That’s a major difference, needless to say. ComputerBase even tested the brightness, and the phone was not able to reach 1,200 nits, not even close. Quite a few people reacted to this, and Nothing decided to clear the air. The company decided to offer an explanation, for things to settle down.
Nothing says the original Phone (1) screen brightness spec was accurate, but…
So, what’s the gist? Well, the company claims that the original 1,200 nits spec was accurate, but that software limitations don’t allow the phone’s brightness to go over 700 nits. Nothing added the following while talking to Android Central: “This decision was made to ensure a balanced user experience regarding heat and battery consumption”. The company also added that “normal conditions” allow a maximum brightness of 500 nits. That relies on the environment and content being viewed on the phone. Nothing added that the phone can reach 700 nits of peak brightness when “in auto brightness mode under strong light environment”. 700-1,200 nits range is considered a “special mode” that can be reached through software optimizations. The Nothing Phone (1) is not capable of it at the moment. Nothing did not clarify whether it’s planning to change that via an update.
The phone is currently incapable of going over 700 nits
So, even though Nothing claims that a 1,200 nits brightness spec was accurate, the phone is currently incapable of reaching it. The absolute maximum you can get out of the Nothing Phone (1) is 700 nits under the auto brightness setting. It would be nice if Nothing released an update down the line, upping the brightness level. This is not a top-level flagship, but having that option, even as a separate setting, would be useful.
