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

[thatJohann]

went to Apple Store in soho. All the Airs had bad displays. Decided to buy on a whim to test my luck and got a busted display lol

I still have one in transit that got delayed by UPS but at this point it’s for sure gonna have a bad display. Shame cause it feels so good in the hand.

 

[BorisDG]

That's unfortunate. It seems the yield for those displays isn't great. I'm still very happy with my 16 Pro for getting an A++ display, and I'm not going to deal with this for another year.

 

[thadoggfather]

I returned my Air, not on account of the display I actually think compared to what's out there I got one of the better ones that can be had.. but the lack of overall brightness boost next to my 16+ had me a little miffed and baffled. At times 16+ looked brighter, even.

Returned it because I couldn't do without the wide angle and the sole speaker was crackly at loud volumes. Deal breaker. The modem and battery seemed better than expected.

Got a blue 17 Pro 256gb and... G9N Samsung

The brightness is retained off axis and its pristine. Looks even better in person. Side by side with my 16+, my 16+ looks a little bit dingy / red bias showing (which I had no issues with all year or comparing to a family member's Samsung 15+)

I should play Powerball or something lol.

Word to the wise: do not fret initial boot up or even right after going into Home Screen.
Had to toggle True Tone off and on multiple times to get its native hue, it was like stuck.

At first I was thinking it was so jaundice-y, I was feeling like it was an insta-return without even test driving the device. Launches are so stressful for the observant.

 

[TheRdungeon]

I wonder if the reason no one has a bad display in the 6.3” Pro yet is because it’s identical to the base model, so they give the Pro the ‘good’ displays from the 6.3” format. The Air and Max don’t have that luxury being that they’re the only phones using that size

 

[thadoggfather]

I wonder if the reason no one has a bad display in the 6.3” Pro yet is because it’s identical to the base model, so they give the Pro the ‘good’ displays from the 6.3” format. The Air and Max don’t have that luxury being that they’re the only phones using that size

I’m sure there are bad 17 pro’s out there. Lottery is always in play even if one model is more impacted statistically

 

[TheRdungeon]

I’m sure there are bad 17 pro’s out there. Lottery is always in play even if one model is more impacted statistically

Sure, I’m sure there is too, they won’t all be perfect, but I think my theory would make sense right?

 

[thadoggfather]

Sure, I’m sure there is too, they won’t all be perfect, but I think my theory would make sense right?

It could be but I doubt they’re binned that way personally

Probably luck of the draw whether you get 17 regular or pro

If anything could be worse odds since they pump out so many 6.3” 120hz

It does seem anecdotally that the pro max is more problematic year over year but back when it was just the “plus” and regular with 6/6s , I had better luck with the bigger one

 

[thatJohann]

I returned my Air, not on account of the display I actually think compared to what's out there I got one of the better ones that can be had.. but the lack of overall brightness boost next to my 16+ had me a little miffed and baffled. At times 16+ looked brighter, even.

Returned it because I couldn't do without the wide angle and the sole speaker was crackly at loud volumes. Deal breaker. The modem and battery seemed better than expected.

Got a blue 17 Pro 256gb and... G9N Samsung

The brightness is retained off axis and its pristine. Looks even better in person. Side by side with my 16+, my 16+ looks a little bit dingy / red bias showing (which I had no issues with all year or comparing to a family member's Samsung 15+)

I should play Powerball or something lol.

Word to the wise: do not fret initial boot up or even right after going into Home Screen.
Had to toggle True Tone off and on multiple times to get its native hue, it was like stuck.

At first I was thinking it was so jaundice-y, I was feeling like it was an insta-return without even test driving the device. Launches are so stressful for the observant.
View attachment 2554735View attachment 2554734

Congrats again!
I’m gonna try my luck with an Air again tomorrow for fun. Tell me more about what you said regarding not fretting on the setup and Home Screen. In my case it’s been quite clear since angling the phone up and down produces bottom half green tint on the Airs.

 

[thadoggfather]

Congrats again!
I’m gonna try my luck with an Air again tomorrow for fun. Tell me more about what you said regarding not fretting on the setup and Home Screen. In my case it’s been quite clear since angling the phone up and down produces bottom half green tint on the Airs.

It was like it was locked in a weird warm temperature setting before I flipped True Tone off and on a couple times

Could have something to do with restore from backup but not sure

I panicked at first my screen was a piss yellow calibration. But yeah the angling aspect would
Probably still shine through that lol

 

[thatJohann]

It was like it was locked in a weird warm temperature setting before I flipped True Tone off and on a couple times

Could have something to do with restore from backup but not sure

I panicked at first my screen was a piss yellow calibration. But yeah the angling aspect would
Probably still shine through that lol

Ah gotcha. Yea the angling is pretty clear. I can’t stop thinking about the air after using it today. Even now using a 17 Pro with a perfect display all I’m thinking about is the Air.

 

[thadoggfather]

Ah gotcha. Yea the angling is pretty clear. I can’t stop thinking about the air after using it today. Even now using a 17 Pro with a perfect display all I’m thinking about is the Air.

