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iPhone 13 Pro Max iPhone 13 Pro Max screen noticeably dimmer than iPhone 12 Pro Max

G

gadgetfreak98

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 6, 2009
297
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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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gadgetfreak98 said:
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...
Click to expand...
Have you turned off the auto brightness?
 
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gadgetfreak98 said:
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...
Click to expand...
I noticed this too when comparing my 12pro to my 13pro.
 
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+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.
 
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.
 
Not a Max, but the max brightness (no pun intended) on my 13 Pro is noticeably brighter than on my previous 11 Pro.
 
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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mtrumblejr said:
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.
Click to expand...
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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cababah said:
+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.
Click to expand...
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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If your phone is on dark mode, check
Wallpaper—>Dark Appearance Darkens Wallpaper

turning this off makes it brighter.
 
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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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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?
 
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gadgetfreak98 said:
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
gadgetfreak98 said:
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...
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
 

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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.
 
SoYoung said:
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.
Click to expand...
You must turn on auto-brightness to get 1000 nits.
 
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.
 
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kellte2 said:
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.
Click to expand...
Check Settings-->Wallpapers-->Dark Appearance Dims Wallpaper.
If it is on, your screen will be dimmed.
 
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