2020 Macbook Pro 13" display looks washed out and dim by comparison to older MacBook Pro

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16 points

2020 Macbook Pro 13" display looks washed out and dim by comparison to older MacBook Pro

I just bought the 2020 MacBook Pro. It's upgraded to Catalina 10.15.6. The screen looks like it's always on Night Shift, even though Night Shift is not turned on at all. It's too warm, too dim and too washed out. The brightness is up to maximum. I've turned off Auto Brightness. The color profile is the native Color LCD, calibrated. I've clicked all the other profiles as well, and they all look just as subpar. Checking and unchecking "True Tone" does nothing to dispel the yellowish cast. To explain, my older MacBook Pro 13" 2016, running the same OS version, with identical settings, displays beautiful, vivid colors. I even chose the same background photo for both machines, and the difference is shocking.

I chose the Mojave background for this demo because it shows the difference best. I took screenshots of each, and when compared side by side in the *same* display, they look identical, so I know it's the two displays that are different. I then took a photo of the two MacBooks side by side, with my iPhone, and you can see the difference - the new 2020 display is on the right. Believe it or not, this photo is not even accurate - in life, the difference is far more pronounced. To the naked eye, the display on the left looks true to life. The newer display on the right has a perpetual yellowish cast. There is less contrast in both light and color, and a distinct lack of brilliance.

Can anyone help? I'm quite unhappy to have spent over $2000 on a subpar display. Thanks in advance.

MacBook Pro 13″, OS X 10.11

Posted on Aug 16, 2020 4:57 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 17, 2020 1:27 PM in response to cat-girl

Hi cat-girl,

Congratulations on your new MacBook Pro! It appears you are experiencing an issue with the display as compared to your previous device. We want you to have the vibrant and clear colors on your Mac you expect. One thing we need to take into consideration is the hardware for your display itself, a retina display versus a non-retina. Are they both equipped with a retina display?

Let's check out this resource to reset the NVRAM that will assist with the display resolution:

Reset NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac

We hope this helps with the clarity of your display! Have a great day.

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Answer 2

MoonJ.

Community Specialist

Aug 18, 2020 6:05 AM in response to cat-girl

Cat-girl,

That's great information you shared and we appreciate you providing those details and trying the reset. We can see where the confusion regarding the Retina display can come in when you don't see it listed in the About This Mac screen but shows in your hardware.

Check out this resource for information about Retina displays:

Using a Retina display

Regarding the color, let's take a closer look at one more setting. Let's go to System Preferences > Accessibility > Display, make sure that the Display contrast slider is set to Normal.

Have a great day!

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Answer 3

cat-girl Author

Level 1

16 points

Aug 18, 2020 9:19 PM in response to MoonJ.

Sigh. Well, I thought I'd done fairly thorough research, but I've suddenly found a plethora of pages showing that many, many, many MacBook Pro users have had this exact problem for at least the last 7 years:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macbook-pro-retina-15-2013-yellow-screen-and-horrible-customer-service.1561150/

https://forums.imore.com/macbook/327556-whites-my-new-macbooks-display-yellow-ish-normal.html

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5188363

I'm feeling quite defeated. In this pandemic time, I'm doing my best to limit my sojourns out of the house, and have no wish to make multiple fruitless visits to the local CityMac (my only local brick and mortar option). I will call Apple, but frankly, I don't have much hope of a resolution. I'm feeling a bit stupid, guessing I should have learned my lesson by now - it's the 4th problematic MacBook Pro in a row that I have spent a 4-digit figure to purchase. I've only had it a few days.

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Answer 4

cat-girl Author

Level 1

16 points

Aug 18, 2020 7:51 PM in response to MoonJ.

Thank you, MoonJ.

The Display contrast slider was already set to Normal. I'm attaching another photo with the two devices side by side. The new 2020 display is again on the right. This image makes even clearer the hazy greenish-yellow cast that appears to overlay the screen. Both the image colors and the window colors are affected.

I will also look at your Retina display information link. Please let me know if you have further suggestions. Again, thanks.

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Answer 5

cat-girl Author

Level 1

16 points

Aug 17, 2020 9:28 PM in response to sarahjm2978

I was absolutely sure I had bought a Retina. I spent over $2K for the thing. But my About This Mac window says otherwise. However, apparently neither is my older Mac, and yet their displays contrast so severely.. I'm attaching screenshots of both.

I'll check your link, Sarah. Thanks for it.

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Answer 6

cat-girl Author

Level 1

16 points

Aug 18, 2020 12:36 AM in response to sarahjm2978

Sigh. You're going to think I'm insane with all of these posts. If only I could get consistent information from every area of the device. Elsewhere, specifically in the Display tab, the words "Built in Retina Display" appear for both devices. Also, I did the reset you suggested, Sarah, and it did not make a difference. I'm very unhappy with the greenish/yellowish overlay of the display. Do you have any other suggestions?

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Answer 7

cat-girl Author

Level 1

16 points

Aug 18, 2020 12:04 AM in response to cat-girl

Oops. The screenshots:

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2020 Macbook Pro 13" display looks washed out and dim by comparison to older MacBook Pro

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