If you were to ask me to name the changes in the iPhone 16 Pro, what would come to mind? Probably camera controls, better battery, camera improvements, upcoming Apple Intelligence, etc. These are clearly the headliners. But there’s one little upgrade that never ceases to amaze me. That’s the minimum brightness of the new iPhone 16 display.
Minimum brightness is a newly published specification
Until this year, whenever Apple talked about iPhone screen brightness, it focused on the maximum, not the minimum.
Maximum brightness is an important specification for iPhone. We want to be able to use our devices outdoors, in the sun, and on the go.
But many of us find ourselves using our iPhones indoors, in a dark room, lying in bed.
This is where minimum brightness becomes very important.
iPhone 16 and 16 Pro include the first publicly available “minimum brightness” specification for an iPhone.
Each device has a minimum brightness of 1 nit.
Why brightness reduction is important
Why is this important?
Because it means you can use your iPhone in the dark without disturbing anyone sleeping around you.
In most cases, this looks like using your phone in bed while your significant other sleeps next to you.
This week I was in a hotel room after evacuating from Florida, my 1-year-old son sleeping nearby. The new minimum brightness on the iPhone 16 Pro allows me to use my phone without disturbing him.
Apple doesn’t publish the minimum brightness of past iPhones, so it’s difficult to know exactly how much darker the iPhone 16 Pro is compared to previous models. However, when placed side-by-side with the older iPhone 15 Pro, noticeable differences became clearly apparent.
Summary: iPhone 16 display brightness
My sleeper hit feature this year is minimal brightness. It doesn’t get much attention, but for me it’s already a huge added value.
Is there any reason to upgrade? Of course not. But it’s a surprisingly nice addition to the iPhone 16’s display, and it’s more useful than you might think.
What do you think about the new minimum brightness on iPhone 16? Let us know in the comments.
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