Eye strain from 15" MacBook Pro 2018

Question

Level 1

20 points

Eye strain from 15" MacBook Pro 2018

MacBook Pro 15" 2018 is causing me eye strain both on its native retina screen and on all the external monitors I could test it with (that are fine to look at for me with ThinkPad T440s and an older Dell Inspiron)

Symptoms: hard to focus, pain at the back of the eyes, head strain - (I also feel it in my hands - it's weird I know)

Computer usage patterns: normal 10-6 usage, ergonomically lit room, no windows behind monitors or reflections on screen. Working environment that has caused me no eye strain for years now.
Also got my eyes tested in the spring due to doctors wanting a baseline for my brother who has vision problems and my eyes are in good shape.

Monitors I tested my new MacBook 2018 with:

Older monitors:

Fujitsu Siemens - Scaleoview L22W

Samsung Syncmaster 205BW

Newer monitors:

Dell U2518D

BenQ BL 3200 - my main daily monitor

LG 27UK850-W (4K monitor)

All of the above monitors caused eye-discomfort and strain with my MacBook Pro 2018.

All of the above monitors did not cause me eye discomfort when using them with:

ThinkPad T440s - my main daily machine

Dell Inspiron 15r

Self built PC with display driven with NVidia 1050Ti

I also have 13” MacBook Pro 2011 - and that does not cause me any eye strain (both good with native screen and with external screens)

My Macbook Pro display driver chips:

Intel UHD Graphics 630

Radeon Pro 555X

What could be the cause here, I'm really at my wit's end here.
In the past I've had bad experiences with low quality LED pwm monitors. Right now my daily monitors are all LED backlight flicker free so it can't be that.
I've been googling around and some say it's the dithering from Intel chips - could it be it?

Thanks,

Janno

MacBook Pro with Retina display, macOS High Sierra (10.13.6)

Posted on Sep 6, 2018 11:56 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

JannoKJ Author

Level 1

20 points

Sep 9, 2018 7:58 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

I have now learned from my local Apple premium shop that if a persons eyes are sensitive to low frequency LED backlight PWM flickering, then there is a high chance that your eyes will be affected by the dithering on the new 2018 MacBook Pro. So far I have not found a way to disable the dithering on OSX.
So I'll be returning my new machine and trying out the 2015 model as people have found it does not cause eye strain.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to answer!

Have a wonderful autumn everyone!

Cheers!

Reply

Answer 2

JannoKJ Author

Level 1

20 points

Sep 11, 2018 7:30 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

Found a method for checking which MacBooks I can use:

Connect the various Macs with one and the same external monitor (mine was BenQ bl3200 2560x1440) and compare one and the same BLURRED picture on it. I used the default high sierra background on the lock screen.

1. This is the shot from my new 2018 MacBook (Radeon Pro 555X) - On the external monitor it shows fever color banding = more aggressive dithering = eyestrain within minutes. link

2. This is a shot from late 2013 MacBook (Intel iris pro) - as you can see the color banding more (esp in the upper blue-ish regions) - and this machine is fine. Colleague lent it to me and I have been using this for a day now and this does not feel any different than my main daily windows machine - so no eyestrain and all good. link

Also side note: Difference was more visible irl + when taking pics of the screen with the phone - use a camera app with a manual focus ability - that way you can avoid contaminating the picture with moire noise from pixel array.

Cheers!

Reply

Answer 3

etresoft

Level 9

51,568 points

Sep 6, 2018 1:52 PM in response to JannoKJ

JannoKJ wrote:

(I also feel it in my hands - it's weird I know)

That sounds like an ergonomics problem. I suggest you get checked for a problem disk in your cervical vertebrae.

Unfortunately, this is a problem that has built up over time. You can't fix it now. You can fix your ergonomics to keep it from getting any worse. Get a standing desk and/or make that your monitors are all at the proper height for your head, whether that might be. You don't want to be looking down or looking up.

Reply

Answer 4

JannoKJ Author

Level 1

20 points

Sep 7, 2018 12:25 AM in response to etresoft

Hi, thanks for the reply

standing desks, proper height monitors - all check!
The feeling in my hands is something that comes the minute I start viewing my macbook - and goes away the second I switch back to my ThinkPad.
Some years ago I had bad experience with low frequency LED backlight Dell laptop - and the feeling I get with this new macbook pro is the same. Although tests have shown that the new macbook does not have backlight LED PWM.

So I don't know what could it be.

Reply

Answer 5

JannoKJ Author

Level 1

20 points

Sep 7, 2018 12:30 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

Hi,

Yes, Eye specialist has been visited and my eyes are a-ok
Some people in these threads say that the problem is with the 15" and the 13" is much better.
Also about installing linux and then turning off dithering helps.
But I cant be using linux, all my creative cloud apps dont work there.

Cheers!

Reply

Answer 6

JannoKJ Author

Level 1

20 points

Sep 7, 2018 4:57 AM in response to etresoft

so the nerve somehow knows when i'm using macbook pro on my external monitor or when I'm using ThinkPad and only causes me eye discomfort when the nerve knows I'm using macbook.

Because I dont have problems on my other machines connected to my external monitor otherwise! Only with this new Macbook.

Reply

Answer 7

Sep 7, 2018 7:09 AM in response to JannoKJ

See a medical professional. What do you want us to do about eye strain, pinched nerves, tingling in hands, etc. Millions are using Macs without experiencing your symptoms. You have medical related problems that we can not fix.

OK, I'll take a shot in the dark, maybe the tingling in your hands is the result of poor grounding in your house wiring and you not using a grounding plug.

Reply

Answer 8

Sep 9, 2018 8:16 AM in response to JannoKJ

Oh yes I would get eye problem diagnosis from an Apple store too, NOT.....

My eyes are important to me. They are complex systems. I would trust my medical professional as to why my eyes are suffering from symptoms rather than even asking an Apple store employee.

Reply