Brightness Control on new MBA 15 Not Linear, Big Jump below 50%

[forgetcolor]

Just received a new 15" MBA (Midnight, 2TB/24GB). This is my first new Mac in a while, and I'm noticing strange behavior with the display brightness control. Each press of F1/F2 above 50% gives me a certain percentage brightness decrease/increase. But when I go lower than 50%, all of the sudden the % change is much larger. In other words, the amount of brightness change is different below 50% than above 50%. Is this how everyone's works? Is there any way to change this? I tend to run with relatively low brightness most of the time, and so those big drops below 50 are troublesome for me. I know I can make a fine adjustment with shift-opt-F1/F2, but I don't want to have to use that all the time.

I have all the auto brightness stuff turned off (including True Tone).

 

[Brookzy]

13" M2 has done the same since launch. Just have to use micro-adjustments as you mention.

 

[Sowelu]

This is very common and will most likely go unnoticed by most people, and I think this is related to the display panel itself. I've seen this on many M1 and M2 MBAs including my own 13" M1 and M2 MBAs.

Basically, the brightness reduces in smaller increments until about 50%, then the brightness reduction increments are a bit more aggressive from 50% down to zero. I am as OCD as they come and this doesn't bother me. If the display has even white balance, no smudging effects, good color accuracy and brightness, it's a keeper.

Not sure if this is related to certain display panels as I am sure that Apple is using more than one supplier - so this may just be how some panels are coded to handle brightness levels.

 

[forgetcolor]

I don't think it's related to the panel, but is how the keys are programmed. The reason is because if you open the Display prefs and move the slider back and forth it's a smooth adjustment across that 50% boundary.

 

[forgetcolor]

I don't think it's related to the panel, but is how the keys are programmed. The reason is because if you open the Display prefs and move the slider back and forth it's a smooth adjustment across that 50% boundary.

I take it back -- I think you are correct about it being something deeper in. If I adjust the brightness using only micro adjustments, it's still strange. I installed Lunar to get a readout of the brightness value and the percent change from 40 to 50 is significantly more than the change from 50 to 60. So strange. I've used Karabiner Elements to turn the brightness keys F1/F2 into default micro adjustments which is a little better, but it's still weird.