Other Here we go again, yellow tint Xs /Xs Max

[Harthag]

I also prefer the Xr to my Xs after playing with several at the store over the weekend. All the Xr I viewed were consistent and white. Under the bright Apple store lights the Xr appeared brighter than my Xs and the demo Xs. My Xs isn’t yellow tinted but I like the white better on the Xr. Also no color shift on any of the Xr aside from losing some brightness at an angle.

Just like OLED TVs, OLED phones can’t produce whites like LCD can. Personal preference obviously.

Not selling my Xs any time soon, but it’s inevitable that I’ll soon buy an Xr.

 

[zetronox]

I guess I will explain the issue and get the strange look.

Did you get a new one?

 

[tks900]

So this thread is 66 pages long now. Maybe someone has a short cut for me? Is there a consensus whether this is an issue or not? That is to say, is it something that some phones have and others don't, thus suggesting an exchange, or is it something that, at least to some extend, necessarily comes with the OLED, so it simply bothers some people more than others?

Some background: I am using a XS and a XR side-by-side currently. Both have True Tone enabled, but not night shift. The whites on the XR are white (but not cold or blue), the whites on the XS are somewhat beige. So what I want to know is: Should I exchange the XS in the hopes of getting a non-yellow device? Or should anyone not wanting a yellowish device stick with LCD?

 

[thelead]

So this thread is 66 pages long now. Maybe someone has a short cut for me? Is there a consensus whether this is an issue or not? That is to say, is it something that some phones have and others don't, thus suggesting an exchange, or is it something that, at least to some extend, necessarily comes with the OLED, so it simply bothers some people more than others?

Some background: I am using a XS and a XR side-by-side currently. Both have True Tone enabled, but not night shift. The whites on the XR are white (but not cold or blue), the whites on the XS are somewhat beige. So what I want to know is: Should I exchange the XS in the hopes of getting a non-yellow device? Or should anyone not wanting a yellowish device stick with LCD?

The XS models appear to be calibrated with a more warm/yellow tone than the XR. It’s not an OLED vs LCD thing. It’s a calibration thing and almost all XS’s are warmer than the its LCD counterparts. I wouldn’t bother with exchanging if your XS is has an even calibration across the entire screen.

 

[bruce316]

I have both the XS and XR. With them side by side on my desk with true tone turned off and brightness adjusted similarly the XS screen is slightly warmer/more yellowish. Due to this colors are more vibrant and text has better contrast on the XR. This is especially noticeable on any screen with a white or lighter background. With all I have read about the oled screens being superior I really expected to like my XS more but the XR display looks a bit nicer. I was going to exchange the XS to try to get a better screen but from what I have read here it does not seem like that would help.

 

[Grega0121]

iPhone XS user here. Here is my story. I came from iPhone 7, got the XS, while setting it up I noticed it had a yellow tint. One of the screens during setup it tells you about True Tone. My first thought was cool okay good at least I can turn that off. I turned it off and was relieved for about ten minutes until after setup and I realized there was still a yellow tint, and it went away when I turned the phone slightly in my hand. Whites looked like they did on my 7 as long as I had the phone tilted slightly in any axis. So I turned to the inter webs and found this thread. I purchased the phone at an ATT retailer. Long story short I was passed back and forth between apple and ATT. Apple said they would try replacing my screen. I wanted a whole new device so I went back to ATT. I made the mistake of mentioning the defective display, so it didn’t matter that I was still in the 14 day return window for ATT. The manager said he wouldn’t take the hit for the damaged device. If I hadn’t mentioned it, I could have just returned the device, and bought another one. So my plan now is to go to apple store and get the display swapped seems to be my only option. Good luck my friends.

 

[shotokaizer]

On the long run, a warmer display is better for your eyes, especially with OLED. If your Xs or Xs Max has an even calibration across the entire screen (colour is uniform with no blue/green/pink hue regions —with TrueTone and Night Shift off) just be content and keep it. Trust me you will get used to it after a couple of weeks and you will end up liking it more than cooler screens, that is if you want to stick to an OLED display. I have been using the Xs Max and the Xr both since their launch day respectively. I also compared with my 8 Plus. Yes the Xr is cooler, it’s also cooler than the 8 Plus. I personally prefer a warm display.

