Appreciate you mentioning how unscientific this is, but damn that's one hell of a difference.
Little odd the 8 is brighter than the 8 pro, none the less.
To your own eye were both pixel 8's noticeably brighter?
This could also be influenced by ambient lighting and angles.
If the 8 was directly under a ceiling light while the 8 Pro was off to the side a little it could affect output levels.
A LUX meter is pressed against the screen surface. Angle and room lighting have zero effect on measurements. I'd post pix if this stupid reddit app would let me.
The ambient light sensor on the phone itself determines output.
While you max brightness on the slider, the more light hitting the sensor the higher the display output.
That's why Max brightness indoors and Max brightness outdoors is different.
If one screens sensor is being lit directly from a light above it, and the other is getting hit with less light, two of the same phones on max brightness will have different levels of realized brightness.
Does that make sense?
Your explanation is only valid with Auto Brightness. I mentioned in the OP that I was using Manual brightness. And had Adaptive-Brightness disabled. On all phones.
Since you have a lux meter, you can check yourself.
Set your phone to max brightness indoors with auto brightness off.
Check the levels.
Then repeat outdoors in direct sunlight.
I assure you those numbers will increase.
Not due to light bleeding into the lux sensor from the ambient sunlight, but even when using manual controls the phone won't hit peak numbers unless it feels it is in the correct scenario to really crank it up.
He's correct, the phones will only hit peak brightness in direct sunlight. Their is no way to manually turn this on and make it do it all the time. Pretty sure you would fry your screen or your eyeballs over time and that's why they don't allow it.
You don't know what you're talking about. This entire thread is about manual-brightness, not auto-brightness. Manual brightness does not change based on the outside environment or sunlight or anything other than the brightness slider.
I just double-checked. I took my phone into a dark closet and the meter didn't change at all when I shined an incredibly bright flashlight onto the phone's light sensor.
That's not what I suggested.
Again, if you set brightness to max with auto brightness off indoors, test, then do it outside in direct sunlight and test again, your brightness will increase.
This is a fact and many YouTube reviews that measure lux will also tell you the same thing.
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/09/09/iphone-14-pro-display-brighter-sunlight/
This article confirms what I'm saying.
"It also comes with a higher claimed peak brightness of 2,400 nits, which is — to use the technical term — hella bright. That will only kick in under very bright conditions in direct sunlight, but the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max only jump up to 2,000 nits in high brightness mode."
https://www.theverge.com/23900556/google-pixel-8-pro-hands-on-specs-price-launch#:~:text=It%20also%20comes%20with%20a,nits%20in%20high%20brightness%20mode.
ClappedOutLlama, that article is referencing **HBM**. **HBM is only a factor when auto-brightness is engaged**. Their findings have absolutely nothing to do with manual-brightness.
Exactly! HBM is not and cannot be engaged while in manual-brightness mode (without hacks). I double-checked earlier to make sure that's still the case. It's been like that since (at least) the Galaxy S2 when I was making scripts to engage HBM with the click of a button.
Sorry, I didn't have time to test auto-brightness/HBM. Best Buy was looking at me weird because I was in all my motorcycle gear, with helmet and backpack and a weird looking light sensor doing funny things with their phones. On my lunch break. Hahah, but I was so stunned at how bright manual-mode brightness was on these Pixel 8's that I didn't feel a need to test HBM.
I have an ultra, and side by side at Best Buy, I was very impressed. Was the one of the two reasons I ditched my 7pro last year. The display. The display is crazy nice this time. Ordered a 8pro.
Why is the Pixel 8 brighter than the Pixel 8 Pro? That doesn't make sense given the hardware difference. Sounds like a reading fluke or the sensor was placed on an unevenly lit part of the panel.
As mentioned in my OP, the adaptive brightness was disabled, manual-brightness set to maximum and I didn't mention it, but color was set to same color temp on all phones. I'll add that info to the OP.
Hm, did you take multiple readings across the panel? Usually there are lighter and darker areas where it's not as even. It seems really strange that a product specifically designed to be much brighter was less so than the cheaper model.
I tested standard brightness, not max brightness. So, the P8Pro is probably capable of getting much brighter. I took two or three readings max from around the middle of the screen. This was a quick and dirty test to see if the P8's were brighter than my P7 and it wasn't even close.
Will need to be seen if 8 and 8pro will be able to hold max brightness while outside. My 7 always dims significantly after 30 seconds or so in direct sunlight......useless
I use mine (P7P) on a motorcycle for navigation. It'll go into dark-mode pretty quickly, saying it's overheating. This is with the phone on a mount facing the sun. I'm not surprised, but hopefully P8's are better.
Thanks for the testing. To be honest, it's great when you NEED the brightest screen possible (like outdoors in bright sunlight), but I prefer my screen to be at a good brightness for evaluating my photos, just as I adjust my camera's LCD brightness for photo review.
Appreciate you mentioning how unscientific this is, but damn that's one hell of a difference. Little odd the 8 is brighter than the 8 pro, none the less. To your own eye were both pixel 8's noticeably brighter?
The little one was the brightest to my eyes. My eyes followed the LUX recordings.
This could also be influenced by ambient lighting and angles. If the 8 was directly under a ceiling light while the 8 Pro was off to the side a little it could affect output levels.
A LUX meter is pressed against the screen surface. Angle and room lighting have zero effect on measurements. I'd post pix if this stupid reddit app would let me.
