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The MacBook Pro's OLED PWM Problem: When a 'Better' Display Becomes Worse to Use

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Early purchasers of the new MacBook Pro featuring the PROLED XDR display are voicing complaints on platforms like Reddit and MacRumors regarding acute physical discomfort. Testing by Notebookcheck determined that the 14-inch model utilizes a 240Hz Pulse Width Modulation rate to control brightness, creating rapid light cycling that can provoke symptoms in sensitive individuals. The health concerns have surfaced even among customers who successfully used other OLED panels for years, leading multiple owners to return their laptops.

Key points

  • Advancements in panel brightness and visual quality can still introduce usability hurdles…: Advancements in panel brightness and visual quality can still introduce usability hurdles when dimming mechanisms trigger physical sensitivities.
  • Pulse Width Modulation can cause severe discomfort for certain users despite the rapid fl…: Pulse Width Modulation can cause severe discomfort for certain users despite the rapid flicker remaining largely imperceptible to human eyes.
  • Even long-time owners of previous OLED hardware may experience adverse health reactions f…: Even long-time owners of previous OLED hardware may experience adverse health reactions from specific display dimming implementations.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

The MacBook Pro’s OLED PWM Problem: When a ‘Better’ Display Becomes Worse to Use

Apple has made a spectacular display. But spectacular isn’t the same as comfortable, and the people discovering that distinction deserve to be heard.

There’s a particular kind of disappointment that comes from getting hold of something you’ve been looking forward to, only to find that there's something significantly preventing you from fully enjoying it.

This is the experience being described by some early owners of Apple’s new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR display. Some users are reporting headaches, eye strain, dizziness, and nausea after using the OLED screen. Some have already returned the device.

The users experiencing problems aren’t newcomers to OLED. They’re not even necessarily people who have historically struggled with Apple’s OLED displays, or who have avoided OLED technology altogether. Some have happily used OLED screens for years without any obvious difficulties. But something about the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display seems to be different, and the problem may be related to the way Apple has implemented its display dimming.

A beautiful…

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