ProMotion is not fully working out of the box in e.g. Safari, Chrome etc.

[WilliamG]

This is so bizarre. I just got my new high-end 16" MBP, and yep - ProMotion is not fully working out of the box. It's on MacOS 12.0, so will be updating to 12.0.1 to see if it fixes it.

Now, before anyone says anything, yes, - ProMotion IS working when moving windows around etc. It's super smooth. But scrolling in Safari/Chrome etc it's clearly running at 60hz. Messages IS taking advantage of ProMotion, though, as scrolling through messages etc is nice and smooth (just like on the new iPad 12.9 and iPhone 13 Pro series).

Really hoping that the MacOS update to 12.0.1 sorts out the browsing frame-rate, though... because currently it's NOT any better than previous years, of course, and quite chunky.

*Edit*

12.0.1 does not address the problem. This will require a software update.

 

[white7561]

I do know that people on Monterey (not all use MBP 2021s) have issues with scrolling lag on Safari. But idk . Haven't gotten my new MBP so can't test anything.

Hopefully they fix everything in the next few updates. Which they probably will...

 

[WilliamG]

I do know that people on Monterey (not all use MBP 2021s) have issues with scrolling lag on Safari. But idk . Haven't gotten my new MBP so can't test anything.

Hopefully they fix everything in the next few updates. Which they probably will...

Hope it gets sorted out. Browsing the web is so much smoother on the iPhone 13 Pro (OLED helps with instant pixel response) and on the latest iPad Pro 12.9.

 

[AirThis]

Bah, no big deal. It'll be fixed in no time. After all, it only took Apple 2 years to fix the lags in Safari when the 2012 rmbp came out.

 

[Milennia]

Noticed this with chrome yeah, i'm on a 14 inch but this is clearly a monterey issue going by the OS thread

 

[ignaciobarrena]

Noticed exactly this when I tried the new machines this morning at the Apple Store, couldn't notice the ProMotion display at all in comparison with the iPhone Pro and iPad Pro.

 

[WilliamG]

Noticed this with chrome yeah, i'm on a 14 inch but this is clearly a monterey issue going by the OS thread

Crazy that Apple one of its flagship features ship broken.

 

[WilliamG]

Noticed exactly this when I tried the new machines this morning at the Apple Store, couldn't notice the ProMotion display at all in comparison with the iPhone Pro and iPad Pro.

Unfortunately web browsing isn’t working correctly with it. If you scroll Messages or the App Store or just moving windows around the screen - it’s super smooth as it should be, and clearly 120hz.

 

[Milennia]

I daily a 144hz display on my gaming PC and promotion on ipad pro, and I 100% can notice the 60 hz specifically when browsing pages, it appears to work everywhere else

 

[WilliamG]

I daily a 144hz display on my gaming PC and promotion on ipad pro, and I 100% can notice the 60 hz specifically when browsing pages, it appears to work everywhere else

Yup. I use a 165hz all the time. Browsing the web is flat-out broken on these new MacBooks. Insanity.

 

[ignaciobarrena]

Unfortunately web browsing isn’t working correctly with it. If you scroll Messages or the App Store or just moving windows around the screen - it’s super smooth as it should be, and clearly 120hz.

Well, let's see how long til MacRumours make an article about this on the news front page haha

I hope it gets fixed clickly, since I'm getting mine between 18-25 November.

 

[WilliamG]

Well, let's see how long til MacRumours make an article about this on the news front page haha

I hope it gets fixed clickly, since I'm getting mine between 18-25 November.

Why am I not surprised all the YouTubers didn’t mention this? ?

 

[ignaciobarrena]

Why am I not surprised all the YouTubers didn’t mention this? ?

Right, first day "reviews" are just marketing. I'm waiting for Linus Tech Tips and Max Tech reviews of the performance and all the quirks of these MacBooks.

 

[WilliamG]

Right, first day "reviews" are just marketing. I'm waiting for Linus Tech Tips and Max Tech reviews of the performance and all the quirks of these MacBooks.

Right. It's not helped by the fact that the pixel response time on these displays is really terrible.

 

[ponzicoinbro]

I don’t see the problem after two hours with it.

You should update it as soon as you unbox it because it is running a pre-release macOS.

 

[WilliamG]

I don’t see the problem after two hours with it.

You should update it as soon as you unbox it because it is running a pre-release macOS.

I updated. Problem is still there. If you don't see it, cool, but... it's not working properly. The rest of the OS is, and even in a VM the browser is working as it should. Native browsing is borked.

