Screen Brightness Test: iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max [Video]

Check out our screen brightness test comparing the new iPhone 17 Pro Max with the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

To perform the test, we started by disabling Auto Brightness and True Tone in iOS and setting the display brightness to 100%. With these settings, the iPhone 17 Pro Max measured a peak manual brightness of 867 nits. This is slightly lower than the 875 nits we measured on last year's iPhone 16 Pro Max.

With Auto Brightness enabled, however, the new iPhone 17 Pro Max delivered a massive improvement in peak outdoor brightness. We measured an impressive 3269 nits, a significant jump from the 2717 nits we recorded on the iPhone 16 Pro Max.


For reference, Apple officially rates the device for up to 3000 nits of peak outdoor brightness. The higher sustained brightness is made possible by a combination of display and power efficiency improvements, along with a new vapor chamber cooling system that enhances thermal management under intense outdoor conditions.

Take a look at the video below, then check out some of our other recent iPhone 17 tests:
● Boot Speed Test: iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max
● Speaker Volume Test: iPhone 17 Pro Max vs iPhone 16 Pro Max

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