Auto Brightness

[corolla90]

Having come from a Palm Pre to now the Nexus S 4G, this is my first experience with Auto Brightness for the display. I wasn't really sure if it was beneficial or not (in terms of the battery), so I did some research and came across an interesting article (documenting research) on how auto brightness is joke (currently). Thought I'd share the article with my fellow new Nexus S 4G owners:

Why iPhone 4 and Android Brightness Controls Are Effectively Useless

 

[Richard1864]

Very good read.

 

[FocusFreak]

Having come from a Palm Pre to now the Nexus S 4G, this is my first experience with Auto Brightness for the display. I wasn't really sure if it was beneficial or not (in terms of the battery), so I did some research and came across an interesting article (documenting research) on how auto brightness is joke (currently). Thought I'd share the article with my fellow new Nexus S 4G owners:

Why iPhone 4 and Android Brightness Controls Are Effectively Useless

Eh. Coming from an Evo which was horrible to use in sunlight, the Nexus is 10 times better and the auto brightness does a decent job IMO.

 

[KoukiFC3S]

The auto brightness in the Nexus S is really good, even outdoors.

 

[Thrasherx2k1]

I turned off auto brightness as I find it to be too dark in low light situations. Couldn't even enjoy the S-Amoled screen unless outside with it on...

 

[AndroidOne]

I find the auto brightness on the Nexus to be on the dim side. I have resorted to manual brightness control for now.

 

[clindner]

Having come from a Palm Pre to now the Nexus S 4G, this is my first experience with Auto Brightness

My pre adjusts it's brightness depending on ambient light.

 

[corolla90]

My pre adjusts it's brightness depending on ambient light.

Really? I just looked at my Pre again last night, and could find no setting for auto brightness on it. Were you running a particular patch for it? Just curious.

As for auto brightness on the NS4G, my inquiry is more to do with its impact on battery life than whether it actually works well or not.

 

[clindner]

Really? I just looked at my Pre again last night, and could find no setting for auto brightness on it. Were you running a particular patch for it? Just curious.

I don't know what controls it, I've always assumed it was just built in. If I am reading something like the NYT app, I can see that the brightness adjusts itself occasionally. This is different than the dimming that occurs as a precursor to the Auto Power Off.

So, maybe there's something wrong with my phone? But it does seem to work with the light. If I block overhead light from the phone with my hand, the display dims. Remove it, and it brightens up again after a few moments.

 

[AndroidOne]

...As for auto brightness on the NS4G, my inquiry is more to do with its impact on battery life than whether it actually works well or not.

On my Android phones I don't use the auto-brightness setting much, is usually unaccurate and most times makes the screen too bright for night indoor use ~ the Nexus is the opposite here, too dim. I have my screen brightness set around 25-35 for most times and go to 100% outdoors.

Quite frankly, I have noticed no significant battery impact with or without the auto-brightness on.

 

[jnl813]

I will be testing the difference between the 2, and mind you that really it all depends on what other apps you are running, but I will be back with the results in 2 days, today i am going with Auto. I have to agree that the auto brightness indoors is way too low.