How to Maximize/Minimize Screen Brightness Programmatically in Android?

Last Updated : 15 Feb, 2023

Screen brightness is one such factor that directly affects the users as well as the battery on a device. Android devices are Smart systems and have an inbuilt system for Auto-Brightness. But mostly this feature is unchecked by the users or set off by default. Irrespective of whether this feature is present, set on or off, or absent in any device, a developer must take this opportunity into consideration and develop an optimized application. Anything that is declared inside the application might have an effect on the outside space, i.e., if the screen brightness was changed programmatically from an application, the brightness value might stay unaltered even after exiting the application. So one must try to trace back the originals and set them before a user exits.

Where can we use this feature?

Applications Streaming Videos: Each frame could be analyzed and compared with the ambient light of the room and accordingly make changes while viewing it to the users.
Low Battery Situations: Brightness can be set at a low value if the battery level is low.
If the screen is inactive or unresponded: If the screen is inactive or unresponded, the brightness could be lowered after a specific time-out.

A sample GIF is given below to get an idea about what we are going to do in this article. Note that we are going to implement this project using the Kotlin language.

Approach

Step 1: Create a New Project

To create a new project in Android Studio please refer to How to Create/Start a New Project in Android Studio. Note that select Kotlin as the programming language.

Step 2: Working with the AndroidManifest.xml file

Controlling the device screen brightness requires a change in root settings, for which declare a uses-permission of WRITE_SETTINGS in the AndroidManifest.xml file.

<uses-permission android:name=”android.permission.WRITE_SETTINGS”

tools:ignore=”ProtectedPermissions” />

Below is the code for the AndroidManifest.xml file.

XML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    package="org.geeksforgeeks.playingwithbrightness">
 
      <!--Add this permission-->
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_SETTINGS"
        tools:ignore="ProtectedPermissions" />
 
    <application
        android:allowBackup="true"
        android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
        android:label="@string/app_name"
        android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
        android:supportsRtl="true"
        android:theme="@style/AppTheme">
        <activity android:name=".MainActivity">
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
 
                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>
    </application>
 
</manifest>

Step 3: Working with the activity_main.xml file

Next, go to the activity_main.xml file, which represents the UI of the project. Add two Buttons as shown, one to make the brightness value maximum and the other to make it minimum. Below is the code for the activity_main.xml file.

XML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    tools:context=".MainActivity">
 
    <!--This button will make the brightness minimum-->
    <Button
        android:id="@+id/turn_off_screen_button"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_centerInParent="true"
        android:text="Turn Off Screen"
        tools:ignore="MissingConstraints" />
 
    <!--This button will make the brightness maximum-->
    <Button
        android:id="@+id/turn_on_screen_button"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_below="@id/turn_off_screen_button"
        android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
        android:text="Turn On Screen"
        tools:ignore="MissingConstraints" />
 
</RelativeLayout>

Step 4: Working with the MainActivity.kt file

Finally, go to the MainActivity.kt file, and refer to the following code. Below is the code for the MainActivity.kt file. Comments are added inside the code to understand the code in more detail.

Kotlin

import android.content.Context
import android.content.Intent
import android.os.Build
import android.os.Bundle
import android.provider.Settings
import android.widget.Button
import androidx.annotation.RequiresApi
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity
 
class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
    @RequiresApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.M)
    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main)
 
        // Get turn off screen button
        val turnOffScreenButton: Button = findViewById(R.id.turn_off_screen_button)
        turnOffScreenButton.setOnClickListener { // Get app context object.
            val context = applicationContext
 
            // Check whether has the write settings permission or not.
            val settingsCanWrite = hasWriteSettingsPermission(context)
 
            // If do not have then open they Can modify system settings panel.
            if (!settingsCanWrite) {
                changeWriteSettingsPermission(context)
            } else {
                changeScreenBrightness(context, 1)
            }
        }
         
        // Get turn on screen button
        val turnOnScreenButton: Button = findViewById(R.id.turn_on_screen_button)
        turnOnScreenButton.setOnClickListener {
            val context = applicationContext
 
            // Check whether has the write settings permission or not.
            val settingsCanWrite = hasWriteSettingsPermission(context)
 
            // If do not have then open the Can modify system settings panel.
            if (!settingsCanWrite) {
                changeWriteSettingsPermission(context)
            } else {
                changeScreenBrightness(context, 255)
            }
        }
    }
 
    // Check whether this app has android write settings permission.
    @RequiresApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.M)
    private fun hasWriteSettingsPermission(context: Context): Boolean {
        var ret = true
        // Get the result from below code.
        ret = Settings.System.canWrite(context)
        return ret
    }
 
    // Start can modify system settings panel to let user change the write
    // settings permission.
    private fun changeWriteSettingsPermission(context: Context) {
        val intent = Intent(Settings.ACTION_MANAGE_WRITE_SETTINGS)
        context.startActivity(intent)
    }
 
    // This function only take effect in real physical android device,
    // it can not take effect in android emulator.
    private fun changeScreenBrightness(
        context: Context,
        screenBrightnessValue: Int
    ) {   // Change the screen brightness change mode to manual.
        Settings.System.putInt(
            context.contentResolver,
            Settings.System.SCREEN_BRIGHTNESS_MODE,
            Settings.System.SCREEN_BRIGHTNESS_MODE_MANUAL
        )
        // Apply the screen brightness value to the system, this will change
        // the value in Settings ---> Display ---> Brightness level.
        // It will also change the screen brightness for the device.
        Settings.System.putInt(
            context.contentResolver, Settings.System.SCREEN_BRIGHTNESS, screenBrightnessValue
        )
    }
}