In early 2017 I bought my first MacBook Pro 15. Directly from the Apple Store. After just a few days of using it, I started to notice that my eyes can’t properly focus on things anymore. I felt especially doubting was to focus on reflecting surfaces like glass. It simply gave me a weird feeling in the eyes.

I naturally thought that it might be a defect in the device. I called the Apple Store just to get a cheerful suggestion to make a return. And so I did.

Later on, I bought a new (for that time) Dell XPS 15 with a 4k screen. The experience was better than with a MacBook. Unfortunately, that particular model had a graphic card fault. I needed to return it.

I decided to try a Macbook 13 inch. But having bought one, I started right away to experience the eye strain. My first verdict back in 2017: It’s the way macOS uses the font rendering, that happens to be inherently blurrier than the one on Windows (Later it turned out partly true, as macOS uses the rendering technique that doesn’t respect the pixel grid. But no, now I do not think it is the real issue).

Trying out to work with an external monitor did not help to relieve the strain. Working with a laptop or a monitor for 10 or more minutes constantly gives me the effect that it is harder to focus neither on the screen nor on other things until the next morning. The symptoms are not pleasant: My eyes were losing the ability to focus; Everything around me looks blurry.
I experimented numerous times in the last three years with the aim to find the setup that will be acceptable. But the symptoms described above are mostly present, except for some cases. (My life involves working with laptop for 10+ hours a day. So it an annoyance to have the problems that are basically crippling me in everyday life).

Let me next summarize my discoveries:

Here is the list of the devices I owned/tried in the last two and a half years:

Computers:

MacBook Pro 2018 13 touch bar

MacBook Pro 2017 13

MacBook Pro 2016 15 touch bar

MacBook Air 2015 13

MacBook Pro 2014 15

MacBook Pro 2013 late

DELL XPS 15 4k 2016 with Nvidia graphics — was good but faulty hardware

Microsoft Book 2 (15 inches) — bad, but with settings fixable (read below)

Microsoft Surface Pro X (with Microsoft-Qualcomm chip)

Lenovo Thinkpad T460s — so-so

Monitors:

27 Dell UltraSharp U2719D

24 Dell UltraSharp P2419H

27 LG UltraFine 27MD5KL

Phones:

iPhone XS — the most headache

iPhone SE — the least headache

iPhone 6s

iPhone 8

Google Pixel 2 — awesome for eyes

Samsung s8 — awesome

Tablets:

Samsung galaxy book (Intel, Windows, OLED) — headache

Samsung Tab s3 (Android, OLED) — NO headache

iPad Pro 2017

These are my findings:

macOS: While MacBooks feel bad, I managed to find a configuration that doesn’t hurt. While trying the MacBook Pro Late 2013 with the latest releases (I tried Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave, and Catalina) produces the same effect of eye-strain, I realized that installing macOS Mavericks makes the machine much more usable! (i assume that indicates that it is a software issue). Additionally, booting the system in the safe boot mode eliminates the issue but makes MacBooks unusable performance-wise. Is it possible to install graphics drivers from Mavericks to a new system like Catalina?

Windows: All laptops I tried with Windows 10, result in the same although slightly less present than in macOS, unpleasantness. I attribute that also to Windows having the algorithms that render fonts aligning them to pixels (in contrary to macOS). There is one thing that helps: disabling the graphic driver in the settings; Windows continues to work on generic Windows graphic drivers. That makes the computer good for eyes again! But, unfortunately, unusable for real work.

Linux: Installing Linux on some of the laptops proves to be the best for eyes (Is it because Linux (Ubuntu) uses open-source graphics drivers?). Unfortunately, Linux doesn’t offer support for the apps I routinely need.

Monitors: Trying the monitors I learned that they reflect the situation with found on the laptops. The same symptoms with the same laptop start to appear (That probably tells me that it is not the hardware of the screen but a software)

Tablets: Android tablets are great. Windows and IPadOS tablets are bad.

Phones: (I tried all iPhones with iOS 12+, but unfortunately, I cannot say much about earlier versions). The iPhones do not feel good, giving similar effects as with MacBooks. Android phones, on the other hand, are excellent. Especially the ones with OLED screens. I can use my Google Pixel 2 for hours with no signs of a headache.

I am still on a quest to find a solution good solution to all this mess. But I do not think it is my particular eyes situation. There are many people on the internet discussing this issue. They are everywhere, on intel forums, Quora, Reddit, and mac related forums. In this article, I link numerous references to where people describe the same issues.

One of the guesses the community has: Is it a harsh dithering algorithm used in new drivers from intel/macOS?

Or, what is it?

Numerous discussions on the internet:

This is the main thread of Intel forum. There are more of those who believe it is inter drivers: here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here. These forums keep appearing as mushrooms with each new MacBook model, like this one: about a new MacBook 16.

I am not alone.

Many people say it is my (all people’s affected) fault and they need to consult the doctor.

Here is what they usually say:

“Have you considered that it might be something else, e.g. room lighting, software running on the machine (e.g. different version of windows), etc.?” — here

“Placebo effect.” — here

“Tried checking you have the right drivers installed?” — here

“It’s amazing the amount your brain can cook up off subconscious prejudices, which this might be.” — here

“There is nothing specific to the Intel or any other videocard that can strain your eyes more. If you got a new laptop with super-bright screen, try lowering the brightness at low-lit environments to decrease contrast a bit” — here

Thank you for the suggestions! I did take them seriously, and did following things (with no result)—

1. I went to an eye doctor to get glasses prescription (with -0.5). Didn’t help. Actually, with glasses, the ache appears even faster.
2. I bought computer glasses (2 different pairs), neither helped.
3. I went to the general doctor
4. I underwent an MRI of the brain and neck (all good)
5. I went to the psychologist (seriously)
6. I went to the orthopedist and osteopath
7. Yoga, swimming.

If anyone can advise me to consult a specialist, I probably already consulted the one.

It would be so great to be able to find a real solution. Or maybe, to find the real issue, and ask driver developers to fix it.

Please comment on the article or contact me directly for any more details.