Level 1

18 points

MacBook Pro Liquid Retina XDR display hurts my eyes

I just got a 2023 Mac Book pro 14 as a gift for my birthday and having real issues with eye problems. I wear proper glasses and just had my eye exam so I know thats not it. My 3 other apple products Intel with retina screens (prior to XDR ). Gave me really huge eye problems. Had to stop using screens for a few days. This is a huge issue. Many others have also experienced. What do I do with a very expensive laptop I cant use. Plugging in external monitor yes. But this is a "Laptop" / "Notebook" what is the point. I believe apple needs to rewrite their drivers for the screen or / and these screens are not good enough and there is a major issue with refresh rate or dithering.

What would you suggest apple folks?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Posted on May 30, 2023 1:32 PM

Top-ranking reply

sallid

Level 1

5 points

Posted on Jun 4, 2024 5:38 PM

yegor78, Google "Stillcolor for macOS."

Stillcolor is uploaded to Github and licensed to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It is free.

Stillcolor disables temporal dithering. Temporal dithering might be triggering issues for you and others currently using Apple's XDR display.

I have not found a solution for newer iPhone models with XDR (iPhone X and higher).

On Stillcolor's Github page, there is a link to a YouTube video to test sensitivity to temporal dithering. WARNING to anyone with light sensitive migraines or a light sensitive seizure disorder. The YouTube video may trigger your disorder.

yegor78, you are definitely not the only person experiencing some type of issue with XDR. XDR is OLED (narrow band LED). I hope Stillcolor is a solution for you.

View in context

Similar questions

55 replies

tbirdvet

Level 6

17,783 points

Jul 16, 2023 7:35 AM in response to yegor78

Have you tried any of the settings in the accessibility pane?

Jul 19, 2023 3:10 PM in response to Servant of Cats

Here's an article with more background on Pulse Width Modulation (PWM):

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Why-Pulse-Width-Modulation-PWM-is-such-a-headache.270240.0.html

yegor78 Author

Level 1

18 points

May 30, 2023 2:24 PM in response to dialabrain

Listen guys before you attack someone trying to get help. You should be a little more constructive. Read the actual posts. Understand this is coming from folks who spend money with apple brand.

AlsoI captured all these screens just in case it is deleted. But there is an issue going on with the screens. It affects many people. Including my coworkers after we got a bunch of these products. If you suggest that we move to another brand per posts above, well thats just disappointing.

yegor78 Author

Level 1

18 points

May 30, 2023 3:13 PM in response to ku4hx

I have a personal MacBook pro 14 and a Work MacBook Pro 16 Both have same issue.

My I7 Mac Book pro with retina screen and previous OS no issue at all.

Also I own another MacBook pro i5 and no issues at all.

Not asking apple users to do anything for except advice if anyone else came to a solution.

That is understood and seems to be very obvious.

May 30, 2023 9:12 PM in response to yegor78

I can't find any information on whether the 2014 MacBook Pros used PWM. The notebookcheck.net site is often a good source for PWM information, but it looks like they may not have been measuring it back then.

I did come across this table, which you might want to bookmark for future reference:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/PWM-Ranking-Notebooks-Smartphones-and-Tablets-with-PWM.163979.0.html

zoosh2

Level 1

12 points

Jul 28, 2023 9:02 AM in response to Servant of Cats

Servant of Cats,

Thanks for your thorough answer. I’ve read a lot about PWM now, and it certainly could be a cause. What puzzles me is that the MacBook uses the same type of display as my iPad Pro, which usa a mini-LED screen also (I believe the iPad is from 2021, as is the MacBook).

My headaches/eye strain seemed to be getting better with the MacBook, but they are worse again. I will call Apple Support and also talk with my ophthalmologist next week about it.

MAXp0wr

Level 1

10 points

Sep 11, 2023 1:49 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I don’t see the harm in checking what other people’s experiences are like. Some people aren’t affected by this and some definitely are.

Apple are going to say there’s no issue and run me through a bunch of useless tech support stuff like adjusting the brightness etc.

yegor78 Author

Level 1

18 points

Sep 11, 2023 1:59 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I used what I found in google search and it helped alot. Screen does not hurt my eyes as much using a proper settings and a 3rd party software to change colors. Disabled lots of features. Overall it worked out no longer an issue. I still cant use the computer too long for work. So I plug it into my DELL edgeless HDR monitors.

yegor78 Author

Level 1

18 points

Jan 3, 2024 9:56 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I dont recall exactly what I did but I searched on google and found many things I tried. Like using commands in the terminal to disable XDR and make settings to color.

Here is an interesting little discovery I made. I purchased another MacBook Pro as a gift for my girl. Expecting it to have same issue I was prepared to search the web again and make updates. When we booted up I had no issue looking at her new mac screen. So I gone ahead and reset all my settings to default factory but had an issue looking at my screen again. Very odd.

barbYMe

Level 1

8 points

Feb 4, 2024 5:31 PM in response to nexusnode

I've tried every adjustment and combinations of adjustments, and I am about to throw my two MacBook pro's in the garbage and never buy another Apple product ever again. It has to be Sonoma operating system that is causing the problem.

Feb 4, 2024 5:43 PM in response to barbYMe

barbYMe wrote:

I've tried every adjustment and combinations of adjustments, and I am about to throw my two MacBook pro's in the garbage and never buy another Apple product ever again. It has to be Sonoma operating system that is causing the problem.

Or maybe your have an eye problem. Consult an eye specialist.

djrtez

Level 1

25 points

Feb 23, 2024 1:12 PM in response to yegor78

These new MacBook Pros Liquid XDR Displays are trash. Would it kill Apple to make an option to lower the color bit depth or to turn off dithering? Or whatever the issue may be, but all the new Apple silicon machines are a nightmare to look at for people with optical/ neurological sensitivities.

Not all Apple customers are looking for a beautiful fancy display, some of us just wanna get our work done without experiencing pain. Wish Apple was more considerate to their loyal customers that have always supported their company.

Jun 4, 2024 5:03 PM in response to soundsystem00

There are many different suggestions already posted on this thread. Be sure to read all the way through for more things to try.

The anti-glare film is NOT the issue here. Anti-Glare film appears on many different devices and different kinds of devices, and has never been mentioned here as any sort of problem.

sallid

Level 1

5 points

Jun 4, 2024 6:09 PM in response to CMac33

I did call Apple Support. The rep made suggestions such as changing the color profile. The suggestions did not disable the source causing my problem.

I was polite when I told Apple's support rep their recommended solutions did not solve my issue. I was hung up on.

I've been a devoted Mac user for 35 years, a front-end web developer and programmer for 20+ years.

If something simple such as color profile was my solution, I would have found the solution without calling Apple Support.

sallid

Level 1

5 points

Jun 4, 2024 6:35 PM in response to yegor78

The devices that do not cause eye pain for you have Retina displays.

The Wikipedia page list all Apple models and their display's technology.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retina_display

I have no problem with Retina displays either. I still have my 2011 iMac for comparison.

Liquid Retina does cause some eye strain. My issue with XDR is much worse than I experienced with Liquid Retina.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

MacBook Pro Liquid Retina XDR display hurts my eyes