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iPhone 3G-S screen very washed out compared to iPhone 3G

NATO

NATO

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 14, 2005
1,704
43
Northern Ireland
First of all, I'm loving the speed of the 3G-S but I have come across one disappointment so far which is the screen is very washed out compared to the previous iPhone 3G. I have both side by side and with the same wallpaper images displayed, the 3G is far richer and colourful, the 3G-S is really washed out in comparison!

And it's not one of those things that you can only see when the two are side by side, I noticed earlier this evening and just put the two iPhones together to confirm my suspicions.

Has anyone else noticed this? I'm wondering if it's just a 'feature' of the iPhone 3G-S, or I've got a duff screen. I'd love to hear what other people noticed.
 
NATO said:
First of all, I'm loving the speed of the 3G-S but I have come across one disappointment so far which is the screen is very washed out compared to the previous iPhone 3G. I have both side by side and with the same wallpaper images displayed, the 3G is far richer and colourful, the 3G-S is really washed out in comparison!

And it's not one of those things that you can only see when the two are side by side, I noticed earlier this evening and just put the two iPhones together to confirm my suspicions.

Has anyone else noticed this? I'm wondering if it's just a 'feature' of the iPhone 3G-S, or I've got a duff screen. I'd love to hear what other people noticed.
Click to expand...

I have this same issue. It seems like there's a yellow tint to mine. Reminds me of how the original iPhone screens looked.

I called Apple and, after buying AppleCare, they're overnighting me a new phone.

If you have an Apple Store close by, they can do a swap out. Give tech support a call first though.
 
I did notice the warm color temp on the display, but contrast looks about the same. I compared it with my 2G, and the 3G is very close to my 17" UB calibration (at 6500K). The 2G is actually way off to the cool side. I would say, if anything, the 3G is slightly warmer than the Mac, but it's very "normal" looking.
 
Yep, seeing the same thing here. It seems to be normal to me.

I picked up a Touch 2G this past weekend, primarily to use as a dedicated development test unit and to run as an extra Sonos controller, and it has the exact same appearance to its screen as the 3GS.

Not sure if it is just a change in color temperature/calibration of the display, or a physical property of the screen itself (lowering contrast is one way of lowering LCD power consumption, depending on the nature of the LCD).

Don't think it is a fault though ... otherwise everyone I know has a problematic unit ...
 
Mine's definitely warmer, but sharper... and if anything a bit more saturated. Not washed-out at all. I'm pleased.
 
I noticed this on one of my two iPhone 3GS models. One of them is definitely more yellow and washed out than the other. Seems to be luck of the draw.
 
I have them side by side, No question the 3G S is better on mine. I'd get them switched if I were you guys.
 
onilne screen test?

Is there an online screen test, or a download that does this, red, blue, green, white, black screens?
 
This was very hard to photograph, and I'm not sure how well you'll be able to see the difference on a non-calibrated monitor. It's much more noticeable in person.


Click for big.
 
timb said:
This was very hard to photograph, and I'm not sure how well you'll be able to see the difference on a non-calibrated monitor. It's much more noticeable in person.


Click for big.
Click to expand...

My settings screen looks nothing like that. I don't know if your phone has some kind of defect but the settings screen on my 3gs looks whiter than the screen on your 3g. Also the contrast on the home screen much better on my 3gs than my 3g. Much blacker blacks.
 
You could just as easily (and IMO more accurately) say that the older iPhones, particularly the original iPhone, were too blue. My 3GS screen looks great, not yellow but more neutral than my rev. 1 iPhone. And significantly brighter as well. People are trained to recognize a blueish color temperature as neutral now because almost all screens of any kind (televisions, computers, cameras, phones) are set at the blue end of the spectrum (9,000°K+) so they'll look brighter on the display floor. Furthermore, almost every screen you see in a television or movie looks blue because cameras are generally white balanced for more yellowish set lighting (3,200°K-5600°K).
 
