iPhone 3G Yellow Screen Issue

[cjmal]

I disagree 100%. That looks very much like a screen calibration/contrast/saturation issue but if you are not happy with it, I would return the phone and try and get a new one... especially if you have no understanding of my above post. You have a right to be happy with your phone and as people return them for the screen color... a fix will come out... since it is software/setting related and NOT a faulty screen.

Were you around when the 1st iPhone had faulty screens? No software was ever released to fix the negative problem. It was a hardware problem. Most users either had to keep trying until they found a decent one, or had to settle for the negative screen. Feel free to look through the thread yourself

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/358122/

 

[docchris1980]

i would guess, since the degree of twisting of the liquid crystal is related to the applied voltage, this is just a case of miscalibration where it actually goes past black and starts twisting back out the other side, but i bet it couldnt be fixed outside of a lab..

 

[BETA7]

this just gives me more reasons to take my buddy's offer up on getting an original iphone rather then this new 3g crap....

 

[levitynyc]

I just put my new 3g phone up next to my old Edge.

Definitely brighter. An extremely light yellow to the screen. Unnoticeable on its own without reference.

I also couldnt believe how blue and dull the old screen looks in comparison. Who cares, they both have great screens and people are just overly crazy.

 

[exg5]

Here is a picture taken of my new iPhone 3G (8GB) and my iPhone 2.5G (8GB). They are at the exact same spot in the film Ratatouille and you can clearly see the 3G is yellow-washed and has much higher contrast. In some scenes this looks better, but the majority it looks worse and dark scenes (like when they are sleeping) are almost unwatchable. (3G on right)

 

[TeddyBlack]

I disagree 100%. That looks very much like a screen calibration/contrast/saturation issue but if you are not happy with it, I would return the phone and try and get a new one... especially if you have no understanding of my above post. You have a right to be happy with your phone and as people return them for the screen color... a fix will come out... since it is software/setting related and NOT a faulty screen.

Without turning this into an argument, i have to disagree with you that the negative black issue is a problem which can be solved by calibration (ie, not a hardware problem). When the phone is viewed face on, it is just about noticeable. When the screen is tilted by the smallest amount away/towards you, it becomes hugely obvious. As soon as I managed to get get, what I considered was a good one, it was drastically better. Don't want to get into the technicalities of all this, it's just not a calibration issue. Just for the record, my background is 15 years in the film industry as a visual effects artist, using Inferno, Shake, both systems which have to be calibrated on a very regular basis as I'm sure you can understand. Not trying to pull rank, just saying I'm not some bloke talking out of his arse.

 

[8CoreWhore]

White or yellow snow

I was going to stay out of this thread till I had a 3G iPhone in my hand to use as reference, but as a lighting designer and someone who works with variable color temperatures a lot, I have to say that this thread SOUNDS to me like much ado about nothing. The iPhone Classic was clearly set to a color temperature range well within "blue". About that, I have no doubt. If the new iPhone has a more "color corrected" or "tungsten" temperature range, it is absolutely going to look yellow next to the Classic iPhone. That does not, in itself, indicate a defect in the LCD or the glass. In fact, it probably renders better looking photos and video as a result. Like I said, I could be wrong here, but that's all it sounds like to me.

We need an informed evaluation. When it comes to photos and video, we're talking about "white balance". Does white objects look white, or do they look yellow? When you look at text on a white paper-like back ground, is it white or yellow? It shouldn't be blue or yellow, it should be white - then, the other colors will render accurately. People with iPhones: find a pro photo with an accurately exposed snow scene... white or yellow?? Comparing to the other phone is not good enough. Compare it to images you know are supposed to be white. AND, taking a picture of it with a point-and-shoot can skew it further or even correct it. Forget that. Just survey several known white objects and make a judgment. There should NOT be a global "warm" or "cool" hue to all the content on your phone. Period.

 

[Mark Booth]

As I mentioned in a previous message, when I held up both my original iPhone and the iPhone 3G to my CALIBRATED 23" Cinema Display and compared the same images across all three, I found the iPhone 3G to be much closer to the color of the Cinema Display. The original iPhone is too blue and I don't see too much yellow in my iPhone 3G at all.

