Unlocking 1000 Nits on 14/16 Macbook Pros/ XDR Displays

[TheSynchronizer]

Saw this interesting video from MaxTech about new software that utilises Apple’s official API’s to essentially unlock the max 1000 nits of brightness on the XDR displays system wide.

Thoughts on this? Anyone planning to use this? I know there was a whole discussion about why Apple essentially marketed the screen as sustained 1000 nits without making it clear it’s only in supported HDR scenarios, and 500 nits otherwise. Now with this software I guess their marketing is ‘truly’ accurate.

I myself tried the split screen trial and it indeed is impressive- however I’ve not found myself needing extra brightness yet and I only really use my iPad when outside.

 

[sjalfr]

What! Was I misled? One of the reasons I ordered a MBP (delayed, so still waiting) over an Air is to get higher brightness for normal tasks like web browsing and Excel/Word type stuff! I'm always close to max brightness with my current Air. My increasing macular degeneration won't like it if the MBP is stuck at 500 nits most of the time.

So in what real life situations exactly would the brightness go up over 500 nits? Sorry, if this is a dumb question. I think I'm starting to get too old to understand what I am buying anymore . Thanks.

 

[The Game 161]

it's certainly a good way to unlock the brightness but not sure I would use it unless I was outside and given I live in UK that's not happening often

 

[DHagan4755]

Rarely do I ever have my MacBook Pro at its full brightness. 500 nits is too bright in most cases, for me at least. It does make HDR photos & videos like looking out a window but for everything else, I think I'll pass on this hack.

 

[TheSynchronizer]

What! Was I misled? One of the reasons I ordered a MBP (delayed, so still waiting) over an Air is to get higher brightness for normal tasks like web browsing and Excel/Word type stuff! I'm always close to max brightness with my current Air. My increasing macular degeneration won't like it if the MBP is stuck at 500 nits most of the time.

So in what real life situations exactly would the brightness go up over 500 nits? Sorry, if this is a dumb question. I think I'm starting to get too old to understand what I am buying anymore . Thanks.

Not exactly misled, but many people misunderstood what Apple was marketing just like you. Basically, the display can go up to its advertised 1000 nits sustained max brightness with 1600 nits peak on HDR content such as HDR movies, videos, photos, games etc.

However by default, standard UI elements / the system goes up to somewhere between 500-600 nits at max. The software I mentioned here aims to unlock the 1000 nits sustained max brightness to be available to use for everything, including non HDR content like the UI.

I myself thought i’d be getting 1000 nits max in everything by default too, but I’ve owned this laptop since release and I’ve never needed more brightness than what it offers (and when watching HDR movies at max brightness I more often than not have to turn the brightness down)

 

[sjalfr]

However by default, standard UI elements / the system goes up to somewhere between 500-600 nits at max.

Thanks a lot. I just looked into my current MBA (2019) and it says 400 nits. So the MBP's 500 to 600 nits should be an improvement for me. And also, thanks for the heads up on the software, I'll keep it in mind if I ever need it.

 

[Fred Zed]

Hopefully you get Apple Care Plus with this trick. you're going to need it.🤣

 

[lankox]

Can you set the brightness to something in between 500 and 1000?

 

[TheSynchronizer]

Hopefully you get Apple Care Plus with this trick. you're going to need it.?

That’s to be seen really. The developers say there’s no reason to expect any damage as the screen is still operating entirely in Apple’s official specifications and protections.

And, in truth, these displays are indeed designed to display HDR content at up to 1000 nits sustained brightness indefinitely.

So theoretically this software should cause no damage. There is however the question of why Apple limited the brightness themselves instead of just giving 1000 nits to be available system wide

 

[TheSynchronizer]

Can you set the brightness to something in between 500 and 1000?

Yeah from my testing you get an additional few ‘clicks’ of brightness available to you, that go further than the default amount of clicks, so you can set it anywhere between 0 and 1000 really.

 

[TheSynchronizer]

Thanks a lot. I just looked into my current MBA (2019) and it says 400 nits. So the MBP's 500 to 600 nits should be an improvement for me. And also, thanks for the heads up on the software, I'll keep it in mind if I ever need it.

It is indeed an improvement. I came from a regular M1 Macbook Pro which already have 500 nit displays, and yet in bright scenarios these XDR displays still seem brighter and clearer. I’ve never had an issue with the screen brightness, but I also don’t use it in my garden as I use an iPad instead.

 

[G5isAlive]

That’s to be seen really. The developers say there’s no reason to expect any damage as the screen is still operating entirely in Apple’s official specifications and protections.

And, in truth, these displays are indeed designed to display HDR content at up to 1000 nits sustained brightness indefinitely.

So theoretically this software should cause no damage. There is however the question of why Apple limited the brightness themselves instead of just giving 1000 nits to be available system wide

so the developers.. software hacks with a self interest to say no problem. are now engineers who can safely vouch for how Apple tested and designed these monitors?

and no, they are not designed to run indefinitely. if they were, the warrantee would be indefinite. if you push things they will age faster. some people like to keep their Apple gear past the warrantee period.

