iPhone 16 Pro Max Screen brightness on 16 Pro/Max [MERGED]

[mfrank29]

At least two YouTube reviews of the pro phones on hand commented outside screen brightness is less than the 15 pro/max. Not sure if that was the auto adjust not going as high or if Apple has limited the brightness to preserve battery. They advised the same 2000nit peak but that could mean highlights in videos and not how bright it gets outside. That was a huge improvement on the 15 pro models. Hope that turns out not to be the case.


14 minutes in.

 

[AndyDandy1]

Doubt it

 

[Macalway]

no, non-issue.

 

[Natzoo]

Do you have to keep auto-brightness on to get the 2k nits?

 

[mfrank29]

I’ll have both in hand tomorrow. I have a mix meter and I’ll be curious to check for myself. Hopefully it’s the same. 🤞🏻I really appreciate the bump in outdoor brightness last year.

 

[mfrank29]

Indoor brightness maxed True Tone off same
White pattern. The 16 pro max is about 80 lux less bright than the 15 pro max. So yeah the new phones do not get as bright and it is noticeable

 

[Jetcat3]

2000 nits with an APL below 3% I believe. 1000 nits 100% APL has been standard for a few years now.

 

[AndyDandy1]

When max brightness os on phone screen turns very yellow even with true tone off, any1 else?

 

[mfrank29]

Another test to simulate out sun. Same white pattern on both. Held the flashlight to each light sensor to drive the brightness to max. 16 pro max hit 1650ish lux. 15 pro max 1850ish lux.

 

[tommyboy9996]

Another test to simulate out sun. Same white pattern on both. Held the flashlight to each light sensor to drive the brightness to max. 16 pro max hit 1650ish lux. 15 pro max 1850ish lux.

Man that is frustrating, I’m always outside and appreciated the 15PM’s 2000 nits. Now we are getting less smh. Wish they had actually increased them with the 16PM.

 

[NotApplicable]

Interestingly the panel is capable of higher nits than the 15PM panel

 

[Lion007s]

Hey I’ve noticed minimum brightness in the dark is less than the 15 Pro Max (have 16 Pro max). Further, my sister got a 16 Pro and compared to her 14 pro, minimum brightness is also less on the 16 pro. Is this a bug? It gets really dim when the slider is all the way down in a dark room compared to the other models (all on iOS 18)

 

[iphoneguy2024]

Got the iPhone 16 Pro today and the screen is alot less bright than my 15 Pro using the same brightness settings. Auto brightness and reduce white point are both off, top picture iphone 15 is on the left. Bottom picture is from a guy that commented on my reddit thread, he was able to photograph the difference at max brightness the iphone 16 is the one on the left. Is this a bad display or a software glitch?

 

[DBZmusicboy01]

Got the iPhone 16 Pro today and the screen is alot less bright than my 15 Pro using the same brightness settings. Auto brightness and reduce white point are both off. Is this a bad display or a software glitch?

View attachment 2424595

Go 50% brightness for both
And go 100% and compare again
Show us both at 50% and 100%

 

[thadoggfather]

Yeah agreed, do 100% and True Tone off

 

[iphoneguy2024]

Go 50% brightness for both
And go 100% and compare again
Show us both at 50% and 100%

At 100% the camera doesnt pick up the difference but in person you can see the iphone 15 pro is still brighter. I didnt test at 50% ill do that later today.

 

[iphoneguy2024]

Yeah agreed, do 100% and True Tone off

At 100% the camera doesnt pick up the difference but in person you can see the iphone 15 pro is still brighter. I didnt test at 50% ill do that later today and true tone and reduce white point are both off.

 

[VSMacOne]

To me that seems like a bad display.

 

[NotApplicable]

Also ensure that your 16 isn’t limiting brightness due to heat or something, if you’ve just set it up.

 

[thadoggfather]

At 100% the camera doesnt pick up the difference but in person you can see the iphone 15 pro is still brighter. I didnt test at 50% ill do that later today and true tone and reduce white point are both off.

It still would make for an interesting comparison

Some of us have hawk eyes lol

 

[mfrank29]

Since the new phones can go down tom1 nit it seems the brightness scale is different than previous years. I have to have my inside brightness up more than my 15 pro max. That isn’t really an issue. I’m annoyed the new phones do not get as bright as last years. It’s still very good outside and hopefully this could be fixed in software.

 

[iphoneguy2024]

It still would make for an interesting comparison

Some of us have hawk eyes lol

Go 50% brightness for both
And go 100% and compare again
Show us both at 50% and 100%

Yeah agreed, do 100% and True Tone off

Here you go someone else replied with this picture on my reddit thread they were able to photograph the difference at max brightness the iphone 16 is the one on the left.

 

[daneoni]

Given the new displays can go down to 1nit of brightness, it might be that the dimming is more pronounced compared to previous models. Especially and lower brightness levels.

 

[iphoneguy2024]

Given the new displays can go down to 1nit of brightness, it might be that the dimming is more pronounced compared to previous models. Especially and lower brightness levels.

I updated my post with a picture at max brightness and the 15 is also brighter.

 

[Fred Zed]

Of course whenever I buy a new iPhone XS Max to 12PM to 13 PM to 14PM and now 16PM and compare it to my previous iPhone the newer one is also not as bright. One of those great mysteries I’ve learned to live with 😂