 

[MyMacintosh]

haven't been back here in a while! So, I went from a Xs Max opening day and replaced for another because of the screen issue, then to a XS and now back to a Max, and honestly all of them had that warmer display. Im assuming it is intentional and not a defect. I've kinda grown to liking it....even went and turned on true tone and adjusted lol.

 

[alphaod]

I don't do side-by-side comparisons with my phone, so it doesn't bother me. Even if I was using two phones, I don't notice these things, but I think all my phones have OLED displays.

 

[xrussx]

I even noticed the yellow tint in a Pixel 3 video, I think its just OLED. You might be able to find them with less or more yellow, as everyone may be different. I haven't found one yet without some kind of yellow tint.

 

[FredT2]

I even noticed the yellow tint in a Pixel 3 video, I think its just OLED. You might be able to find them with less or more yellow, as everyone may be different. I haven't found one yet without some kind of yellow tint.

I think this sums it up quite well. I really don't think that there's anything wrong with these displays, it's just the nature of the technology. Every one of the dozen or so Xs (including Max) that I looked at had some tint in whites. Off axis they vary from blue to pink/purple. If whites without any kind of tint is what you're after, get an Xr. Every one of those that I looked at had beautiful whites.

One question I have is: if a built-in solution is available, why do most people seem to exclude it? I refer to the filter setting, of course. My experience using it has been that not only does it allow a much purer whits, it also can help off axis tint a great deal.

 

[DanRyb]

I think this sums it up quite well. I really don't think that there's anything wrong with these displays, it's just the nature of the technology. Every one of the dozen or so Xs (including Max) that I looked at had some tint in whites. Off axis they vary from blue to pink/purple. If whites without any kind of tint is what you're after, get an Xr. Every one of those that I looked at had beautiful whites.

One question I have is: if a built-in solution is available, why do most people seem to exclude it? I refer to the filter setting, of course. My experience using it has been that not only does it allow a much purer whits, it also can help off axis tint a great deal.

I gave up on the iPhone XS/Max due to the warmer calibration. Which is a bummer because my iPhone X from last year had a nice "cool" calibration and it was perfect. I can't deal with the yellowness, even if it may be "more natural." My iPad Pro is also a more cool calibration, which made then looking at my iPhone XS Max that much worse when I saw how yellow the whites were. I went with the XR and whites are perfectly white. No yellow tint whatsoever.

I think the problem with the color filters is it's just that. It's simply a color overlay, not a true white point alteration. It may affect the appearance of other colors. Now for some, this may be a fine resolution. But because it's not truly affecting the white point, for others this is not a desired setting.

Apple truly needs to allow us to tweak RGB as some Android vendors do. That would solve SO many of these complaints as everyone prefers varying levels of white point calibration. :-/

 

[steve62388]

My Xs has a slightly warmer screen than my iPad Pro, but I find it acceptable. What I have a problem with is True Tone. When it’s enabled on my Xs it goes crazy yellow, a totally different colour to my iPad Pro. When it’s off my Xs screen is okay.

True Tone is so aggressive on my Xs it almost seems like a bug.

I like True Tone (when it works). Anybody have any idea if it can be fixed?

 

[Serhiy]

I gave up on the iPhone XS/Max due to the warmer calibration. Which is a bummer because my iPhone X from last year had a nice "cool" calibration and it was perfect. I can't deal with the yellowness, even if it may be "more natural." My iPad Pro is also a more cool calibration, which made then looking at my iPhone XS Max that much worse when I saw how yellow the whites were. I went with the XR and whites are perfectly white. No yellow tint whatsoever.

I think the problem with the color filters is it's just that. It's simply a color overlay, not a true white point alteration. It may affect the appearance of other colors. Now for some, this may be a fine resolution. But because it's not truly affecting the white point, for others this is not a desired setting.

Apple truly needs to allow us to tweak RGB as some Android vendors do. That would solve SO many of these complaints as everyone prefers varying levels of white point calibration. :-/

Totally agree with you, that is why I will repeat my previous post from a couple of pages ago where I was suggested by Apple support to leave feedback to add a white balance slider to iOS settings menu so that Apple consider it in their future updates. Maybe it will help.


https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

 

[Stefanredbull123]

The screen of my XS Max is just a very little bit warmer than my X which is no big deal. It's almost identical. The thing that bugs me the most is not the screen tone but the color gradient from top (pink/blue) to bottom (yellow). It is not really obvious but noteicable if you look for it.

