New MacBook Pros only reach 500 Nits on non-HDR content, measured by Notebookcheck

[Hankster]

You have never heard of notebookcheck.net? What kind of random poster are you? Site is legit.

A random user who has been using Apple laptops since 2008 along with owning 10 MacBooks since. Check my register date here. Not everyone uses the same sites and since their article has an "update" it's clear they publish content without fact checking. No thank you.

 

[quagmire]

What do you mean, the screenshot still says 1000 nits sustained with no context to HDR, the “up-to” is for the 1600 nits. Is there anything on Apple’s official site and docs that say SDR nits?

Up to 1000 nit sustained......

The up to is at the beginning. It does not say, " 1000 nit sustained, up to 1600 nit peak"

Stop being twitter and creating outrage......

 

[fa8362]

A random user who has been using Apple laptops since 2008 along with owning 10 MacBooks since. Check my register date here. Not everyone uses the same sites and since their article has an "update" it's clear they publish content without fact checking. No thank you.

This. I don't have time to read technical content with errors.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Do you not understand that not everyone uses these laptops in a dimly lit office to edit videos and photos?

Content doesn't have to be videos or images, it's as simple as a being able to read text or use your IDE outside, where colour accuracy doesn't matter a bit.

You’re missing the point then, because HDR only applies to photos and video content. There’s no embedded metadata in your IDE or text editor to make it “HDR”. You’re expecting something that doesn’t even exist and then you’re complaining about it. Apple decide that 500nits was enough for day to day old fashioned SDR content for whatever reason. In fact HDR content can start as low 400nits ( https://displayhdr.org/performance-criteria-cts1-1/ ). Basically, HDR content does have to be photos or video for the enhanced brightness and dynamic range to be useful or displayed by the system. This is an awkward transition if it can even be called that. SDR content dominates because there’s about a 100 years worth of it and HDR content (DolbyVision, HLG, HDR10) is less than 10 years old and the number of devices that actually display it well is still very small. What your asking for is more brightness so you can use your device outside and that’s fair enough, but Apple didn’t deceive anyone in their marketing.

 

[Fat.tofu]

What do you mean, the screenshot still says 1000 nits sustained with no context to HDR (Other than XDR that use to brand the display), the “up-to” is for the 1600 nits. Is there anything on Apple’s official site and docs tied to the new MacBook that say SDR nits?

To apple defence its listed under XDR..

Personally i already know days after announcement thru news site that SDR is limited to 500nits so no surprise

But curious why apple didnt list the max SDR nits on Macbook Pro tech spec while they do for the iPad Pro 12.9 ..

Maybe they could increase SDR max nits in future via software update?

 

[TimothyB]

Up to 1000 nit sustained......

The up to is at the beginning. It does not say, " 1000 nit sustained, up to 1600 nit peak"

Stop being twitter and creating outrage......

Ah, just waking up, I see how I ignored the “up to” at the start of the sentence and focused on the “sustained” part. But it still can be interpreted wrong without using standard terms like HDR and SDR.

I read up to, as in, when set up to 100% brightness, 1000 nits sustained full screen. Then from there, up to 1600 peak nits. So simplifying that sentence, it basically says, “up to 1000 sustained” and “up to 1600 peak.”

 

[cardfan]

Yeah compared to my intel 16” the brightness is exactly the same, apple lied about many features

I took it to mean hdr. But yep apple certainly misled when all they had to do was simply say hdr in the brightness specs along with 500nits sdr.

 

[TimothyB]

Edit - duplicated post

 

[fa8362]

I admit I read that too fast while waking up, only seeing the sustained part with still no context to HDR and SDR.

Those tech specs, while it may cover Apple loosel, it doesn’t definitively make it clear. The “Up to” at the start of the sentence could be interpreted when setting the screen brightness to 100%, you’d get 1000 sustained in general use. There needs to be an up-to HDR and up-to SDR

"Up to" should immediately tell you that you're not getting it routinely, and might never get it at all.

 

[laptech]

First, what random site is that? Second, go back to the article and at the bottom the "updated" the article stating they were wrong and the MacBook does have over 1600.

Random site!!!! lol are you for real!!?? Notebookcheck.net has been running for years and is a respected review site. Read the article again, it states only in HDR, therefore the statement about SDR still stands.

I assume HDR is XDR because on Apples website site, the tech specs for the screen is written as follows:

XDR (Extreme Dynamic Range)

Up to 1,000 nits sustained (full-screen) brightness, 1,600 nits peak brightness

1,000,000:1 contrast ratio

 

[eltoslightfoot]

A random user who has been using Apple laptops since 2008 along with owning 10 MacBooks since. Check my register date here. Not everyone uses the same sites and since their article has an "update" it's clear they publish content without fact checking. No thank you.

Ha! Except they are amazing. Sorry you don't think so.

 

[TimothyB]

To apple defence its listed under XDR..

Personally i already know days after announcement thru news site that SDR is limited to 500nits so no surprise

But curious why apple didnt list the max SDR nits on Macbook Pro tech spec while they do for the iPad Pro 12.9 ..

Maybe they could increase SDR max nits in future via software update?


View attachment 1880722View attachment 1880723

It is troubling that we have to get confirmation of 500 nits for SDR through other sources leading up to release, then deal with reviews where someone is showing footage of the screen, showing an SDR webpage, while talking about how amazing the 1000 nits screen is, again without context that the screen they just showed was no brighter than the previous model and never showed 1000 nits in context of HDR.

