Yes, I've seen that, too. However, I usually set my monitors quite low and tend to have some minimal ambient light. I only use the computer in complete darkness

Yes, I've seen that, too. However, I usually set my monitors quite low and tend to have some minimal ambient light. I only use the computer in complete darkness when watching a movie or similar. But Windows' pure black on a sea of pure white was still painful. But I think the reason for setting the monitors to a high brightness, which I've sometimes done at work, is the awful quality of the panels. Setting them brighter makes colors pop, as you say, even in light mode. My work laptop is one such offender, with darker hues basically indistinguishable at low brightness. However, the screen is shitty all the way, and max brightness isn't all that bright...