New MacBook Air Max Brightness Seems Very Dark

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Level 2

363 points

New MacBook Air Max Brightness Seems Very Dark

We're in the market for a new laptop to replace my partners older MacBook Air and so we went to look at the newly released ones.

In the store I had a MacBook Pro and a MacBook Air next to one another on the table, and both screens were turned up to maximum brightness, screen dimming was off in Energy Saver on both.

The MacBook Air was downright dark compared to the Pro - the screen was shockingly darker at maximum brightness. Has anyone else noticed this? Was it just the machines I saw, or is this a real change?

MacBook, macOS Mojave (10.14.1), Early 2016

Posted on Nov 18, 2018 3:13 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

nerdgasms

Level 1

14 points

Nov 19, 2018 10:59 AM in response to Unaha-Closp

The MacBook Air 2018 model has a maximum brightness of only ~230 nits compared to the MacBook Pro, which has a maximum brightness of ~500 nits. So yes, the maximum brightness on the Airs is less than the max brightness of the Pros. This has been a very common complaint among the Air users.

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Answer 2

Nov 19, 2018 11:20 AM in response to Unaha-Closp

Surprisingly, the Apple website doesn't list the display brightness spec for the Air, but for the Pro, it does. You can check this site that provides a graph on screen brightness in nits compared to other models and here's a youtube video.

link: Apple MacBook Air (2018) - Full Review and Benchmarks

video: Apple MacBook Air 2018 review: premium economy - YouTube

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Answer 3

Unaha-Closp Author

Level 2

363 points

Nov 19, 2018 1:44 PM in response to savita88

Thank you - this is really interesting - using the sites linked by nerdgasms above I checked my current laptops to see how they compare (brightness averages).

My MacBook (2017) is 340 nits

My MacBook Pro (2015) is 389 nits

So if the Air is 234 nits, and these other laptops already seemed dim to me... I can't even imagine how dark that would feel. Especially when using in bright light or daylight. But everyone's sensitivity is so different to this.

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Answer 4

savita88

Level 1

90 points

Nov 19, 2018 1:32 PM in response to Unaha-Closp

I just got the Air today to finally replace Macbook 12''2016 (the most terrible Apple product I used so far). I thought the "Retina" display would be the same as on my MacBook Pro - but it is night and day. Comparing to MBP, Air has a bit muddy, darker display without the crisp clarity of MBP ... Looks like some inferior product when compared face to face. I though "retina display" would be "retina display". I feel a bit cheated by Apple - the quality of their products falls down a lot ...

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Answer 5

Dec 27, 2018 1:32 PM in response to Unaha-Closp

I traded my Mac Pro and received the 2018 Air from apple online. Had I been able to see how dim the Air is, I wouldn't have gotten it. Its terrible. I find my eyes hurting from strain because of how dull and dark the screen is especially compared to my 2015 MacPro. I thought perhaps I got a malfunctioning unit until I did some searching online and found others with similar complaints.

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Answer 6

shaky411

Level 1

115 points

Nov 19, 2018 1:15 PM in response to Unaha-Closp

Hi There,

I have recently purchased the new MacBook Air to replace my Pro model and can say that after 2 weeks of use you really won't notice any difference. I often find myself turning the brightness down. Side by side I'm sure it stands out but trust you really won't notice after a couple of days use and this was a concern of mine before buying.

Hope this helps 🙂

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Answer 7

Unaha-Closp Author

Level 2

363 points

Nov 19, 2018 1:42 PM in response to shaky411

I'm wondering about this because when I got my MacBook Pro in 2015 and then my MacBook in 2017 I still felt like those displays were too dim, and the Air is MUCH dimmer!

Thank you for sharing your experience with it.

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Answer 8

Unaha-Closp Author

Level 2

363 points

Nov 19, 2018 1:45 PM in response to nerdgasms

That's a really helpful link - I'm using it now to compare my current laptops with ones I'm considering. Thank you. I meant to mark it as helpful but clicked my own reply, and annoyingly the forum doesn't let you unmark as helpful and re-mark something else.

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Answer 9

Unaha-Closp Author

Level 2

363 points

Nov 19, 2018 1:34 PM in response to nerdgasms

Thanks - this is very helpful! I didn't see those specs listed anywhere on the Apple site under the tech specs section, where did you find them?

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Answer 10

Jan 14, 2019 3:49 AM in response to nerdgasms

Where can i find the nits level for my 2014 MacBook Air? If there is not a lot of difference then this is fine, if its a huge reduction then I might have to wait.

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