The Air is cool, it's nice they got a little bit for everyone's taste this year - perhaps color offerings aside

I wanted to downsize actually, a little sick of bigger screen phones after having 14PM and 16+ personally. And while I felt it's definitely slimmer than 16+ or any recent phone I've had, objectively, the weight didn't seem substantially better to me and because of the width I didn't feel the thinness in hand as much as I was expecting if that makes sense. I think if I came right off a Pro Max it would be a total breath of fresh air.

I really really got tired of lugging around my 14PM after 2 years before moving to 16+, but the SS weight made it even worse.

And I really dig the blue, I missed not getting that on the 15 pro versions, and it's got a little more kick than just a standard black I usually levitate towards. But I understand people wanting to play it safe and simple being a little thrown off by no black and relegated to the 17 regular and Air this year. It seems the most seamless between glass and aluminum, to me the orange is jarring and the silver looks cool but straight on it looks like a non pro with silver aluminum edges and the white glass looks 'Apple' but also looks like a MagSafe battery pack embedded in the phone I dunno I can't fully come to terms with it. That would be a good option for OEM Clear case diehards though, since the white patch looks weird as heck with orange and blue.

--

I'm surprised how many crap displays are out there on Air seemingly, maybe I should've sold mine at cost to someone in this thread that is dead set on the Air before returning but.. best of luck!

Apple preys on our indecision 100%

 

[thatJohann]

The Air is cool, it's nice they got a little bit for everyone's taste this year - perhaps color offerings aside

I wanted to downsize actually, a little sick of bigger screen phones after having 14PM and 16+ personally. And while I felt it's definitely slimmer than 16+ or any recent phone I've had, objectively, the weight didn't seem substantially better to me and because of the width I didn't feel the thinness in hand as much as I was expecting if that makes sense. I think if I came right off a Pro Max it would be a total breath of fresh air.

I really really got tired of lugging around my 14PM after 2 years before moving to 16+, but the SS weight made it even worse.

And I really dig the blue, I missed not getting that on the 15 pro versions, and it's got a little more kick than just a standard black I usually levitate towards. But I understand people wanting to play it safe and simple being a little thrown off by no black and relegated to the 17 regular and Air this year. It seems the most seamless between glass and aluminum, to me the orange is jarring and the silver looks cool but straight on it looks like a non pro with silver aluminum edges and the white glass looks 'Apple' but also looks like a MagSafe battery pack embedded in the phone I dunno I can't fully come to terms with it. That would be a good option for OEM Clear case diehards though, since the white patch looks weird as heck with orange and blue.

--

I'm surprised how many crap displays are out there on Air seemingly, maybe I should've sold mine at cost to someone in this thread that is dead set on the Air before returning but.. best of luck!

Apple preys on our indecision 100%

100% but good to know that there could be a good display Air somewhere in NYC. I’ll have to figure out a good combo with higher odds like color and storage size lol the things we do to get a good display. Ridiculous at this point. Enjoy your 17 Pro!

 

[SumYoungGai]

100% but good to know that there could be a good display Air somewhere in NYC. I’ll have to figure out a good combo with higher odds like color and storage size lol the things we do to get a good display. Ridiculous at this point. Enjoy your 17 Pro!

How has your experience been with purchasing/returns in the NYC area? I was a frequent flyer trying to find a good 16 Pro Max display (no luck at all) and while I go into every purchase with the intention of keeping the device, these screen defects are just too hard to overlook. Seems like the 17 Pro odds are good this year so I'll give the 17 PM a couple of swings.

 

[thatJohann]

How has your experience been with purchasing/returns in the NYC area? I was a frequent flyer trying to find a good 16 Pro Max display (no luck at all) and while I go into every purchase with the intention of keeping the device, these screen defects are just too hard to overlook. Seems like the 17 Pro odds are good this year so I'll give the 17 PM a couple of swings.

It’s easy to buy/ return at Apple stores, just annoying given the crowds and lines. The odds are still all over the place sadly. The 17 PM I got was a mess. I lucked out with a great regular 17 Pro. I’m gonna give a few more swings for the Air then just call it quits and keep the 17 Pro. Not in the mood for an endless lottery this year. So I hope you luck out with your 17 PM hunt. 🍀

 

[daneoni]

This thread reminds me why I skipped iPhone 16 generation. Because the screen i got on my 16 Pro was categorically inferior to my 15 Pro. Yellow at the top, uneven brightness and just distracting to read on
That and the minimal changes meant i decided not to 'upgrade'

I had some trepidation with the 17 Pro but thankfully i seem to have lucked out and got a decent one...G9N. Its not perfect but miles ahead of what i remember on the 16 Pro ( i didn't check the panel number, just gave up and returned it)
I think the 15 Pro (G9N Samsung) still edges it but it's a lot closer, probably ~2% difference in terms of uniformity/colour.

But i'm happy to take that and move on. Especially knowing i'll probably end up worse off if i play the lottery.

 

[thadoggfather]

It’s easy to buy/ return at Apple stores, just annoying given the crowds and lines. The odds are still all over the place sadly. The 17 PM I got was a mess. I lucked out with a great regular 17 Pro. I’m gonna give a few more swings for the Air then just call it quits and keep the 17 Pro. Not in the mood for an endless lottery this year. So I hope you luck out with your 17 PM hunt. 🍀

Even though I returned air in store I paid $9 to get my 17pro delivered same day

Picking up looks like a bit of a headache right now

YMMV