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Comment by smoldesu | Hacker News Reader

Saw one of these in person over the weekend, and I was subtly surprised by how intense the display blooming was. I knew that MiniLED would have some inconsistencies WRT brightness, but if you squint you can almost see the backlights scurrying around when you drag a window across a desktop (particularly a black background). It would probably be great for content consumption, but I have to wonder how reliable it would be for professional color work. Maybe an OLED revision could address that?

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Interesting, since all the reports and reviews have indicated blooming was not an issue on these, compared to iPad Pro.

https://www.macrumors.com/2021/10/28/macbook-pro-display-blo...

Meanwhile, tons of reports and reviews have indicated that blooming very much is an issue. And how could it ever not be, with this type of display.

https://www.reddit.com/r/macbookpro/comments/qgkhku/noticeab...

That thread seems to suggest it is not an issue for many users, similar to TVs and iPads, so I guess it would be a personal thing as to whether it bothers someone.

Yeah, I don't trust these at all. According to every review on the planet the iPad Pro has a fantastic screen, and my own(2021 M1 non-XDR) model has probably the worst screen of any device I own. I know it's IPS but it's almost unusable for watching media in a dark room, the contrast is just zero, would literally rather watch things on my phone. And it has an absolutely horrendous ghosting, like an LCD panel from 20 years ago. Get some white text on a grey background and scroll around - ghosting for daaaaays.

I consider myself fortunate that I don't see blooming on displays. I'm sure it happens but I just don't notice it. I sympathise with those who do.

It seems like the sighted equivalent of mp3 compression to an audiophile's ears.

May be try taking it into Apple Store and comparing with the ones on display there? Could be a bad display?

With how bright the lights are at the store you can barely tell they are miniled.

I have a 12" M1 iPad Pro and the screen is truly beautiful. Also on a 16" M1 Pro MBP right now, also beautiful.

I have an m1 ipad pro 12.9" and the bloom was one of the things I'm most taken aback by. I routinely see it in dark media, whether it be apps in dark mode or a dark screen with white text. The colors are amazing, but the bloom is shocking. I actually miss my old lcd ipad pro because of it.

Your perception of contrast is entirely dependent on the ambient light level.

If you're in a room with big windows and direct sunlight, a cheap Dell will have a good contrast ratio. If you're in a windowless room in pitch darkness, a MacBook Pro XDR display will show clear blooming.

I have a 2017 iPad Pro that I use in what I would consider moderately dim lighting, and the contrast / black levels are fine.

I went to an Apple store over the weekend and tried to see if I could generate blooming. Put the display in dark mode and tried all kinds of app, but never noticed any blooming. Not sure why this seem so variable. Maybe it only is noticeable in very specific conditions?

It’s harder to see in a bright environment. I can see it in some cases, but don’t notice it at all in day to day use.

Let me guess, macrumors is entirely dependent on leaks from, and review products given to them by Apple?

What a surprise they might not be objective.

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