So all in all, Apple’s lack of clarity of this through their initial marketing and missing specs, in comparison to the full iPad specs that actually lists the max brightness outside of HDR, has lead to a very confusing launch, even when we knew 1000 nits is not SDR.

Maybe, like you said, an update could change the max SDR and they didn’t want to list that spec until finalized.

Considering how the first XDR display is 500 nits, then the later iPad XDR display having an improved 600 nits, Apple left it totally unknown what the MacBook Pro XDR display would have.

 

[MauiPa]

yah, and that was in the spec, so what is the point exactly?

 

[eltoslightfoot]

yah, and that was in the spec, so what is the point exactly?

That it wasn't in the other spec?

 

[Sammy in SoCal]

With the same single core performance and same nits of brightness, last years M1 13inch pro with Touch Bar is looking better and better. And it’s an incredible value starting at $1199

 

[flapflapflap]

According to Notebookcheck:

"Apple advertises the new Mini-LED MacBook Pro 14 with a peak brightness of up to 1600 nits and a sustained brightness of 1000 nits, but these values seem to be limited to HDR contents. Standard SDR contents are limited to 500 nits, which is comparable to the current MacBook Pro 13. Update: HDR measurements confirm 500 nits limitation"

The new MacBook Pro 14 only manages 500 nits with SDR contents

Apple advertises the new Mini-LED MacBook Pro 14 with a peak brightness of up to 1600 nits and a sustained brightness of 1000 nits, but these values seem to be limited to HDR contents. Standard SDR contents are limited to 500 nits, which is comparable to the current MacBook Pro 13.

www.notebookcheck.net

So we can kiss good bye those dreams of using those machines to write code in the garden. Great to know I can watch HDR videos at a thousand nits in my dark room, though...

Man that's such a letdown, I really misunderstood Apple's marketing to mean that you can use those 1000 nits in normal workflow and use cases, not only while consuming a tiny fraction of the content that's out there.

Another misleading advertising claim, just like saying the 14 is slimmer than the 13. When you flip the 14 upside down and disregard the feet, you can see it is about the same thickness as the M1 13.

 

[flapflapflap]

With the same single core performance and same nits of brightness, last years M1 13inch pro with Touch Bar is looking better and better. And it’s an incredible value starting at $1199

Don’t forget the superior battery life when stacked against the 14 and how much thinner and lighter it is. I would argue that the design of the M1 13 is still very sleek and modern, better than the bulbous form of the new 14 and 16s

 

[flapflapflap]

"Up to 1600" nits is a true statement, not a lie.

I ordered the 14 and will test its brightness side by side with my M1 13 to confirm if this report is true. If it is true, that would be a real bummer.

 

[flapflapflap]

Exactly this is what I’ve been saying apple are lying to us, promotion is broke hdr isn’t any better than the intel ones, speakers are even worse no treble highs and the brightness is the same as intels, I tried playing hdr and the iPad Pro is nice but this MacBook is same as older ones

So far I see that there are various screen issues (blooming, ProMotion doesn’t work on Safari, ghosting) and now this limitation on the brightness of the screen. Let’s not forget the notch….

 

[ducati1212]

Unboxed my 16” yesterday. Advertised 1000 nits was a lie. Would have helped with working in the field. Look at the official website - there is no stipulation about SDR/HDR limits - just “1000 nits sustained brightness”.

GPU performance is also meh. Only at the level of a 3050/3060 at best.

Never seen such overpromising and underdevilery from Apple. But you can always rely on sheep defending this crap.

I would not say we are sheep we just understood what the new tech was going to give us and thats what it did. We did not need to listen to apple marketing. Mine is well above expectations.

 

[Macalway]

You sort of actually need to .....own one

Saying previous models are as good, and things like that maybe confusing to people waiting.....

I will say that it's a little strange you can't ramp this up past 500 nits when it can go to a 1000. I wonder why they are doing this? I could see 600 to 800 outdoors as making more sense.

But I disable auto, so maybe that's it.

 

[3Rock]

Don’t forget the superior battery life when stacked against the 14 and how much thinner and lighter it is. I would argue that the design of the M1 13 is still very sleek and modern, better than the bulbous form of the new 14 and 16s

I rather like the bulbous form other new 14 and 16…. ?

 

[Not-A-Fan]

Got to look beyond the marketing material, but in the tech specs.

View attachment 1880694

See, it clearly says "Up to 1000 nits sustained (full-screen) brightness in HDR content only."

Oh wait, no it doesn't.

 

[TheSynchronizer]

Personally I think the display is a major upgrade over my M1 MBP due to the insanely better contrast, deeper blacks, better resolution, and its just a lot more gorgeous for various other reasons.

I don't know whether this is due to the better contrast or not, but comparing my M1 MBP and the new 14 inch today in my garden (on auto brightness) the 14 inch was a lot clearer and seemed decently brighter/more usable. Not miles better, but definitely noticeable. Maybe Apple lets these max out higher than 500 nits when in direct light?

That being said, I've never had an issue using the M1 MBP in my garden and one of my main reasons for getting it over the air was the brighter screen.

 

[Not-A-Fan]

You’re missing the point then, because HDR only applies to photos and video content. There’s no embedded metadata in your IDE or text editor to make it “HDR”.

No, you're missing the point.

I never thought HDR applied to the IDE. I just didn't realise, because Apple doesn't mention it, that the screen only gets brighter than 500 nits on HDR content.