macOS 26 is completely unusable for my eyes, please report to Apple if you have the same situation.
I recently picked up a 15-inch M4 MacBook Air running macOS 26, and within two days, my eyes were absolutely trashed—straining, tearing up, and the screen just looked blurry. I tried everything: changing resolutions, tweaking True Tone, adjusting font sizes, switching color profiles, and even installing Stillcolor and BetterDisplay. Nothing worked, and I was honestly ready to sell the machine.
I also own a 16-inch M5 Max MacBook Pro (running macOS 26) paired with a Studio Display. Unfortunately, regardless of whether I use the built-in laptop screen or the external display, my eyes feel deeply uncomfortable after just a short period of use.
My old 13-inch M2 MacBook Air, imac 2020, and imac pro 2017 never gave me any issues, so I figured the new OS had to be the problem. Today, I took a gamble and downgraded to macOS 15 Sequoia. What a massive difference! The blurriness is totally gone, everything is crystal clear, and my eyes instantly felt better. The familiar, comfortable Mac experience is back.
Looking online, it seems a ton of people are dealing with eye strain caused by the new "Liquid Glass" effect. I really hope Apple gives us an option to turn this effect off in future versions.
By the way, I originally posted this on the Apple Support Community, but it was deleted within two minutes. I’m not entirely sure why, so I'm sharing it here instead, hoping it catches Apple's attention. Please reply to this thread or report it to Apple if you are experiencing the exact same eye strain!