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iPhone 14 Pro Display Gets Two Times Brighter When Outdoors in Sunlight

Have you ever been outside and found yourself unable to use your iPhone because it's too dim in the glaring sun? For those upgrading to Apple's latest high-end models, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are able to get significantly brighter when used outdoors in sunlight, thanks to more advanced displays.

iPhone 14 Pro Display Two Times Brighter Feature
The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max feature Super Retina XDR displays that Apple calls the "most advanced displays in any smartphone." The new displays have a peak brightness of 2,000 nits when used outdoors in sunlight, two times the peak brightness of previous models.

When viewing HDR photos, videos, and movies, the new displays can reach a peak brightness of 1,600 nits, higher than older iPhones. With 1,600 nits of brightness, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max now deliver the same level of brightness as the high-end $4,999 Pro Display XDR when watching HDR content, according to Apple.

Apple is able to deliver these higher brightness levels thanks to a more advanced OLED panel and a new Display Engine in the A16 Bionic chip that powers features like Dynamic Island, always-on, and the 120Hz variable refresh rate.

There are also smaller changes in the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max displays compared to their respective predecessors. For example, the iPhone 14 Pro Max has a 2,796 by 1,290 resolution compared to the iPhone 13 Pro Max at 2,778 by 1,284. The iPhone 14 Pro also gets a small bump in resolution at 2,556 by 1,179 compared to 2,532 by 1,170 for the iPhone 13 Pro.

The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, alongside the lower-end iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, were made available for pre-order earlier today and will begin arriving to customers on Friday, September 16. The iPhone 14 Plus will begin shipping on Friday, October 7.

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Top Rated Comments

53 months ago
The question is for how long. Even today it stays bright for 2 minutes and then dims all the way down because it's too hot. I can't imagine that at 2000 nits it's going to do much better.
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ProfessionalFan Avatar
53 months ago
The power of the sun in the palm of my hand
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️ Avatar
53 months ago
This was a big problem with previous-gen iPhones. I'm glad, Apple looked into this and fixed this. It was hard to see what was going on with your iPhone in the sunny daylight sun. Hopefully, that won't be a problem anymore.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
53 months ago
That sounds awesome. I use my iPhone 13 Pro Max outside a lot. I actually bought a phone cooler off Amazon, it is a couple fans that attach to the back of the phone. I find just keeping the phone cool does a lot to make the display more readable since a lot of the problem is the device dimming itself when it overheats.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
53 months ago
It will be pointless because the phone will dim because of heat. Hot summer sunny days in Santorini made my iPhone 13 Pro’s screen so dim while taking photos. And GPS made the phone warm so screen dimming again.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jclardy Avatar
53 months ago

That sounds awesome. I use my iPhone 13 Pro Max outside a lot. I actually bought a phone cooler off Amazon, it is a couple fans that attach to the back of the phone. I find just keeping the phone cool does a lot to make the display more readable since a lot of the problem is the device dimming itself when it overheats.
Yeah, overheating from the sun usually ruins any brightness gains the screen gets. I'm hoping the A16 is more efficient to hopefully have more headroom before overheating from sunlight (Given it didn't get much in the way of performance gains.)
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)