So, I decided to take a photo to demonstrate. I installed a test image (containing a grey scale on the far right, a large number of colors and several skin tones) on both of my iPhone models. I then set my background wallpaper on the calibrated Cinema Display to neutral grey and opened the same test image on the calibrated Cinema Display, sizing it to approx. the same size as the iPhone's screens. Then I propped up each iPhone model on either side of the image on the Cinema Display and took a single photo of the whole thing.

The image below was shot as a RAW image with a Canon G9 camera and brought into Photoshop CS3 without any RAW processing or color correction of any type. The only thing I did was a small bit of sharpening to the entire image. It was then reduced in size (to make it more forum friendly) and saved as a jpeg at level 8. This photo accurately depicts the color comparison I see with my naked eye.

Original iPhone on the left, iPhone 3G on the right. The brightness on the original iPhone was set at dead center. I originally tried the photo with the brightness on the iPhone 3G set at dead center too, but the whites/highlights on the 3G side were too blown out. The iPhone 3G most definitely has a brighter LCD or backlighting vs. the original iPhone (at the same control setting). So, to try to reduce the blown out highlights, I lowered brightness on the iPhone 3G by a single "click" (moved it as little to the left of center as I could). That dropped the brightness enough for this photo but I think it could stand to be lowered just a bit more.

Look carefully at the grey scale along the right side of the test image. You can see the definite blue hue in the original iPhone's grey scale. You can also see the original iPhone's blue hue in white boxes surrounding all of the objects and people. The iPhone 3G lacks any significant color cast. While neither phone is a perfect match to the color and tones of the image on my calibrated display, the iPhone 3G is definitely the better of the two.

Anyway, here's the image (click for full-size image):

Oh... BTW (for those that might ask).... the reason the Cinema Display's image looks so fuzzy compared to the iPhone images is because my Cinema Display is only around 100 ppi. The iPhone displays, on the other hand, are 163 ppi. More pixels in the same area means more detail.

Mark

 

[sam10685]

Here is a picture taken of my new iPhone 3G (8GB) and my iPhone 2.5G (8GB). They are at the exact same spot in the film Ratatouille and you can clearly see the 3G is yellow-washed and has much higher contrast. In some scenes this looks better, but the majority it looks worse and dark scenes (like when they are sleeping) are almost unwatchable. (3G on right)

That doesn't look yellow... it looks like a more vibrant picture.

 

[Mark Booth]

BTW, I should also add that, while doing the above photo setup, I noticed that the iPhone 3G's LCD had a wider viewing angle than the original iPhone. I could get 5-10 degrees farther to the side before the image started getting darkened from the angle.

Mark

 

[frosse]

I havent read that many posts on this topic but I would assume that the original iphone was waaaay to blueish. And yes, I've seem some pictures of some really yellowish screens here but I really do believe that this can be solved by software.

Is there any statistics on how many units may be affected by this "issue"? Geographic ones? Would be good if you could narrow it down to see if certain shipments are affected.

Just my 2 cents

 

[HFU]

If anyone could post their model, supplier, production date as I posted in previous pages, it would help to narrow down on the distribution of yellow tinted unit.

* Yellow Screen: No
* Model: MB702LL (iPhone 3G Black 8GB)
* Supplier: ATT local store
* Production Date: 8482******** (First few S/N digits on the back of box)
* Default firmware: 2.0 (5A345)

 

[docchris1980]

yellow screen: Partial (it was very yellow - firmware made it "whiter" but its still more yellow at the bottom of the screen!)
16GB black
supplier: o2 (london)
SN: 8882****
F/W: now 5a347

 

[Essjay]

From Engadget:

"We just spoke with Bob Borchers, senior director of product marketing for the iPhone, and he had some very interesting info regarding the "yellow screen" phenomenon we've been hearing about. According to Bob (and Apple), the screen's color temperature has been purposely altered on the new iPhone to produce warmer, more natural tones, sharper images, and deeper blacks. The company says that 1st gen iPhone screens appeared colder and less defined, and they made some adjustments for the new models. In our opinion, what he says is right on -- the screens do look better on the iPhone 3G versus the older variety."

 

[docchris1980]

From Engadget

We just spoke with Bob Borchers, senior director of product marketing for the iPhone, and he had some very interesting info regarding the "yellow screen" phenomenon we've been hearing about. According to Bob (and Apple), the screen's color temperature has been purposely altered on the new iPhone to produce warmer, more natural tones, sharper images, and deeper blacks. The company says that 1st gen iPhone screens appeared colder and less defined, and they made some adjustments for the new models. In our opinion, what he says is right on -- the screens do look better on the iPhone 3G versus the older variety. What do you guys think?

