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iPhone 15 Pro Max SEVERE Burn-in on my iPhone 15 Pro Max

R2DHue said:
You should be able to use it however you like — without worrying if anything’s been on the screen for “too long.”

Does anyone remember how screen savers were still used because they looked “cool” but were no longer necessary to prevent screen burn-in after most desktop computer owners weren’t using CRT monitors but were using flat screen LED LCD displays instead?

Burn-in on flat screen LED displays was not a potential problem, nagging you somewhere in the back of your mind at all times.

It wasn’t a problem for ccfl bulb backlit LCD displays, it isn’t a problem for LED, mini LED or micro LED LCD displays — only OLED.

With LED LCDs, including TVs, you never had to think, “Oh, darn! I just realized I’ve had it on the same channel for too long, and that network logo has been displayed in the same spot for hours! Better change the channel — quick!”

Or, “OMG! That bright white on-screen keyboard has been on the screen for, like, an hour now!”

OLED display manufacturers have mitigated burn-in by having the device employ constant countermeasures — controlled by a microprocessor — to darken a bright object that’s been on the screen for “too long,” by doing “pixel shifts” and “picture shifts” and also gradually decreasing the brightness of the OLED over the life of the display to extend its life and mitigate inexorable damage.

It’s like keeping plates spinning on sticks perpetually!

(OLEDs are “suicidal” — always trying to kill themselves — so they need to be constantly “talked down off the ledge.”)

Apple even dedicated a whole block of their A13 to OLED screen management to constantly employ these damage mitigation techniques as seen in the below attached image.

With the iPhone 15, Apple has said that it now even uses AI and Machine Learning to mitigate OLED screen damage even better! — by gauging your individual use and better conforming its OLED damage mitigation techniques on a per-user basis!

And yet, despite all this, iPhone 15 owners who speak about the OLED burn-in damage they’ve personally experienced are being told, “YOU’RE USING IT WRONG!”

”Shouldn’ta played Raid: Shadow Legends for so long.” “It’s your fault!”

In late 2023, you ought to be able to use your device without always keeping a clock on how long, say, the keyboard’s been on the screen, how long Home Screen icons have been on the screen, how long a game score has been on, how long a network TV logo has been on the screen, and worrying about all this when you just want to forget about all of it and simply use your device!

This isn’t even a thought with an LED LCD display. Use it as you please. Fall asleep with it on. Go ahead. It’s fine. (Your battery might die, but you can recharge it.)

So I CAN’T WAIT for micro LED to put the final nail in the coffin of OLED — forever!
Click to expand...

OLED will eventually be replaced by Micro LED but currently, it is the best display tech on the market. And burn-in is very, very rare. This is my fourth OLED iPhone, I have two OLED TVs (and I gamed a lot on both with a lot of static elements) and no issues. The image quality is great - contrast, viewing angles, colors, pixel response times - all of it.

As with any technology, there are always a few duds, but you can play Raid or whatever as long as you want, it will be fine.
 
aevan said:
OLED will eventually be replaced by Micro LED but currently, it is the best display tech on the market. And burn-in is very, very rare. This is my fourth OLED iPhone, I have two OLED TVs (and I gamed a lot on both with a lot of static elements) and no issues. The image quality is great - contrast, viewing angles, colors, pixel response times - all of it.

As with any technology, there are always a few duds, but you can play Raid or whatever as long as you want, it will be fine.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you had a string of wins in the OLED panel lottery.

Does iDiagnosis, Lirum or any other App work to identify the particular components in your iPhone 15?

Apple uses different suppliers.

The iPhone 15 customers reporting burn-in and other display issues may all have phones with the same OLED panel manufacturer. 🤷‍♂️

But I can’t wait for what you said about micro LED replacing OLED. It can’t get here fast enough. Some recent consumer electronics trade shows have shown some pretty interesting micro LED panels from Samsung and TCL…

IMG_7529.jpeg
 
It's worth noting that there was an interesting video last year about transferring burn-in to a new display.

Is it possible that this false burn-in is due to the new AI algorithms for True Tone calibration?
 
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Bjcwbg16 said:
Here’s a photo of mine. Started noticing it day 10 of ownership. Took it to Apple but they wouldn’t do anything since I’m running the Beta.
Took a night photo to be able to better show what’s going on. I do not see all this with my naked eye.
View attachment 2291939
Click to expand...
lmao they seriously refused a replacement because you had beta software? that's ********. that is some seriously nasty burn in. Apple should've replaced your phone on the spot.

Anyway, what i'd do now is reset the phone to stable version and go right back to Apple. That screen is completely unacceptable. Don't leave until you have a replacement phone.
 
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R2DHue said:
You should be able to use it however you like — without worrying if anything’s been on the screen for “too long.”