I am not sure if it is just the angle you look at it so that the screen at the bottom ist looked at in a different angle than the top and that's why colors shift, or if it's really a different color tint. Anyone else has a warmer looking bottom screen on the XS Max compared to the top?

Hello, I have the same issue, but it looks warmer on the top and cooler on the bottom, have you talked with apple aniut that? Any service center?

 

[Aston441]

haven't been back here in a while! So, I went from a Xs Max opening day and replaced for another because of the screen issue, then to a XS and now back to a Max, and honestly all of them had that warmer display. Im assuming it is intentional and not a defect. I've kinda grown to liking it....even went and turned on true tone and adjusted lol.

OLED screens yellow as they age.

Probably Apple has calibrated them with more yellow in the beginning, and as the hours add up, they decrease the yellowing in software, so over time, the overall yellowness is about the same... until software can no longer compensate and the screen starts to look VERY yellow and very bad.

Look at any 5 year old Android OLED display.


That's why I love my LCD phones.

Even my old 5s display looks the same as the day it was new.

The X series phones are going to look awful in a few years.

 

[MrGimper]

My Xs has a slightly warmer screen than my iPad Pro, but I find it acceptable. What I have a problem with is True Tone. When it’s enabled on my Xs it goes crazy yellow, a totally different colour to my iPad Pro. When it’s off my Xs screen is okay.

True Tone is so aggressive on my Xs it almost seems like a bug.

I like True Tone (when it works). Anybody have any idea if it can be fixed?

This is what I can't understand.... why do different displays look different under the same light when TT is on. Surely they should look the same.

For example, using just arbitrary numbers to make my point.....

iPad is calibrated from the factory to a temperature of, say, 2
iPhone is calibrated from the factory to a temperature of, say, 4

The ambient light sensors in the devices determine that the ambient light in the current environment requires the display to be set to a value of, say 6, to accurately reflect the surrounding ambient light.

So the iPad True Tone increases the temperature by 4
The iPhone True Tone increases the temperature by 2

 

[shrutte]

The screen on 2 maxes that I tried is non uniform. Top is pink-ish and bottom is yellow-ish when looking straight at it. Clearly visible to me on both phones and very distracting in notes, mail, settings, calendar - etc. Especially when brightness is low. TrueTone and NightShift make it more visible.

 

[kre62]

If True Tone looks terrible and super exaggerated on your phone, its a pretty good indicator you have one of the bad screens. Swap it out, or get an XR, which is getting rave reviews for it's screen. I've seen one in person and found it vastly superior to the OLEDs in uniformity, color temperature, and ease to look at.

 

[MrGimper]

If True Tone looks terrible and super exaggerated on your phone, its a pretty good indicator you have one of the bad screens. Swap it out, or get an XR, which is getting rave reviews for it's screen. I've seen one in person and found it vastly superior to the OLEDs in uniformity, color temperature, and ease to look at.

No good if you want all the other features of the XS/Max

 

[shrutte]

If True Tone looks terrible and super exaggerated on your phone, its a pretty good indicator you have one of the bad screens. Swap it out, or get an XR, which is getting rave reviews for it's screen. I've seen one in person and found it vastly superior to the OLEDs in uniformity, color temperature, and ease to look at.

I already swapped once, how many times should I try before they ban my card ?

 

[xrussx]

I tried 7 and have given up. Just keeping my last max. It’s yellowish but I think I will get to it.

 

[shrutte]

I tried 7 and have given up. Just keeping my last max. It’s yellowish but I think I will get to it.

For me its not about the color itself, I'm fine as long as its uniform. This is not ideal but at least can be explained by perception, move to 'proper' warmer colors and what not. At very end it can be adjusted in settings via color filter.

The problem that I see is that top of the screen has a different hue from the bottom, eg. you first email is pink-ish and bottom email is yellow/green-ish.

 

[Stefanredbull123]

The screen on 2 maxes that I tried is non uniform. Top is pink-ish and bottom is yellow-ish when looking straight at it. Clearly visible to me on both phones and very distracting in notes, mail, settings, calendar - etc. Especially when brightness is low. TrueTone and NightShift make it more visible.

Yeah... same story here, I was to Apple service today, they want me to leave the phone for test... I think I will do in on Monday...and also the back o the phone is popping, I mean when you hold it and press the screen to force touch or hold it and press on the sides it’s making a popping sound...

 

[orineg]

did anyone notice a decrease in colors temperature (TT off) after 12.1 upgrade. screen looks dead...