HiRez said:
You could just as easily (and IMO more accurately) say that the older iPhones, particularly the original iPhone, were too blue. My 3GS screen looks great, not yellow but more neutral than my rev. 1 iPhone. And significantly brighter as well. People are trained to recognize a blueish color temperature as neutral now because almost all screens of any kind (televisions, computers, cameras, phones) are set at the blue end of the spectrum (9,000°K+) so they'll look brighter on the display floor. Furthermore, almost every screen you see in a television or movie looks blue because cameras are generally white balanced for more yellowish set lighting (3,200°K-5600°K).
Click to expand...

I have a day 1 iphone and the screen is stellar compared to the 3Gs I just got. The 3Gs is just lower contrast and too warm. I can live with the warm, but all the beveled bars, menus, etc. are just washed out a tad. Blacks are slightly lighter than my 2g as well. The 2g is definitely blueish by comparison, but when viewed alone, it looks much better and richer. I'm going to go into a store and compare with all the ones on the floor. If this is the way the phone is, then that's the way it is. But I want to make sure I don't have a semi dud.
 
BUMP

I bought 2 iPhone 3GS and noticed that my black 3GS had a normal rich screen while the White 3GS had a really washed out screen. I'm going to try to get the iphone replaced at the apple store.


By the way i know what a calibrated TV should look like so this iPhone is certainly washed out.
 
Ryeno said:
BUMP

I bought 2 iPhone 3GS and noticed that my black 3GS had a normal rich screen while the White 3GS had a really washed out screen. I'm going to try to get the iphone replaced at the apple store.


By the way i know what a calibrated TV should look like so this iPhone is certainly washed out.
Click to expand...

I don't think a "washed out screen" is a legitimate reason to return a perfectly good iPhone, sorry.

My iPhone 3G, bought in September this year, was replaced two weeks ago because of a crack in the black plastic, next to the headphone socket. The replacement unit was not assembled properly, and was leaking light out a gap between the chrome bezel and glass.

Both these handsets had darker blacks and somewhat richer colours than the replacement I have now, which has a screen that is sharper but looks like the contrast is a little too high.

I have compared this iPhone screen to third generation iPod touches and other iPhones, and I've noticed a lot of iPod touches with the same "contrast issue" that my iPhone 3G has.

I'm actually so used to it that it doesn't bother me, but you'd need to be pretty anal to ask for a replacement, especially since the replacement could well be the same, and also because the replacement could be a plain boxed refurb.

And, for the record, it doesn't matter if you "know what a calibrated TV looks like". I know what a well calibrated screen looks like, but the fact is that there is a lot of these screens out there in both iPhone 3G and 3GS, as well as iPod touch 3rd Gen. I severely doubt this has anything to do with calibration, it's simply a kind of screen used.
 
WeegieMac said:
I don't think a "washed out screen" is a legitimate reason to return a perfectly good iPhone, sorry.

My iPhone 3G, bought in September this year, was replaced two weeks ago because of a crack in the black plastic, next to the headphone socket. The replacement unit was not assembled properly, and was leaking light out a gap between the chrome bezel and glass.

Both these handsets had darker blacks and somewhat richer colours than the replacement I have now, which has a screen that is sharper but looks like the contrast is a little too high.

I have compared this iPhone screen to third generation iPod touches and other iPhones, and I've noticed a lot of iPod touches with the same "contrast issue" that my iPhone 3G has.

I'm actually so used to it that it doesn't bother me, but you'd need to be pretty anal to ask for a replacement, especially since the replacement could well be the same, and also because the replacement could be a plain boxed refurb.

And, for the record, it doesn't matter if you "know what a calibrated TV looks like". I know what a well calibrated screen looks like, but the fact is that there is a lot of these screens out there in both iPhone 3G and 3GS, as well as iPod touch 3rd Gen. I severely doubt this has anything to do with calibration, it's simply a kind of screen used.
Click to expand...

Well I sure do, sorry!!
 
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