The phone can’t actually hit the 1,200 nits originally advertised, though an update might enable that in the future
Nothing has dropped the advertised brightness of its Phone (1) in some markets from 1,200 nits to a little over half that at 700 nits. Ostensibly, the hardware actually supports the former rating, but all testing since the launch indicates closer to a real-world 700 nit maximum. In details provided to German tech site Computer Base (via XDA), Nothing explained that it was considering unlocking that extra brightness range in a future update, though it could affect both heat and battery life.
We didn’t notice any overt issues with the display brightness in our Nothing Phone (1) review, with the screen being “plenty bright” in daylight, though there were other issues with uniformity at low light levels. According to Computer Base and testing from other venues like GSMArena, the phone only reached around 700 nits of brightness, though at launch, it was advertised as capable of up to 1,200 nits. Further testing to see if the upper range was limited to a separate high-brightness mode, when a certain portion of the display was white, or restricted to an HDR content mode was still unable to reach the rated numbers.
In normal use, Nothing has confirmed to Android Police that the phone actually only reaches 500 nits of brightness. The upper 500-700 nit range kicks in automatically with ambient light, much like the HBM (high-brightness mode) in Samsung’s OLED displays.
Nothing responded to Computer Base’s inquiries by explaining that the initial 1200 rating was incorrect, and though the hardware technically supports 1,200 nits (hence the initial rating), it was being limited to 700 nits for battery and temperature reasons. Computer Base claims that Nothing has updated its device specifications in some markets to reflect the 700 nit rating, though both the German and US sites are still showing the 1,200 nit rating for us at Android Police. However, Nothing has confirmed to us that the details of the change are substantially correct.
Screenshots from the German (left) and US (right) Nothing Phone (1) listings with the old brightness rating.
In follow-up coverage, Nothing explained to Computer Base that it might deliver an update in the future to unlock the upper range of display brightness, details which have been confirmed to Android Police.
When asked, Nothing provided Android Police with the following statement
“The hardware is capable of reaching up to 1,200 nits peak brightness, but this is currently capped by the software to 700 nits. This decision was made to ensure a balanced user experience regarding heat and battery consumption.We look forward to hearing from our users about this and will monitor feedback closely to understand if this should be addressed in future software updates.”
It’s unclear precisely how customers are encouraged to provide their feedback regarding the change, but those with a Nothing Phone (1) and an opinion on the subject should make their feelings known.
