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gadgetfreak98

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 6, 2009
293
179
Hi. Finally got around to setting up the 13 Pro Max. And in the process of needing to have the phones side by side, it was clear the screen of the 13 was dimmer -- and therefore seemed duller -- than the 12. Same devices (Pro Max), same max brightness settings. True Tone same on both, etc.

Anyone else able to do a comparison? Wonder if I got a dud...
 
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Ba-80

macrumors newbie
Sep 22, 2021
16
9
Hi. Finally got around to setting up the 13 Pro Max. And in the process of needing to have the phones side by side, it was clear the screen of the 13 was dimmer -- and therefore seemed duller -- than the 12. Same devices (Pro Max), same max brightness settings. True Tone same on both, etc.

Anyone else able to do a comparison? Wonder if I got a dud...
Have you turned off the auto brightness?
 
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otisblack

macrumors member
Oct 29, 2009
53
76
Hi. Finally got around to setting up the 13 Pro Max. And in the process of needing to have the phones side by side, it was clear the screen of the 13 was dimmer -- and therefore seemed duller -- than the 12. Same devices (Pro Max), same max brightness settings. True Tone same on both, etc.

Anyone else able to do a comparison? Wonder if I got a dud...
I noticed this too when comparing my 12pro to my 13pro.
 
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cababah

macrumors 68000
Jun 11, 2009
1,891
504
SF Bay Area, CA
+1 on turning off auto brightness. Also, might need to wait if it is doing a restore as it can get warm and dim the display to prevent overheating.
 

mtrumblejr

macrumors newbie
Sep 24, 2021
1
0
My iPhone 13 pro max is most definitely dimmer than my 11 pro max. The 13 on max brightness is maybe 3/4 brightness on my 11 with all the same display and brightness settings. I’m less than happy.
 

kirk.vino

macrumors 6502a
Oct 27, 2017
667
1,013
Not a Max, but the max brightness (no pun intended) on my 13 Pro is noticeably brighter than on my previous 11 Pro.
 

dmx

macrumors 6502a
Oct 25, 2008
734
1,507
I noticed this at first. Turning off auto brightness totally fixed it and made the 13PM just as bright as the 12 PM
 
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Ba-80

macrumors newbie
Sep 22, 2021
16
9
My iPhone 13 pro max is most definitely dimmer than my 11 pro max. The 13 on max brightness is maybe 3/4 brightness on my 11 with all the same display and brightness settings. I’m less than happy.
If you have the auto brightness on could be that reason, my iPhone 12 Pro max is dimmer with the auto brightness.
 
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gadgetfreak98

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 6, 2009
293
179
+1 on turning off auto brightness. Also, might need to wait if it is doing a restore as it can get warm and dim the display to prevent overheating.
Bingo -- for part 2 of your comment. Should have thought about it, but it was the restoring process making the phone run warm and therefore throttling the brightness. The two phones are now the same, but interestingly the true tone results do differ. the 13 is a bit bluer/colder looking. I actually think I prefer it slightly.
 
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yukari

macrumors 65816
Jun 29, 2010
1,008
682
If your phone is on dark mode, check
Wallpaper—>Dark Appearance Darkens Wallpaper

turning this off makes it brighter.
 
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Resist

macrumors 68040
Jan 15, 2008
3,003
93
Wouldn't it be great if people actually read the entire thread before posting to it? Then they'd read that the problem was solved and they wouldn't need to post their suggestions. SMH
 
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Itsjustcole

macrumors member
Sep 9, 2017
39
16
I just noticed this same issue with my 13PM. Side by side with my old 12PM, it’s considerably dimmer with max brightness and auto-brightness enabled. Turning off auto-brightness brings the two closer, but the 12PM still edges it out. I’m not sure if this is a hardware/software issue or something AI-related, i.e., the phone adapting to my typical brightness levels over time? Either way, I’m pretty bummed.

Edit: I’ve had the phone for a week as of today, so it shouldn’t be related to initial restoring/indexing at this point. Right?
 

Chaz09

macrumors newbie
Oct 1, 2021
1
0
Hi. Finally got around to setting up the 13 Pro Max. And in the process of needing to have the phones side by side, it was clear the screen of the 13 was dimmer -- and therefore seemed duller -- than the 12. Same devices (Pro Max), same max brightness settings. True Tone same on both, etc.

Anyone else able to do a comparison? Wonder if I got a
Hi. Finally got around to setting up the 13 Pro Max. And in the process of needing to have the phones side by side, it was clear the screen of the 13 was dimmer -- and therefore seemed duller -- than the 12. Same devices (Pro Max), same max brightness settings. True Tone same on both, etc.

Anyone else able to do a comparison? Wonder if I got a dud...
There seems to be two auto brightness settings. One found in “Display & Brightness” and another in Accessibility> “Display & Text Size”. Scroll until you reach the bottom until you find the Auto-Brightness switch with a warning text underneath it.

You can return the favour by telling me why there are two bloody auto brightness settings. Coming from my Note 9 and I thought IOS is supposed to be simplistic ffs! Was sweating profusely thinking I got a bad batch or some sort of software bug. Outrageous.
 

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SoYoung

macrumors 68000
Jul 3, 2015
1,539
948
I just received my 13 pro max and honestly, the brightness seems the same or a little bit dimmer compared to my XS Max. Auto-brightness is off. Is the max 1000 nits is supposed to be activated only when we are outdoors? I expected to have a much brighter screen.
 

Prabas

macrumors 65816
Sep 14, 2010
1,145
1,261
Europe
I just received my 13 pro max and honestly, the brightness seems the same or a little bit dimmer compared to my XS Max. Auto-brightness is off. Is the max 1000 nits is supposed to be activated only when we are outdoors? I expected to have a much brighter screen.
You must turn on auto-brightness to get 1000 nits.
 

kellte2

macrumors 6502
Jul 10, 2005
294
80
Ya, my 13PM screen is noticeably dimmer than my wife’s identical model. It’s just a screen lottery thing.

Outside of my return window, but if experience is my guide, I’ll probably need to engage apple care at some point in the future, so I’m not sweating it. It isn’t as if I’m holding two phones at the same time to compare the screen temperature between the two.
 
Last edited:

yukari

macrumors 65816
Jun 29, 2010
1,008
682
Ya, my 13PM screen is noticeably dimmer than my wife’s identical model. It’s just a screen lottery thing.

Outside of my return window, but if experience is my guide, I’ll probably need to engage apple care at some point in the future, so I’m not sweating it. It isn’t as if I’m holding two phones at the same time to compare the screen temperature between the two.
Check Settings-->Wallpapers-->Dark Appearance Dims Wallpaper.
If it is on, your screen will be dimmed.
 
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