 

[docchris1980]

damn, beaten!!

 

[Mescagnus]

Yellow screen: Partial (faint, get more yellow towards the bottom of the screen). Firmware fix helped to get the overall tint better.
Provider: Sonera (Finland)
Model: black 16GB
SN: 8882xxxxxxx

The screen looks better in fluorescent light than in daylight, with regard to the yellow tint. I'm undecided if I'll exchange it or not, the tint is quite mild.

We now have to phones with partial yellow tint (getting more yellow from top to bottom of the screen) starting with SN 8882.

This cannot be fixed with firmware, IMO, as the screen is uneven in tint.

 

[docchris1980]

wow, a trend with only two of us, we need to find more 8882s!!!

im lucky in that my father is upgrading his to a 3g soon and he wont notice so we can swap if his has a better screen

 

[meagain]

I love my screen.

* Yellow Screen: No. It's warmer/better/less blue push. GORGEOUS
* Model: Black 16 bm048ll/a
* Supplier: Illinois Apple
* Production Date: 8882******** (First few S/N digits on the back of box)
* Default firmware: 2.0 (5A345)

 

[jasonsmith]

We just spoke with Bob Borchers, senior director of product marketing for the iPhone, and he had some very interesting info regarding the "yellow screen" phenomenon we've been hearing about. According to Bob (and Apple), the screen's color temperature has been purposely altered on the new iPhone to produce warmer, more natural tones, sharper images, and deeper blacks. The company says that 1st gen iPhone screens appeared colder and less defined, and they made some adjustments for the new models. In our opinion, what he says is right on -- the screens do look better on the iPhone 3G versus the older variety. What do you guys think?

Why are all the other LCD screens in the world non-yellow then? Not directed towards you doc...

My Apple 30" isn't yellow and you can bet if it was, Apple's graphic design niche would be non-existent. Any LCD screen SHOULD produce dead accurate colors and should not be deliberately altered from the factory. Why not add a setting that will control the temp of the screen?

 

[docchris1980]

if i were suspicous,

maybe a more yellow/orange backlight needs a lower voltage, which explains why the battery is much smaller than the original but the battery life is longer?

 

[Yossarian]

Why are all the other LCD screens in the world non-yellow then? Not directed towards you doc...

My Apple 30" isn't yellow and you can bet if it was, Apple's graphic design niche would be non-existent. Any LCD screen SHOULD produce dead accurate colors and should not be deliberately altered from the factory. Why not add a setting that will control the temp of the screen?

Most if not all LCDs leave the factory blue-ed out to hell... what people are conditioned to think is 'accurate' is actually a blue tinted image.

 

[quagmire]

Most if not all LCDs leave the factory blue-ed out to hell... what people are conditioned to think is 'accurate' is actually a blue tinted image.

People think it is accurate due to blue is easy on the eyes. So their eyes won't strain when viewing an image.

 

[taphil]

Mine (pics posted above) is 16GB Black, 8828***.

I went to the Apple Store again to compare phones. Of the 5 I saw, mine had the best whites, slight blue tinge compared to the others and "cooler" whereas the others were more yellowish. However, mine had low blue and red saturation (or too high contrast for those colors) which mades most things dull, NOT vivid like the other screens. Other screens had blacker blacks, whereas mine was more purplish. Moreover, dark images lack details on my screen (as shown in the pics above). Basically, I don't like my screen. Unfortunately the store only had white phones left, so I left.

 

[jasonsmith]

Most if not all LCDs leave the factory blue-ed out to hell... what people are conditioned to think is 'accurate' is actually a blue tinted image.

I would agree that the original iPhone is more blue than not. However I disagree that most LCD's leave blue. My LCD's are calibrated and are not blue. If they are FF FF FF would be blue and not white.

Now... I don't think the 3g screen looks bad. I think it looks just fine. It's warmer that's for sure but it's altered IMO. I understand that it is not a graphic platform but without a nominal screen you will not able to expect to use it as such.


edit: And pls don't get me wrong, this is not a pi$$ing contest between the 2.5 and 3g, it's just I expect the best out of Apple. If I wanted a warmer or cooler screen I would like to adjust it myself that's all. Is their comment true, I don't trust it really but it doesn't matter.

If their comment was true than this: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/517938/ would not be a fix...