Apple’s 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models come with a Liquid Retina XDR display that can output HDR content at full screen brightness, and thanks to a third-party utility, it’s possible to display it system-wide to activate only SDR content. Read on to learn how it works.
Both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro use mini-LED display technology that can bring HDR content to life with more detail in shadows, brilliant highlights, deeper blacks and more vivid colors than before . This is made possible by the 10,000 mini LEDs, which are grouped in individually controllable local dimming zones.
Like the Pro Display XDR, MacBook Pro displays have a peak brightness of 500 nits for standard, also known as SDR, content, while the MacBook Pro’s advertised 1,600 nits peak brightness in full-screen mode is for HDR content only.
However, thanks to a third-party utility called Vivid, it’s possible to unlock the peak brightness of these MacBook Pro displays for system-wide use, regardless of the quality of the content being viewed.
The beauty of Vivid is that it doesn’t technically force your display to do anything it’s not supposed to do. It simply activates the extra range of brightness normally reserved for HDR content in exactly the same way as if you were editing HDR video, making it a great solution if you tend to use your MacBook Pro outside in bright conditions To use daylight without noticing your CPU overhead system.
Vivid costs €20 ($21.82) and after installation it adds a simple switch to your Mac’s menu bar, allowing you to quickly turn Vivid on and off. Note that Vivid was designed for MacBook Pros with the M1/M2 Pro and “M1″/‌M2‌ Max chip, as well as the Pro Display XDR display.
The developers also offer a free trial so you can test Vivid in “splitscreen mode” on your computer to see if it works for your workflow.
Vivid is available on the developer’s website as well as the Mac App Store, where it’s slightly more expensive due to Apple’s fees.
Note: Vivid did not receive any compensation for this article.
