Ambient light sensor acting weird

Recently my ambient light sensor on my iPhone 12 Pro Max has been acting funny and seemingly not adjusting light levels at all according to the environment. I am on the latest (at this time) software revision 15.4.1.

I normally rock my phone with no case, but recently began using the Apple Leather iPhone case specifically designed for the 12 Pro Max. This is the first time I have noticed this issue.

When I remove my case, the ambient light sensor seems to work as normal. However, with the case on, my phone brightness seems to permanently be on about 50 percent power regardless of the ambient light.

I work in a laboratory that constantly has searingly bright lights going, and no matter how often I adjust my screen brightness to full, the next time I wake it up it’s back to 50 percent.

Has anyone else noticed this oddity?