Does anyone remember how screen savers were still used because they looked “cool” but were no longer necessary to prevent screen burn-in after most desktop computer owners weren’t using CRT monitors but were using flat screen LED LCD displays instead?

Burn-in on flat screen LED displays was not a potential problem, nagging you somewhere in the back of your mind at all times.

It wasn’t a problem for ccfl bulb backlit LCD displays, it isn’t a problem for LED, mini LED or micro LED LCD displays — only OLED.

With LED LCDs, including TVs, you never had to think, “Oh, darn! I just realized I’ve had it on the same channel for too long, and that network logo has been displayed in the same spot for hours! Better change the channel — quick!”

Or, “OMG! That bright white on-screen keyboard has been on the screen for, like, an hour now!”

OLED display manufacturers have mitigated burn-in by having the device employ constant countermeasures — controlled by a microprocessor — to darken a bright object that’s been on the screen for “too long,” by doing “pixel shifts” and “picture shifts” and also gradually decreasing the brightness of the OLED over the life of the display to extend its life and mitigate inexorable damage.

It’s like keeping plates spinning on sticks perpetually!

(OLEDs are “suicidal” — always trying to kill themselves — so they need to be constantly “talked down off the ledge.”)

Apple even dedicated a whole block of their A13 to OLED screen management to constantly employ these damage mitigation techniques as seen in the below attached image.

With the iPhone 15, Apple has said that it now even uses AI and Machine Learning to mitigate OLED screen damage even better! — by gauging your individual use and better conforming its OLED damage mitigation techniques on a per-user basis!

And yet, despite all this, iPhone 15 owners who speak about the OLED burn-in damage they’ve personally experienced are being told, “YOU’RE USING IT WRONG!”

”Shouldn’ta played Raid: Shadow Legends for so long.” “It’s your fault!”

In late 2023, you ought to be able to use your device without always keeping a clock on how long, say, the keyboard’s been on the screen, how long Home Screen icons have been on the screen, how long a game score has been on, how long a network TV logo has been on the screen, and worrying about all this when you just want to forget about all of it and simply use your device!

This isn’t even a thought with an LED LCD display. Use it as you please. Fall asleep with it on. Go ahead. It’s fine. (Your battery might die, but you can recharge it.)

So I CAN’T WAIT for micro LED to put the final nail in the coffin of OLED — forever!
Click to expand...
Wonder why Apple stated that for the iPhone 15 series it now uses AI and machine learning to mitigate OLED screen damage even better... From what I have seen since iPhone X days, their OLED panels were and are keeping up just fine so far.
 
Grey Area said:
But OLEDs do burn in. "burn-in" is a non-scientific catch-all term for when displays develop permanent after-images. The physical processes behind this differ between display types. OLED burn-in occurs when specific pixels have to run brighter than their surroundings for a long time, e.g. a white logo on dark background, causing the bright pixels to degrade faster than their darker neighbours. Eventually their relative loss of luminance becomes so severe that when a uniform background is to be shown, the worn-out pixels form a dark after-image of that logo.

For OLED, degradation and burn-in are intertwined. OLED burn-in is the result of locally accelerated degradation.
Click to expand...
It's amazing yall keeping proving my point and then continue using the wrong technical terminology. If it's not burn in, quit calling it that. All it does it cause confusion to other people when speaking of it and if you call in to the company to complain, they're going to tell you to kick rocks because you don't know what you're talking about.
 
krspkbl said:
lmao they seriously refused a replacement because you had beta software? that's ********. that is some seriously nasty burn in. Apple should've replaced your phone on the spot.

Anyway, what i'd do now is reset the phone to stable version and go right back to Apple. That screen is completely unacceptable. Don't leave until you have a replacement phone.
Click to expand...
I absolutely despite the idiots in Apple Support who blame OBVIOUSLY unrelated things on Beta software and then refuse to touch it.

I have an ongoing issue with Find My and a set of AirPods that has persisted for 9 months, across numerous versions of release software. I upgraded to a beta (in hopes of a fix) and despite Apple having records and notes of all my issues and all the software versions (not beta) where the issue was occurring, up to and including the latest release version, I still ran into an idiot technician who told me they can't do anything about it because I was on beta software. But to be clear, this was one person out of maybe 15 technicians I talked to over the months. Also, my issue was never solved...

Either try another Apple tech or definitely restore to a release version and get that phone fixed.
 
JonMPLS said:
3utools seems to need a Windows PC. Any mac options? iOS not in the US app store.
Click to expand...
Same question. I don't have a Windows PC. It seems like u3tools is only Windows and any references to a Mac version seem to be spam or scam. Is there another tool?
 
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AndrewR23 said:
Did anyone ever figure out if the burn in is on Samsung or LG displays? Looked here and Reddit and nobody ever answers haha
Click to expand...

I don’t think anyone’s figured out how to get the information about who the panel maker is.

Lirum, etc. don’t show.