This is a bad idea.

 

[darngooddesign]

Ive been using Lunar to do this and its pretty nice. It also provides the ability to hide the notch, should that bother you, by moving the menubar blow it. But yeah, I only used it when outside.

 

[darngooddesign]

What! Was I misled? One of the reasons I ordered a MBP (delayed, so still waiting) over an Air is to get higher brightness for normal tasks like web browsing and Excel/Word type stuff! I'm always close to max brightness with my current Air. My increasing macular degeneration won't like it if the MBP is stuck at 500 nits most of the time.

So in what real life situations exactly would the brightness go up over 500 nits? Sorry, if this is a dumb question. I think I'm starting to get too old to understand what I am buying anymore . Thanks.

The MBPs do 600 nits instead of 500. Brightness aside, I think you will appreciate the increased contrast from Mini-LED,

 

[sjalfr]

The MBPs do 600 nits instead of 500. Brightness aside, I think you will appreciate the increased contrast from Mini-LED,

I think I will. I bought the 2019 Air in a hurry to replace a failing 3-year old MBP, thinking I wouldn't miss the power or better specs that much. Even then I could tell the MBP screen was better! Can't wait to get my new machine...

 

[Sanpete]

The MBPs do 600 nits instead of 500. Brightness aside, I think you will appreciate the increased contrast from Mini-LED,

Measured at around 500 nits in the reviews I've seen, but yes, higher contrast.

 

[TheSynchronizer]

so the developers.. software hacks with a self interest to say no problem. are now engineers who can safely vouch for how Apple tested and designed these monitors?

and no, they are not designed to run indefinitely. if they were, the warrantee would be indefinite. if you push things they will age faster. some people like to keep their Apple gear past the warrantee period.

This is a bad idea.

“Pro Display XDR can sustain 1000 nits of brightness across the full screen. This means that a pro can edit an HDR photograph or video with the entire frame at 1000 nits of brightness, indefinitely. It also has a peak brightness of 1600 nits. 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.”

- Apple Pro Display XDR. Assuming the tech is the same or similar between Apple XDR displays, the software should theoretically be safe to use. Of course, things do wear out as you say, and it should be common sense that the more you max something out, no matter what it is, it will potentially wear out faster than an equivalent item that wasn’t maxed out.

Indeed, the developers don’t make any guarantees so using any software such as this is essentially all at the user’s risk.

 

[aevan]

So theoretically this software should cause no damage. There is however the question of why Apple limited the brightness themselves instead of just giving 1000 nits to be available system wide

It could be panel longevity, then again it could be battery life or even color accuracy (if the content is not graded for 1000 nits, some things may be overblown).

We don’t know. They certainly had some reasons (good or bad). Limiting max brightness regardless of panel theoretical capability is not new.

Personally, I find 500 nits perfectly fine for SDR use and higher brightness is great for HDR content.

 

[TheSynchronizer]

Personally, I find 500 nits perfectly fine for SDR use and higher brightness is great for HDR content.

Likewise, but it’s definitely nice to know the possibility to go higher brightness is there if needed.

Maybe if one day I live a lifestyle of working from a sunny beach, it’ll be useful

 

[jaymc]

I picked it up for use only when outside. The price isn't too bad ...

Item purchased​

Vivid - Double your Brightness, System-Wide

Order Total​

€15

Payment Total​

$16.45

Also, if researching online, do NOT go to vivid.com ... it's NSFW.

 

[sjalfr]

Measured at around 500 nits in the reviews I've seen, but yes, higher contrast.

I just received the MBP M1 pro and compared with my 2019 MBA, the screen contrast and higher nits make it much better, so for now, it's enough for my aging eyes. But it's good to know there is a "way to higher nits" out there.

 

[jaymc]

Vivid ver. 1.3 now out but still working on a few issues:

 

[jaymc]

Vivid ver. 1.4 just released that address a few of the above.

 

[Jazmodo]

Not as slick perhaps, but I've been following progress on Github for another solution to this - 'BetterDummy' is a 'free' way of unlocking full mini-led brightness in SDR content on the 14/16 2021 MBPs.

Specifically, Beta 1.2.0: https://github.com/waydabber/BetterDummy/releases/tag/v1.2.0-beta

Edit - maybe $15 for licence, not sure - might be only free 14 day trial

 

[jaymc]

v1.5​

• Huge improvements to white flashes and issues with Mission Control, Expose and Desktop Spaces
• Tidied up brightness logic so it always maxes out the system brightness to full before Vivid kicks in and also moves the system brightness in more natural increments
• We’ve enabled the fix for the video issues by default. You can disable this from Prefences > Experimental if you experience any issues (we haven’t heard about any so far)
• Vivid will now ask to move itself out of your Downloads folder, so auto updates can then work