Apple's latest MacBook Pro models with Pro Display XDR can achieve twice the brightness in all conditions, which was previously thought to be unachievable, thanks to a new app called Vivid, developed by Jordi Bruin and Ben Harraway.
Double the brightness all the time
Even though the MacBook Pro Mini-LED screens can reach a maximum of 1,600 nits of peak brightness, this is only possible when watching HDR videos by default. Under normal circumstances, users can expect roughly 500 nits of brightness. The new software promises to provide users with 1,000 nits in all lighting conditions.
According to 9to5mac, users may change the brightness with the standard brightness keyboard keys and toggle Vivid on and off with ⌃⌥⌘V. The application also offers a Splitscreen feature that allows users to compare the performance of the Mac with 500 and 1,000 nits.
Bruin shares that when he got the new MacBook Pro last year, the first thing he did was to see how bright the screen could get when watching HDR videos, and after five minutes decided that he will spend the next month trying to figure out how to unlock the higher brightness across the entire system. Bruin also states that his first approach was to create a fully transparent HDR video that he could overlay on top of the system, But macOS was smart enough to notice that there is nothing to be displayed in a completely transparent video.
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Vivid: Clever use of Technology
Vivid doesn't use any hacks or low-level system calls to achieve the higher brightness "a clever mixture of different technologies including Metal, Carbon, Cocoa, Swift, SwiftuI, and even some C code" was used to develop such technology, according to Harraway.
"We knew that the Metal framework was capable of reaching extended brightness modes on macOS, but it was tricky to find the exact approach that would allow us to use this outside of our own application," said Harraway.
According to Cult of Mac, Note that even if you might find the brightness display useful, The app will increase Battery Drain on your Macbook Pro.
No risk on Hardware
According to arstechnica.com The FAQs on the application website states that using Vivid isn't likely to pose any risk to your hardware. And its impact on performance is relatively small, citing Apple documentation. And it has only a minor effect on performance.
However, please note the following disclaimer from Vivid:
- Vivid does not use low-level display hacks to push your display to levels it shouldn't go.
- The temperature of your displays will increase by between 5-10%, but macOS will limit the max brightness if necessary.
- Note that while we believe Vivid is safe to use, we can not be held responsible for any damage that occurs to your display as a result of using this software.
The same FAQs also states that should Apple come up with any updates that could make Vivid stop working, The developers will be working on updating the application to make it work. And if the developers are not successful after three months, if still unsuccessful will be open to issuing refunds to their customers.
The lifetime license fee for Vivid is 15 Euros or $16.45
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Written by Seth Denolo
