Mac mini M4 washed colors/contrast on Samsung G81SF monitor

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Duncan1977 Author

Level 1

20 points

Mac mini M4 washed colors/contrast on Samsung G81SF monitor

I have a Mac Mini M4 and a MBP M5 Pro alongside a Samsung G81SF monitor - using TB to DP cable in both instances…

The Mac Mini, as I’ve seen others say only displays washed out colours unless set to HDR mode, and the contrast seems odd - if there are bright flashes on screen the texts fades in and out alongside (which shouldn’t happen on an OLED).

Plugging in my new MBP to the monitor (set up with migration assistant) and it is absolutely fine, all SDR profiles work as expected, no issues with contrast or otherwise.

Is there a problem with the Mac Mini (M4) generally (knowing and noting that others have commented the same as myself) - or, can someone possibly advise a fix?

i was hoping to have the MM4 as a static unit, and the MBP for out and about - but needing the home display to be as accurate as possible, I might have to use the MBP for everything…

thanks for any thoughts, happy to provide any diagnostics as applicable.

Posted on May 17, 2026 4:15 AM

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Answer 1

den.thed

Level 10

97,106 points

May 17, 2026 10:08 AM in response to Duncan1977

On the Mac mini, go to Apple > System Settings > Accessibility > Display and try the following settings.

The main 3 here that will cause a washed out display are:

Increase contrast > Off

Reduce transparency > On

Display contrast slider to > Normal

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Answer 2

den.thed

Level 10

97,106 points

May 17, 2026 7:23 AM in response to Duncan1977

Test a short 1m/3.3' 8K high speed 48Gbps 2.2 HDMI cable between the M4 Mac mini and Samsung display.

for example: https://www.amazon.com/8K-HDMI-Cable-Highwings-Braided/dp/B08NX5CZTF/ref=sr_1_4?

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Answer 3

Duncan1977 Author

Level 1

20 points

May 17, 2026 9:17 AM in response to den.thed

Sadly not, that was what drove me to get a TB to DP cable in the first place, thinking it was an HDMi issue (I did just retry in case of macOS update having fixed something).

i guess no real issue having the MBP now, but I’m starting to question if I wanted to sell the Mac Mini on, if it’s faulty - but a fault that others have reported.

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