(But I’d bet that LG’s are the bad ones.)
 
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R2DHue said:
I don’t think anyone’s figured out how to get the information about who the panel maker is.

Lirum, etc. don’t show.

(But I’d bet that LG’s are the bad ones.)
Click to expand...
With the 3utools application you can know the manufacturer, the date it was manufactured and the shipment.
 
R2DHue said:
I don’t think anyone’s figured out how to get the information about who the panel maker is.

Lirum, etc. don’t show.

(But I’d bet that LG’s are the bad ones.)
Click to expand...
Its that 3utools program. But after reading 10+ threads on here and Reddit, not one person who has the burn in replies as to what the maker is. Everyones just assuming LG
 
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adam1080 said:
Well, for the last week and a half I have been touting the iPhone 15 Pro/ProMax as one of the best iPhones in years. Despite incremental changes, it is greater than the sum of its parts. I also had ZERO issues with over-heating and thought those claims were rare and blow out of proportion.

Then last night I saw something I have never experienced on an iPhone. Terrible and VERY noticeable burn-in. This was never an issue on my X, 11 Pro, 13 Pro or 14 Pro OLED screens.

View attachment 2288347

You can clearly see the Photos App, Notes App, Clock App, Calendar App with "22or 3ish)" and below the the "X" app that is the main home page of my phone here:

View attachment 2288350

View attachment 2288354

I then decided to go play a gray "Uniformity" Video on YouTube that I had played about a week early after reading a post here that some users were seeing issues with their display on brightness uniformity issues from one side of their screen to another. At a couple days old, my iPhone looked great.

Last night... these were the results:

View attachment 2288356

View attachment 2288357

I only 2 days ago turned off the Always On Display option, but the calendar clearly shows 22 ish burned-in. Auto-lock has been set at 2 minutes since the restore on launch day.

I have AppleCar+ Theft and Loss. Just not sure when to take it back at this point.

Disappointed that in less than 14 days something like this was even possible under normal use.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edit 10/5/23 evening:

Status update-



Welp, I think this all might be coming to an anti-climactic end...


After almost 45 min, I finally met with the Genius. I was sitting there working on my MBP waiting, so when he asked me my issue I showed him the pictures and videos of the 15 PM on my Mac. His reaction and body language was basically "oof, that IS a problem." I told him "it won't be visible in the daylight lighting of the Apple Store, but if you have a windowless closet back there, then run back and go nuts."

The word used by the genius to describe it was "ghosting." He said, "how long after leaving your Home Screen do the images persist?" I laughed and said "that depends on how long do you want to keep looking at the phone. What time does your shift end?"

I said "But seriously, the images never leave. I ran an HDR YouTube "screen-cleaner/scrubber" at full brightness for an hour and they were still there just as noticeable as soon as I switched to a dark mode grey screen." And as I said on the forum, there were just as visible before I left for the store.

He ran a series of diagnostics on the phone right there at the desk, seemingly looked at the results and then read some internal Knowledge-base Articles for a couple minutes(never took the phone back to look at it in the dark) and then "Yep, that's a problem. Normally what we would do for this issue is replace the screen, but since there are no parts available for the 15's yet I will order you a replacement phone."

My response to him was, "No... Normally what I would do with a problem like this on a new phone is return it and get another phone, NOT repair it." I could see him going to look at the return date/option on the account/diagnostic screen of his iPad and the "Duh/Doh" moment he had realizing the 15's still have not been out 14 days yet. That was funny to see...

He started looking at availability of any devices in the 3 stores in the state and... bupkis.

He confirmed that normal "refurbs" don't even exist nor show up in their system yet. That this would be a "new" phone. I asked if it would "be a new sellable phone in a sealed box?" and he said, it would be a new phone in a sealed box, but not the "sellable box" and "would not come with the accessories like the cable."

I asked him how long that would take and he said, "not longer than a few days. We will give you a call as soon as it comes in."
------------------------------------


So there we are... I can't find another iPhone 15 Pro Max of any storage size or color for purchase at any of the Apple Stores in my state. I can't find my exact phone at BestBuy, AT&T, Walmart, etc. for pickup today or tomorrow. So it looks like I won't be returning it and will be sticking with the "new" replacement phone when it arrives.

I know some folks have said that result was not the ideal outcome with how those units identified, but here I am. I won't plan on keeping my iPhone 15 Pro Max and will just trade it in for the 16 Pro whichever when that comes out. Chances are I will replace this one more time before then anyway. I had to replace my 14 Pro once, and the phones I do keep for 2 years usually qualify to get the battery or whole phone replaced too. AppleCare is my insurance after-all.

