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Iron Curtains

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 8, 2021
66
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I’m sure most will say they haven’t noticed this or it’s not an issue for them but I just got my 14 pro opened and set up and it is noticeably, and I mean very noticeably less bright than my 13 Pro Max.

I have made sure that all the settings are the same, including auto brightness as well as True Tone, and it has me worried something might be wrong. Doesn’t make any sense that it would be, but I mean it’s really noticeably dimmer.

Even turning off True Tone doesn’t seem to do anything on the phone. On my 13 pro max when I toggle it I can see a definitive shift from warmer tones to the cooler tones, but it seems like nothing changes on the 14 pro.

I dunno, it’s weird and I’m not a fan. Let me know if you have any suggestions of settings I might have missed.
 
A possibility--they dim when they become too hot to prevent overheating. Someone else here had this come up recently.
 
was your phone noticeably hot when this occurred?

When I set up my 14 Pro Max, I also happened to place it on a new MagSafe charger. After setup was done, and the transfer from my 11, the back of the 14 PM was almost too hot to hold in some areas. So hot that the display stopped getting brighter around 25%, any higher and nothing happened, sometimes it actually got dimmer.

So my first impression was noticeably worse, but due to heat, for what was one of the most severe dimming cases I’ve had. This happened to my 11, when I noticed my girlfriends 11 was oddly brighter. I first thought something was wrong, until I realized it was the temps.

Maybe yours was just at the right temp to dim it some? After all, initial setup and background installs and updates take a toll when first use a new phone.
 
As others have mentioned, it's likely due to the heat at the time you noticed the difference.
Try turning it off and on again, and then seeing how it behaves. If it's still not reaching peak brightness maybe speak to Apple.
 
Agree, my iPhone 12 pro is twice as bright as my new 14 pro max, i mean is not even close and it is definitely not hot, left for an hour came back and it is the same no matter what.
 
I think it’s saving power. You probably only get max brightness in very bright lighting conditions. It would make sense to limit brightness in less than bright conditions.
 
I think it’s saving power. You probably only get max brightness in very bright lighting conditions. It would make sense to limit brightness in less than bright conditions.
Nope i thought about that too, and tried with a really bright headlamp on my head, waiting for my wife to arrive ao i can take picture side by side.
 
i don’t have another iPhone to compare it to. I tend to keep brightness settings relatively low. But even in the brightest sunlight, I can see everything just fine.
 
Here photos side by side iphone 12 pro vs pro max pictures dont do justice but you can see when i focus on the background how the 12 completely overwhelms the camera. Pics taken with iphone 14 pro.
 

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Here photos side by side iphone 12 pro vs pro max pictures dont do justice but you can see when i focus on the background how the 12 completely overwhelms the camera. Pics taken with iphone 14 pro.
Hello,

this looks to me like a more "natural" True Tone setting on the iPhone 14. Doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the brightness. Try turning True Tone off.
 
It looks as though either or both of the following settings is on on your 14 pro:

- reduce white point
- auto-brightness

Could you please check if both these settings are off?
 
I noticed this as well. I had my 14 Pro side by side with my brother’s 13 Pro. His 13 Pro was a lot brighter than mine. Checked any display settings and even put them both under some bright lights, the 14 Pro never got brighter than his 13 Pro.
 
I noticed this as well. I had my 14 Pro side by side with my brother’s 13 Pro. His 13 Pro was a lot brighter than mine. Checked any display settings and even put them both under some bright lights, the 14 Pro never got brighter than his 13 Pro.
Per some of the other posts here, it’s either a setting difference or a hardware defect. Especially in sunlight, the 14 Pro is MUCH brighter than the 13 Pro. It’s low key my favorite upgrade from the 13 Pro, especially when my phone is on the center console while driving.
 
my 14PM is much brighter than my 13PM and the colors are more vibrant too when I had them side by side. Even the lowest setting it was still brighter. It made my 13 PM look a bit washed out.
 
My 14PM is really way way brighter than my 13PM, hands down. I was out in the sun today, and I could use it very comfortably, like no iPhone before.
 
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Even though i had the reduce white point option off, it was still affecting it, i turned it on then off and that did the trick.
 
That shouldn’t be possible

The difference from last year models should be a big difference
 
2 key differences I’ve spotted between my 13 pro and 14 pro IS brighter screen and better sound. So really strange. Could be defective.
 
I’m sure most will say they haven’t noticed this or it’s not an issue for them but I just got my 14 pro opened and set up and it is noticeably, and I mean very noticeably less bright than my 13 Pro Max.

I have made sure that all the settings are the same, including auto brightness as well as True Tone, and it has me worried something might be wrong. Doesn’t make any sense that it would be, but I mean it’s really noticeably dimmer.

Even turning off True Tone doesn’t seem to do anything on the phone. On my 13 pro max when I toggle it I can see a definitive shift from warmer tones to the cooler tones, but it seems like nothing changes on the 14 pro.

I dunno, it’s weird and I’m not a fan. Let me know if you have any suggestions of settings I might have missed.
Omg this adjusting the white point did it for me!
 

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