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Brightness issue on M1 Pro Macbook Pro 16inch. Is this normal?

applegoldfish

applegoldfish

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Original poster
Mar 31, 2022
105
22
Hello everyone, the day I got the new M1 Pro Macbook 16. "I have noticed the issue of very low brightness. I have to have brightness at least 5 notches to reach a decent viewing brightness whereas the same thing was possible on my older Macbook Pro mid 2014 at like 2 notches of brightness. You can also see the difference between the new Apple Studio Display and the M1 Pro MBP both having brightness set at 5 notches in this picture below

1.jpg



Can someone check how bright their Mini-LED MBP gets bright compared to Apple's LCD screens or something's wrong with mine?
 
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I very much doubt, the notch-/brightness level ratio is the same on all devices. Does your old MacBook get brighter than your new one?
 
Gnattu said:
The same amount of "notches" never guarantees you to have same brightness across different monitors. This is even the case for iPhones and iPads.
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The effect is more pronounced on lower brightness settings.
 
applegoldfish said:
I unticked it, and it does a get a little better, but still miles apart from ASD brightness levels.
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The Studio Display does indeed get brighter with SDR content. But if your old MacBook does get brighter than your new MacBook, then something must definitely be wrong with it.
 
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You need to check them at maximum brightness not just a certain number of notches on the scale. It's not comparable from model to model.

If it's not at least as bright as your old MBP I'd say it's faulty.
 
MajorFubar said:
You need to check them at maximum brightness not just a certain number of notches on the scale. It's not comparable from model to model.

If it's not at least as bright as your old MBP I'd say it's faulty.
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One thing to note -

If I turn down brightness to zero on Mini-LED MBP the screen goes completely dark whereas on turning down the brightness to zero on ASD the screen still stays lit.

For me MBP does totally dark like it's turned off, but ASD backlight is still on (very dim), but on.
 
applegoldfish said:
One thing to note -

If I turn down brightness to zero on Mini-LED MBP the screen goes completely dark whereas on turning down the brightness to zero on ASD the screen still stays lit.

For me MBP does totally dark like it's turned off, but ASD backlight is still on (very dim), but on.
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That's normal for MacBooks vs an iMac or ASD. Echoing what others have said it's different display tech, different nits, etc but bottom line is your stuff works fine. I have an iMac and MBP 16" and I set both to similar SDR levels and let auto brightness figure it out after that so my suggestion is you do the same.
 
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Sheepish-Lord said:
That's normal for MacBooks vs an iMac or ASD. Echoing what others have said it's different display tech, different nits, etc but bottom line is your stuff works fine. I have an iMac and MBP 16" and I set both to similar SDR levels and let auto brightness figure it out after that so my suggestion is you do the same.
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Thank you for your help. I was worried because my MBP screen has some H/W glitch and yes, even the M1 iMac screen stays lit even after you turn down the brightness to zero.
 
applegoldfish said:
Thank you for your help. I was worried because my MBP screen has some H/W glitch and yes, even the M1 iMac screen stays lit even after you turn down the brightness to zero.
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One difference is that the MBP is built around a Mini-LED backlight which has to be able to change brightness levels quickly, and even go completely off and back on quickly. Apple's backlights without Mini-LED (which includes the M1 iMac) are run at a fixed level for a given brightness. I can't say why Apple's "zero" isn't "off" on this case, but it's possible they want to avoid completely shutting off the backlight on these displays for some reason?
 
Krevnik said:
One difference is that the MBP is built around a Mini-LED backlight which has to be able to change brightness levels quickly, and even go completely off and back on quickly. Apple's backlights without Mini-LED (which includes the M1 iMac) are run at a fixed level for a given brightness. I can't say why Apple's "zero" isn't "off" on this case, but it's possible they want to avoid completely shutting off the backlight on these displays for some reason?
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Thank you for your response.
 
I have the same issue comparing the M1 Max screen brightness to the 2019 MBPro - the M1 is not nearly as bright.

I'm now wondering if there is an issue with the hardware???
 
I have the same thing with my 2019 16" MacBook if there is any similarities.

It's significantly dimmer than my 13" M1 MBP when both set at half brightness.
 
Kazgarth said:
I have the same thing with my 2019 16" MacBook if there is any similarities.

It's significantly dimmer than my 13" M1 MBP when both set at half brightness.
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'Half' brightness is not comparable from one generation of machine to the next. What are they both like at full brightness?
 
ThingThree said:
I have the same issue comparing the M1 Max screen brightness to the 2019 MBPro - the M1 is not nearly as bright.

I'm now wondering if there is an issue with the hardware???
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Do you have a nearby AAPL store or anyhow you can ask AAPL genuius? My country doesn't have an AAPL store yet.
 
theorist9 said:
What's your ambient temperature? just came across this saying warm temps can cause the displays in the M-series MBP's to throttle down their brightness:
www.macrumors.com

Apple Says Pro Display XDR and 2021 MacBook Pro Can Experience Limited Brightness in High Temperatures

Apple today shared a new support document outlining a warning symbol that can show up on the MacBook Pro with Liquid Retina XDR Display or the Pro...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com
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104F outside 77F inside the room

40 degrees outside, but inside the room it's 25 degrees.
 
MajorFubar said:
'Half' brightness is not comparable from one generation of machine to the next. What are they both like at full brightness?
Click to expand...
Kazgarth said:
I have the same thing with my 2019 16" MacBook if there is any similarities.

It's significantly dimmer than my 13" M1 MBP when both set at half brightness.
Click to expand...
I thought it was only b/w LCD and Mini-LED models. I wonder if M1 iPad Pro has the same thing compared to older iPad Pro models?
 
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