Apple introduced new keyboard keys with the 16-inch MacBook Pro, solving the issues which plagued the past few generations of MacBook Pros. However, the new laptop is facing some other issues. Some users of the new MacBook are facing issues related to the screen’s brightness.

Some 16-inch MacBook Pro users have noticed that the screen on their brand new laptop doesn’t quite reach the brightness levels that they have been accustomed to with their previous generation MacBook Pros.

Upon closer inspection, some users noticed that the software reduces the screen brightness level once the laptop wakes up from sleep. This happens even when they set the screen brightness to the maximum level. The operating system simply reduces the brightness to a lower level than what was set by a user.

Users in MacRumors’ forums noticed a similar behavior even when the Automatic Brightness, True Tone, and Auto-Dimming On Battery settings were turned off. This only points to a software bug on the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which is potentially limiting the screen brightness from its maximum capability.

A few users noticed that the 16-inch MacBook Pro’s screen brightness is lower than their previous-generation MacBooks. If true, that’s strange because Apple mentions the peak brightness of its latest laptop’s screen as 500 nits. This figure is similar to the previous MacBook Pros.

Some consumers noticed lower than expected brightness levels on the 16-inch MacBook Pro when they were checking out the laptop in Apple Stores. Apparently, a similar issue surfaced on the MacBook Air and Apple released a software fix that increased the screen brightness from 300 nits to 400 nits.

Technology publication Laptop Mag measured brightness of 429 nits on the MacBook Pro 16-inch’s screen, while Lisa from MobileTechReview got a measurement of 416 nits. Some forum members measured the maximum screen brightness on Apple’s latest laptop and found that it hovers around the 400 nits mark.

Our Take

It isn’t clear whether it’s a hardware or software issue, and if it’s the latter, Apple would most probably fix it with a software update. However, that also means that the company is struggling to keep up the QA process in its software division.

A lot of Apple products released over the past few years have been riddled with bugs and issues, and the company hoped to put behind the butterfly keys saga. However, other issues seem, including popping sounds and screen ghosting, to crop up on its laptops.