 

[alexqndr]

I doesn’t seem like a major issue to me. It’s clearly going to get fixed ASAP. And in the meantime you can swap to steady 60hz. Which is not going to affect anything else in practice. Pro motion is just the cherry on top for me, not the main meal. So I’d be okay to wait a few weeks for a bug fix. It would be concerning if it was an hardware feature. And it’s not

 

[Sanpete]

How did you determine what the refresh rate is for your browsers? Lack of smooth scrolling by itself doesn't imply anything about the refresh rate. That can be caused by how the browser loads pages, which typically involves compromises for power and memory efficiency such as loading images and even stuff you may not see as you scroll.

 

[ctishue]

Using the blurbusters website, safari does not detect or run above 60fps. Firefox does run at 120 though. Interesting. I don't see any stutter while scrolling in either browser though.

 

[WilliamG]

Using the blurbusters website, safari does not detect or run above 60fps. Firefox does run at 120 though. Interesting. I don't see any stutter while scrolling in either browser though.

Firefox runs the same as Safari/Chrome, i.e. bad. It seems like apps need to be updated to support ProMotion. e.g Facebook Messenger (and WhatsApp) do not run with ProMotion 120hz, but Messages does. Scrolling is so clearly so much smoother on Messages than FB Messenger/WhatsApp.

What's weird is that Firefox is reporting higher framerates on the Blurbuster test.

Blur Busters TestUFO Motion Tests. Benchmark for monitors & displays.

Blur Busters UFO Motion Tests with ghosting test, 30fps vs 60fps vs 120hz vs 144hz vs 240hz, PWM test, motion blur test, judder test, benchmarks, and more.

www.testufo.com

But in actual usage it runs the same as Safari...

 

[MrGunnyPT]

Firefox runs the same as Safari/Chrome, i.e. bad. It seems like apps need to be updated to support ProMotion. e.g Facebook Messenger (and WhatsApp) do not run with ProMotion 120hz, but Messages does. Scrolling is so clearly so much smoother on Messages than FB Messenger/WhatsApp.

What's weird is that Firefox is reporting higher framerates on the Blurbuster test.

Blur Busters TestUFO Motion Tests. Benchmark for monitors & displays.

Blur Busters UFO Motion Tests with ghosting test, 30fps vs 60fps vs 120hz vs 144hz vs 240hz, PWM test, motion blur test, judder test, benchmarks, and more.

www.testufo.com

But in actual usage it runs the same as Safari...

These apps aren't even Apple Silicon and they are poorly coded stuff from FB.. Honestly best option is us getting a 3rd party chat box that supports

 

[zakarhino]

Firefox runs the same as Safari/Chrome, i.e. bad. It seems like apps need to be updated to support ProMotion. e.g Facebook Messenger (and WhatsApp) do not run with ProMotion 120hz, but Messages does. Scrolling is so clearly so much smoother on Messages than FB Messenger/WhatsApp.

What's weird is that Firefox is reporting higher framerates on the Blurbuster test.

Blur Busters TestUFO Motion Tests. Benchmark for monitors & displays.

Blur Busters UFO Motion Tests with ghosting test, 30fps vs 60fps vs 120hz vs 144hz vs 240hz, PWM test, motion blur test, judder test, benchmarks, and more.

www.testufo.com

But in actual usage it runs the same as Safari...

If the ProMotion tech's adaptive refresh rate is ridiculous enough to require apps to 'opt in' to 120Hz that's an instant fail and oversight because legacy apps won't be updated. Hopefully someone comes out with an app that lets you lock in 120Hz without the adaptive nonsense.

 

[WilliamG]

If the ProMotion tech's adaptive refresh rate is ridiculous enough to require apps to 'opt in' to 120Hz that's an instant fail and oversight because legacy apps won't be updated. Hopefully someone comes out with an app that lets you lock in 120Hz without the adaptive nonsense.

It's the same on the iPad Pro 12.9 latest generation, too, with a few apps not working right. e.g. the Gmail app doesn't run at 120fps.

 

[zakarhino]

It's the same on the iPad Pro 12.9 latest generation, too, with a few apps not working right. e.g. the Gmail app doesn't run at 120fps.

I knew about that but somehow figured Apple wouldn't be stupid enough to do the same for macOS wherein a considerable portion of apps do NOT come from the App Store/won't get updated for ProMotion. Yet another anti-consumer workaround that effectively gimps one of the best features of these new machines.

 

[Jensend]

Using the blurbusters website, safari does not detect or run above 60fps. Firefox does run at 120 though. Interesting. I don't see any stutter while scrolling in either browser though.

Blurbusters shows 60FPS for iPadOS as well, but scrolling is still at 120FPS. Hopefully with the introduction of 120Hz on MacOS, they will update Safari on all OS's to support 120FPS animation.