iPhone dims using Instagram

[DEMinSoCAL]

For some reason, when I'm using Instagram on my iPhone 13 Pro Max, after about 15 minutes (no particular amount of time but it's not right away), the screen will start dimming. It usually does it when I'm outside on the patio. Pretty soon, I can barely see the screen even my screen brightness is all the way up. I've discovered if I switch to another app (Chrome for example) or just the home screen, the brightness will start stepping back up again after a few minutes. If I just lock the phone and sit it down for a few minutes, it is bright again. The phone doesn't feel too hot nor is it too hot outside (low to mid 70's for instance).

I tried IG on my Android phone and no issues. Also, I don't notice that the screen dims when used indoors.

I have every instance of automatic screen brightness on the iPhone turned off.

Any ideas?

 

[ovbacon]

Your phone is telling you to stop looking on instagram and look around ....

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Your phone is telling you to stop looking on instagram and look around ....

I do that for the other 23 hours on the 3 days a week I actually do look at IG. Don't paint me as the person that's habitually on IG.

 

[ovbacon]

I was making fun of it.... don't take everything so serious (which makes me feel you are to much on Instagram )

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

I was making fun of it.... don't take everything so serious (which makes me feel you are to much on Instagram )

Now it's my fault? Interesting you happen to have a giant graphic on hand that victim blames the people you make fun of (which makes me feel you do this all the time ).

Did you happen to have some ideas how to fix my iPhone problem?

 

[Rnd-chars]

Any ideas?

I don’t use Instagram, but it sounds like your phone is overheating, which is causing it to dim. I suspect this is happening because:
- you’re outdoors and (I’m guessing) in the sunlight. The heat from the sun and having the phone at max brightness will cause it to overheat. This is expected, especially in direct sunlight.
- Instagram is likely refreshing more often than Chrome (or any other browser), which exacerbates the problem
- even if you’re just consuming (ie not creating content) Instagram is pulling a lot more data and also likely eating (and heating) up more of your CPU

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

I don’t use Instagram, but it sounds like your phone is overheating, which is causing it to dim. I suspect this is happening because:
- you’re outdoors and (I’m guessing) in the sunlight. The heat from the sun and having the phone at max brightness will cause it to overheat. This is expected, especially in direct sunlight.
- Instagram is likely refreshing more often than Chrome (or any other browser), which exacerbates the problem
- even if you’re just consuming (ie not creating content) Instagram is pulling a lot more data and also likely eating (and heating) up more of your CPU

Thanks. I did think that it was due to overheating also, but I am in the shade (under my patio) on a mild day.

The phone is at max brightness because trying to use the iPhone outdoors (even in the shade) on anything but high
brightness is torture. I could try starting out at half-brightness.

I do just browse my feed (mostly static photos with some videos which I rarely watch all the way through). It would seem odd that IG stresses the mighty CPU in my iPhone to the point of overheating. I don't do much other social media browsing so I have nothing to compare it to. But it is frustrating, especially when my cheap Pixel 6A works great in the same conditions.

I could try taking my leather case off (Apple brand) to see if it still does the same thing?

 

[Rnd-chars]

Your leather case is probably making it difficult for your phone to dissipate heat so removing it may help. And even though your feed is mostly static, I suspect Instagram is:
- refreshing at max refresh rate (eg 120 times a second) for smooth scrolling
- collecting data and making on device calculations for advertisements and recommendations
- doing advanced paging for data you may never see to minimize latency and optimize user experience

A browser, on the other hand, would refresh at a minimum refresh rate (1 time a second for a static page) and on device calculations and asynchronous loading would vary by the site. Even in the worst case scenario they’d likely be less computationally expensive than Instagram, unless they had some JavaScript mining crypto in the background (generally rare unless you’re on a dodgy site)

You could also try enabling Low Power Mode which will minimize background activity and disable ProMotion.

 

[royinla14]

I have the same issue with Twitter/X or even when using the camera outside. Nothing too crazy but exactly like you say it will randomly dim and stay like this until phone is rested. Super annoying and have been having this issue since iPhone 12. Not sure why but I tried everything. It’s hard to believe it happens to all people otherwise we would have heard much more complaints.