Nothing Phone (1)’s screen is not as bright as it was initially claimed

Highlights
  • Nothing Phone (1) display is not as bright as 1,200nits as initially advertised.
  • The panel was able to reach 663nits in auto-brightness mode and 466nits in manual brightness mode.
  • While the panel is capable of 1,200nits brightness, the software is limiting it to 700nits.

Nothing Phone (1) finally launched last month and is steadily reaching a wider audience. The handset ships with Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G chipset, a 120Hz AMOLED display, and a 4,500mAh battery. The brand initially advertised that Phone (1) is capable of reaching a maximum peak brightness of 1,200nits but only in certain HDR video scenarios. However, general reviews on the internet found the phone could reach 663nits in auto-brightness mode and 466nits in manual brightness mode.

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This doesn’t seem out of the ordinary as the advertised 1,200+ nits peak brightness rates for all smartphones are not achievable in general day-to-day use but only in some HDR content. But with Nothing Phone (1), that doesn’t seem to be the case, even in the most niche of use cases.

Nothing Phone (1)

Nothing Phone (1) peak brightness

Going into the story, the Nothing Phone (1) can’t go all the way up to 1,200nits of brightness. German Publication ComputerBase revealed this in a report and asked Nothing to clarify the same as it couldn’t reach the advertised peak brightness in its tests “in any scenario”.

The reason behind this is that the underlying display hardware is capable of reaching the peak, but the software is currently preventing it from moving past 700nits, said the company’s spokesperson. “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.

From what it looks like, Nothing’s hardware, software and marketing team weren’t communicating properly on this matter since the hyped 1,200nits brightness figure has been seen in marketing documents. If the software is only capable of 700nits though the panel is capable of 1,200nits, this should be the most realistic figure to advertise. It remains to be seen whether there will be a future software update to enable the higher brightness or a toggle to allow people to enable/disable peak brightness while taking a hit on the battery life.

Key Specs

Nothing Phone 1
Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G Plus | 8 GBProcessor
6.55 inches (16.64 cm) Display
50 MP + 50 MPRear camera
16 MPSelfie camera
4500 mAh Battery
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Nothing Phone 1 Price
Rs. 31,999
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Review Summary

Expert Rating
7.0/10

Design
★  
9.0
/10
Display
★  
7.0
/10
Software
★  
8.0
/10
Camera
★  
8.0
/10
Performance
★  
7.0
/10
Battery
★  
8.0
/10

Pros

  • Stylish, unique design
  • Clean software
  • Capable primary camera
  • Supports wireless charging

Cons

  • Doesn\'t ship with a charger
  • Slow 33W charging speed
  • Display\'s peak brightness not the best
  • Facial recognition is finicky
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