl

You can join the BB club for $50/year and get a 60 day return period. Might be worth it for a long term test.

xenu

whystrainwhy

Is there any color profile that actually forces 8-bits per channel color?

I recall I set a profile at the store to something and it prevented me from changing the screen brightness for some reason.

Rikl

Best of luck with this.
Like you, I can't find any new laptop screen that is usable for me for work.
At Best Buy, I found the Apple screens (M3 MBA 13-15) ok only for few minutes.
The Windows laptop screens were immediately unusable for me. The laptop brand didn't matter.
The lighting in BB is terrible.
They did not have the sky blue MBA M4 13.
Fingers crossed.

AshX

Rikl see if you can find a sky blue 13” in person. My situation is identical to yours. It’s really hard for me to even judge because of the horrible flickering LED lighting in Apple and Best Buy, but I think this one might be a possibility.

amusesmile

AshX Ah, yeah the flicker of lights in department stores is getting difficult to deal with as well. I'd be fine with that if it didn't also happen at the public library and the grocer.

AshX

Checked another panel. Same ending suffix G2A. Can confirm despite this there is a difference in quality screen to screen, even on the Sky Blue, though it is better than the other colors. Not sure how to feel about it. Stillcolor also seems to make things worse if you can believe it.

"raw-panel-serial-number"=

<"FP1HD6003X30000G2A+A+5A2F4Z0330B5BA+PR

OD+Y452550125015+Y12541117Y01941119+449T2437GJ29309A4BD438H0004AJ49W06610J8A5146

460+B25025108502710150271K50272150272D50273015027295">

demouser@DM026NYGXQ-MacBook-Air ~ %

parawizard

I bought a MBA 13.6 M4 for my mother and within a few minutes of just helping her setup I felt nauseous and some heavy brain fog. Exactly the same way I feel after looking at a Pixel 6a for a few minutes.

AshX

parawizard

Was it a Sky Blue model? I noticed the other colors had screens that did just that. It almost seemed like they were out of focus. My best guess is dithering or something hardware based.

bpo19

AshX Can you update us when you get your laptop as to whether your theory was correct and if it works for you or not? Thank you!

parawizard

AshX It's Midnight. That thing destroys me very quickly even using it with one eye closed. I just received my Light Phone 3 which uses an LG OLED and I think it's also bugging me but nowhere near as bad as a Pixel 6a or a MBA M4.

Alikhan

I used a MacBook Pro with an Intel processor (don’t remember the exact model, but it was before M1), 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, and a 13-inch display for 1.5 years—no issues at all.

Then, I used a MacBook Pro M2 Pro with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, and a 14-inch display for another 1.5 years. I could work endlessly without any complaints.

A few days ago, I bought a Sky Blue MacBook Air M4 with 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and a 13-inch display. Within an hour, my eyes felt blurry, and I had a slight headache. I started searching online for answers and found this forum. Just a few days ago, I couldn’t have imagined that MacBooks could have this kind of issue—or that a whole community exists around it. Thank you guys for this forum!

So, "Stillcolor" helped. It provided immediate relief. But!

While before I’d start feeling unwell within 5 minutes, now it took about 40 minutes. I tried different settings, but honestly, it’s frustrating that I even have to go through all this just to use my laptop comfortably. Unfortunately, there’s no official Apple Store in my country—otherwise, I would’ve returned it already (still within the 14-day return window).

Right now, I’ve turned off True Tone and Night Shift (it seems like the screen’s yellowish tone was actually making things even worse, putting strain on my eyes.). Today I found that In the Display settings, there’s an option to create a custom mode. I went there and adjusted the "White Point" in calibration to the maximum (9500), even though D50 or D65 is recommended. The screen now has a bluish tint, but my eyes feel much more comfortable. It seems like the screen’s yellowish tone was straining my eyes too much before, and now it feels better. Before that, the white color felt almost too intense, like it was "burning" my eyes.

At this point, I can feel that my eyes still get a bit more tired than before, but the most important thing is that I no longer have headaches or blurry vision.

Sharing this here in case it helps someone else! And I’ll definitely check back later to share how effective this method is in the long run.

Visitor2318

Alikhan
I am sad to head that even the Sky blu M4 macbook air is causing eyestrain for you.

Try to go into accessibility settings, then colour filters and put a ''personalised'' blue colour filter. I usually put it a 2 notches and it helps, but doesn't solve the problem. Maybe it can help alleviate a bit more for you also. Also, the STMP RP 431-2-2007 DCI (P3) colour profile (in display settings) usually is easier on my eyes also

bpo19

Alikhan Can you share how you got to the custom mode in the Display settings? I can't find that or anything related to white point. Thank you!

Visitor2318

I have read on another forum that some people had luck with the new Nano-textured M4 Pro display. I think I will try it in the coming months if more people come back with the same experience. If anybody here tried it in store or has bought it and tried it I would like to know your experience.

Here is the link to one forum : https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/any-headaches-pwm-problems-on-new-macbook-m4-pro-14inch.2444534/

Donux

Visitor2318 I went through these some time ago. There is no sound conclusion of m4 being better. Those who claim it is, likely did not have eye strain problem at all and simply just participating. Besides, there are lots of claims of M4 being PWM free. It is not true, it is not pwm free, as tested in rtings. However, usually Pro models are better, especially for users who understand that they can do tweaks, like chaning color profile or installing betterDisplay. But there are exceptions of people who come back to Air models for better eye comfort. All in all, there is no indication of improvement that woud signal - this is a sure thing buy. So assuming the risk, M1 Pro 14/16, or M2 pro 13 might be better choices for second hand purchases. Plus there is no real innocation in M4, just incremental improvement, that 98 percent of people do not really need. Not to mention you are paying for wide gamut screen and then switching off dithering, as well as color profile to some prehistoric quality. This is just wrong and would sound more like irrational brand product addiction. So Airs might be a hope, because its on the cheap side at least with those tweaks. But there are no clear indications that Airs getting better either.

AshX

Donux

I also noticed this discrepancy in store. Interestingly I found the more washed out screen to be more comfortable. The brighter screens clearly had a calibration problem, too.

If you look at various topics on MacRumors or even Reddit, there are complaints going back to M1/M2 about screen quality. The custom builds particularly had a backlight problem where the piece holding the screen in place created an indentation on the screen.

Clearly you’re going to deal with the screen lottery. As to PWM no one is able to confirm or deny it.

I haven’t had a chance to pick one up myself yet, but I think it’s going to be difficult to hone in on what - if any - of the MBA models are worth it.

I think we are also discounting the role MacOS versions play. Each generation is limited to the OS that it ships with. In other words, you can’t run Monterey on an M4. And it seems like the trend is that each subsequent interation introduces more visual problems in an attempt to make the screens appear more competitive.

It’s very easy to feel like we are chasing windmills because other than the guy who made Stillcolor, everyone is just guessing. I still have yet to see enough evidence that Stillcolor is as effective on the M4 chips as it was on the M1-M3 generations.

Unfortunately I’m not a programmer, otherwise I’d be diving into what could be causing all this. So we are relying on the benevolence of those with that skill set devoting hours to dissecting the inner workings of MacOS.

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