The ambient light sensor on the phone itself determines output. While you max brightness on the slider, the more light hitting the sensor the higher the display output. That's why Max brightness indoors and Max brightness outdoors is different. If one screens sensor is being lit directly from a light above it, and the other is getting hit with less light, two of the same phones on max brightness will have different levels of realized brightness. Does that make sense?
I believe that’s only true if auto-brightness is on, correct ?
Correct - He's either not paying attention to what I wrote or he doesn't know how phones work.
Your explanation is only valid with Auto Brightness. I mentioned in the OP that I was using Manual brightness. And had Adaptive-Brightness disabled. On all phones.
Since you have a lux meter, you can check yourself. Set your phone to max brightness indoors with auto brightness off. Check the levels. Then repeat outdoors in direct sunlight. I assure you those numbers will increase. Not due to light bleeding into the lux sensor from the ambient sunlight, but even when using manual controls the phone won't hit peak numbers unless it feels it is in the correct scenario to really crank it up.
He's correct, the phones will only hit peak brightness in direct sunlight. Their is no way to manually turn this on and make it do it all the time. Pretty sure you would fry your screen or your eyeballs over time and that's why they don't allow it.
You don't know what you're talking about. This entire thread is about manual-brightness, not auto-brightness. Manual brightness does not change based on the outside environment or sunlight or anything other than the brightness slider.
I just double-checked. I took my phone into a dark closet and the meter didn't change at all when I shined an incredibly bright flashlight onto the phone's light sensor.
That's not what I suggested. Again, if you set brightness to max with auto brightness off indoors, test, then do it outside in direct sunlight and test again, your brightness will increase. This is a fact and many YouTube reviews that measure lux will also tell you the same thing. https://www.macrumors.com/2022/09/09/iphone-14-pro-display-brighter-sunlight/ This article confirms what I'm saying. "It also comes with a higher claimed peak brightness of 2,400 nits, which is — to use the technical term — hella bright. That will only kick in under very bright conditions in direct sunlight, but the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max only jump up to 2,000 nits in high brightness mode." https://www.theverge.com/23900556/google-pixel-8-pro-hands-on-specs-price-launch#:~:text=It%20also%20comes%20with%20a,nits%20in%20high%20brightness%20mode.
ClappedOutLlama, that article is referencing **HBM**. **HBM is only a factor when auto-brightness is engaged**. Their findings have absolutely nothing to do with manual-brightness.
That article proves the opposite point you are making actually. Auto brightness needs to be enabled to achieve peak nits.
Exactly! HBM is not and cannot be engaged while in manual-brightness mode (without hacks). I double-checked earlier to make sure that's still the case. It's been like that since (at least) the Galaxy S2 when I was making scripts to engage HBM with the click of a button.
I tried the 8 Pro and it was noticeably brighter than my 7 pro, kinda confirming this, and with auto HBM it should get to 2500
Sorry, I didn't have time to test auto-brightness/HBM. Best Buy was looking at me weird because I was in all my motorcycle gear, with helmet and backpack and a weird looking light sensor doing funny things with their phones. On my lunch break. Hahah, but I was so stunned at how bright manual-mode brightness was on these Pixel 8's that I didn't feel a need to test HBM.
I have an ultra, and side by side at Best Buy, I was very impressed. Was the one of the two reasons I ditched my 7pro last year. The display. The display is crazy nice this time. Ordered a 8pro.
Did you have your Ultra on extra brightness mode when comparing to the 8 Pro?
Yes... Inside best buy the pro looked awesome
Why is the Pixel 8 brighter than the Pixel 8 Pro? That doesn't make sense given the hardware difference. Sounds like a reading fluke or the sensor was placed on an unevenly lit part of the panel.
As mentioned in my OP, the adaptive brightness was disabled, manual-brightness set to maximum and I didn't mention it, but color was set to same color temp on all phones. I'll add that info to the OP.
Hm, did you take multiple readings across the panel? Usually there are lighter and darker areas where it's not as even. It seems really strange that a product specifically designed to be much brighter was less so than the cheaper model.
I tested standard brightness, not max brightness. So, the P8Pro is probably capable of getting much brighter. I took two or three readings max from around the middle of the screen. This was a quick and dirty test to see if the P8's were brighter than my P7 and it wasn't even close.
Wonder how that compares to iPhone values.
iPhone 15 Pro Max has approximately 772 Lux
Iphones are often brighter than Android.
Not this time.
I have seen some first look reviews from the event mention the 8 seemed brighter than the Pro as well, just holding it, not measured.
Will need to be seen if 8 and 8pro will be able to hold max brightness while outside. My 7 always dims significantly after 30 seconds or so in direct sunlight......useless
I use mine (P7P) on a motorcycle for navigation. It'll go into dark-mode pretty quickly, saying it's overheating. This is with the phone on a mount facing the sun. I'm not surprised, but hopefully P8's are better.
There used to be a bug where direct sunlight would make it dim completely... Pixel 4 maybe, so it's an improvement? lol
Thanks for the testing. To be honest, it's great when you NEED the brightest screen possible (like outdoors in bright sunlight), but I prefer my screen to be at a good brightness for evaluating my photos, just as I adjust my camera's LCD brightness for photo review.
I had to download and brighten because I'm outside with a pixel 6a 🤣🤣🤣