So its a "new" replacement and not a return for me.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
For those curious about the issue itself, I did try and pick the Genius' brain and experience about that. Asked him what he thought it was and if there are others that have had that issue(he also owns the phone.) He said. "I did check and this has not been an issue we are seeing at any scale with the 15 Pro's. I have not seen this issue on my phone and no one has returned one so far to this store with that issue." We went on to talk about the heating issues that neither of us had experienced. His last meaningful comment was, "This is not likely any software related issue because if it was wide-spread enough and software related, we would most likely know that by now. This type of issue on a screen so new is likely a faulty display and is clearly not operating within spec or design."

So it seems rare (which the 1 or 2 other people this thread has discovered might confirm that), but this Store and Genius certainly agreed it was outside of any allowable tolerances. Only time will tell I guess.

Thanks everyone for coming on this journey with me and commiserating a bit on something so unusual/frustrating.

Hope everyone's screen stays pretty and your titanium frosty!
Click to expand...
Dunno if this is still the case, but when I worked at the Apple Stores, they would always keep 1 or 2 of each model and colour aside for DOA units. This might not happen at all stores but they might have some that are not showing on inventory and just waiting to be replaced with a broken or defective unit. Usually though the guys on the Genius Bar wouldn't know if they are still there or even available at all as its usually the sales floor that would have access to them.

Secondly, this early on, the devices you get as replacements at the Genius Bar are not refurbished at all, they are just sent in the same boxes as the rebus for replacements and swaps. it usually takes a good couple of months to see refurbed units come into stock on the GB for replacements. So I wouldn't worry too much on the device you getting being refurbished.

Its been a while since I worked there, so practices may have changed, but if your still within your 14 days and really want a sealed box, retail replacement, go back and speak with a manager in store. They should have some to swap the phone with.
 
Surfphysics said:
Yep…. Here is mine 2 weeks old
Click to expand...
Do you or does anyone know what are those dark stripes coming out of the sides of the dynamic island? They don’t look like burn-in. I have seen them in a lot of pictures here and on reddit. I have the iPhone 15 Pro and have no issues with the screen, but at some grey background levels I can barely see them too on my device.
I ran the video with grey background on my wife’s 14 Pro and I can see them too but at different levels of grey.
Today I tested my colleague’s 15 Pro which has zero burn-in issues but has those stripes. I found another colleague with 14 Pro Max and we saw them too. They are barely visible at really dark grey in the dark room. The edges of the stripes are aligned with the lower and the upper edges of the dynamic island. I can’t remember any case where the sides of the dynamic island are stretched to the edges of the screen so I don’t think that is burn-in. And actually it looks different than burn-in. Could it be some manufacturing issue?
 
krspkbl said:
lmao they seriously refused a replacement because you had beta software? that's ********. that is some seriously nasty burn in. Apple should've replaced your phone on the spot.

Anyway, what i'd do now is reset the phone to stable version and go right back to Apple. That screen is completely unacceptable. Don't leave until you have a replacement phone.
Click to expand...
Happened to me the exact same thing yesterday, went to an Apple reseller, and wouldn't diagnose my 15PM since its in beta, they actually tried restoring 17.0.3 but at the moment this isn't possible (nobody knows why) but 15s can't be downgraded.

They insist this is a software related issue since Apple hasn't released any official communication about it, so I was sent home "until I can downgrade to a stable version". Ended up speaking to apple through phone support and sending them all the pictures, so they can give me some sort of solution. Unfortunately in Colombia, where I'm at, there is no Apple Store.

G9N3287... Samsung Screen from 07/16/2023
 

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justlookingaround said:
Do you or does anyone know what are those dark stripes coming out of the sides of the dynamic island? They don’t look like burn-in. I have seen them in a lot of pictures here and on reddit. I have the iPhone 15 Pro and have no issues with the screen, but at some grey background levels I can barely see them too on my device.
I ran the video with grey background on my wife’s 14 Pro and I can see them too but at different levels of grey.
Today I tested my colleague’s 15 Pro which has zero burn-in issues but has those stripes. I found another colleague with 14 Pro Max and we saw them too. They are barely visible at really dark grey in the dark room. The edges of the stripes are aligned with the lower and the upper edges of the dynamic island. I can’t remember any case where the sides of the dynamic island are stretched to the edges of the screen so I don’t think that is burn-in. And actually it looks different than burn-in. Could it be some manufacturing issue?
Click to expand...
Oh wow. I just noticed I have this when watching a movie that had a pretty dark scene. It’s like a line the same width of the dynamic island running either side of the dynamic island. The left side is slightly more visible than the right - not extreme but would be really curious to know what it is.
 
I'm on the latest beta and just noticed burn-in as well. I'm not sure when it started but I got my device on release day. Does anyone running the newest non-beta have burn-in?
 
OhSixTJ said:
I'm on the latest beta and just noticed burn-in as well. I'm not sure when it started but I got my device on release day. Does anyone running the newest non-beta have burn-in?
Click to expand...
download 3utools and report back if its Samsung or lg
 
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