Fredneko I read on this forum that some people have had this since Covid…maybe that's my case since I have long Covid. Knowing the cause won't really change anything in terms of finding a solution since the manufacturers don't seem very interested. I've had this MacBook Air for three months now, and I'm starting to think it might be the cause of my recurring headaches and my increased fatigue.
You’re not alone. I had zero issues with screens before I got COVID and long COVID. A lot of us - the developer of Stillcolor, Nick Sutrich of Android Central, and others - noticed new or worsening issues with screens after a COVID infection. It’s not the only cause, of course, but this was one of the key points I made in my proposal to Apple for accessibility toggles on the basis of a disability, which they have taken into consideration.
Fredneko You recommend trying out the MacBook Neo in a store, but I don't understand why it would be better if it has dithering and PWM (English isn't my first language, so it's probably a translation issue). Does it mean anything if it suits me better or worse?
The M4 And M5 MacBook Airs are immediately unusable to me. The Neo I can at least look at and focus my eyes on the screen, but the dithering continues to cause neurological symptoms.
The Airs use a KSF phosphor backlight for the P3 wide color space. The Neo uses a YAG phosphor backlight because it is using the smaller sRGB color space. KSF has a specific spectral peak that differs from YAG. Your iPhone 13, for example, has no backlight. I’m not sure what specific iPad panel you’re using.
The Neo also seems to be using a different antiglare polarizing layer than the Air. These are two distinct differences I’ve noticed. Something about the Neo for me makes it so I can at least focus my eyes on the display compared to the other MacBooks.
Fredneko I find it difficult to try out devices in stores. I did it just to see which size I preferred for the MacBook Air, but I didn't notice anything special, just that the screens were beautiful. Since I'd never had this kind of problem before, I didn't pay any attention to it. Perhaps I had a headache and it made me tired, but I would never have blamed that on the MacBooks in the store; I'd attribute it to the noise or a tough day at work. It was only at home that I realized the screen was harsh and that I felt unwell every time I worked on it. I'll pay attention to that during my in-store tests. Should I be able to tell right away if there's a problem in the store?
Stores are awful testing environments. I’ve bought Macs I thought might work for me in store and they didn’t work at home. For me, my left eye will physically close with really bad screens. So I can pretty quickly tell in store. But it’s hard to know whether a screen will 100% work in-store.
If you’ve been using your MBA for 3 months and it isn’t working for you, it’s unlikely to work. I’ve tried two different Macs for that same period of time and ended up selling them. Unless a health component can be modified then it’s unlikely you’ll acclimate with more time.
That being said, I know of people with long COVID who couldn’t use laptops and now can. But it took a very long time. If you need a laptop now, well, you’ll have to keep troubleshooting like me. You can go down the external monitor route, too.