iPhone 12 Pro Yellow Screen/Tint? Display seem "Warm"? Check here first!

[bushman4]

One of the most important things on a cellphone is the screen. Most actions you do involve the screen (texting, watching a video etc).
If the screen is yellowish or greenish or flickering it’s self explanatory what you have to do ...... Return it

 

[maka344]

Is the camera correcting the whitepoint because the one on the left looks very close the other one and does't look "piss" yellow?

No. Both of these screens are white - the one on the left didn’t have an issue with whites, it simply had a slight pink hue and an off axis shift which could be seen in all scenarios. My previous devices suffered with the yellow screens.

Device on the right is simply perfect with or without TT/Nightshift on.

 

[Robbosan]

100% agreed. I posted this a good few pages back about my Week 47 device.
...

I’ve won the screen lotto, finally. New iPhone 12PM PB received today from a major UK Retailer - Build Week 47 (16th - 22nd Nov) - G6TDQ
I’ve won the screen lotto, finally. New iPhone 12PM PB received today from a major UK Retailer - Build Week 47 (16th - 22nd Nov) - G6TDQ

This device:
- has white whites
- no pink, green hues or green colour shift on tilt
- a fully even screen - no pink in the corners/sides
- True Tone doesn’t look pi** yellow and is subtle when on
- blacks are ink black and images pop more
- no gaps between screen and bezel - testing with the Apple logo sticker
- no green/grey screen on boot in a dark room
- no flickering when watching a black screen YouTube video at 25%> brightness - the screen turns completely off

This one is a keeper and I’m done now. There are good screens out there but there are more bad than good.

Left is the bad screen and right is the keeper. Good luck to people still going through the motions.

Uhh, look near the same to me on my 27" 5K iMac lol.

 

[Robbosan]

One of the most important things on a cellphone is the screen. Most actions you do involve the screen (texting, watching a video etc).
If the screen is yellowish or greenish or flickering it’s self explanatory what you have to do ...... Return it

No kidding, return with apple is not that easy not with telco's or retailers.

 

[xJohnyyx]

I agree that True Tone is bugged and it's my main issue with the 12's screen. Yes it is more yellow even without it enabled but not to a degree that bothers me.

These are my True Tone observations:

- In a warmly lit or dark room, it is severly more aggressively warm than any other Apple device with True Tone I've seen. Incomparably so.

- In the outside, or standing next to a window, it will generally drastically reduce the yellow tint on the fly and look as cool or perhaps even cooler than without True Tone enabled BUT this capability, which I guess is how it is supposed to behave and is how my iPad Air does for example, is sometimes compromised and the screen will no longer adapt. Once that's the case, the phone will either not at all change or sometimes be in the correct True Tone mode after locking the phone and waking it in the corresponding surrounding conditions.

- Rebooting the phone restores the capability of adapting on the fly, but only for a limited time.

 

[netnative]

Whhhhaaaaaaaaatttt? Dude. We speak English. Stop

Turning CC on provides English subtitles.

 

[ghosttrooper]

So I’m outside the return window for my 12, but I contacted Apple and told them about the yellow tint issue I’m having. They had me do a settings reset, and told me if it didn’t work I could use my case number to get a replacement. Settings reset didn’t work so I’ll be asking for a replacement. I would suggest if others have this issue and are outside the return windows, give it a shot and see what they will do for you.

 

[Kdjdnd]

Just went to BB and Walmart. BB all had the yellow tint (12 pro/pro max/mini) and all were noticeably less bright than mine. Went to Walmart and the 12 pro/pro max displays were perfect, no yellowing at all. Slightly dimmer than mine but again zero yellowing.

 

[kre62]

Just went to BB and Walmart. BB all had the yellow tint (12 pro/pro max/mini) and all were noticeably less bright than mine. Went to Walmart and the 12 pro/pro max displays were perfect, no yellowing at all. Slightly dimmer than mine but again zero yellowing.

See any regular 12s?

 

[Kdjdnd]

See any regular 12s?

In BB, yes. It had the yellowing as well. There wasn’t a regular 12 at Walmart, just 11 Pro Max (no yellowing), 12 pro (no yellowing) and 12 pro max (no yellowing).

 

[gtg465x]

Are you in the extended return window? I bought on launch day and so I’m not eligible for extended return. Wonder if I could ask for an express replacement anyways.

I am, but not sure that matters for express replacement.

 

[gtg465x]

I see, so it was for the green tint issue. For your online enquiry, do you recall the date you made it? I’m wondering if it was around/ before this macrumors article was published (~18th November): https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ma...e-investigating-iphone-12-display-issues/amp/

If it was around this time, I wonder if the tech you talked to was aware of the issue. It seems that because they’re expecting a fix they’re turning down people for replacements.

It was on November 21, but my green tint issue was different than what most people are talking about. Most people complaining of green tint are saying they see a green glow instead of black in certain low light scenarios. My issue was that literally everything on the screen had a green tint... whites looked green, everything. The color balance was just way off and tilted far too green. No way a software update will fix that issue, but software might fix the raised blacks / green glow issue.

 

[Anthony Narciso]

It was on November 21, but my green tint issue was different than what most people are talking about. Most people complaining of green tint are saying they see a green glow instead of black in certain low light scenarios. My issue was that literally everything on the screen had a green tint... whites looked green, everything. The color balance was just way off and tilted far too green. No way a software update will fix that issue, but software might fix the raised blacks / green glow issue.

I feel like I have this issue too. I don’t notice whites being bad at all but in dark mode the grays are just so weird. The settings menu and sites like macrumors are just ever so greenish gray and it’s driving me mad.

 

[secretanchitman]

Finally opened my 12 Pro 512GB Graphite today (ordered 11/20, received on 11/27) - screen is cool, no yellow tint and no flickering! I compared it to my previous XS and it's noticeably cooler. This is the first iPhone that I've received with a cool temperature in years, consider me lucky!

Edit: Thanks to rwings01, the production week of my 12 Pro is 46 (November) and assembled in DN (China, Chengu - Foxconn)!

 

[rwings01]

Finally opened my 12 Pro 512GB Graphite today (ordered 11/20, received on 11/27) - screen is cool, no yellow tint and no flickering! I compared it to my previous XS and it's noticeably cooler. This is the first iPhone that I've received with a cool temperature in years, consider me lucky!

Congratulations, you mind posting the first 5 letter/numbers of the serial number or the production week?

TIA

 

[jheeze]

So I’m outside the return window for my 12, but I contacted Apple and told them about the yellow tint issue I’m having. They had me do a settings reset, and told me if it didn’t work I could use my case number to get a replacement. Settings reset didn’t work so I’ll be asking for a replacement. I would suggest if others have this issue and are outside the return windows, give it a shot and see what they will do for you.

That’s great to hear. Hopefully the replacement looks more like some of the recent successful replacements here. Do keep us posted on how it turns out. I’m in the same boat as you, as I’m sure many others are. It’s good to know that people are able to have Apple agree to replacements for this. I’m just waiting it out a bit to see if these later models are consistently better.

It was on November 21, but my green tint issue was different than what most people are talking about. Most people complaining of green tint are saying they see a green glow instead of black in certain low light scenarios. My issue was that literally everything on the screen had a green tint... whites looked green, everything. The color balance was just way off and tilted far too green. No way a software update will fix that issue, but software might fix the raised blacks / green glow issue.

From your description I think this is what most people who are noticing a yellow tint are experiencing. I believe the green and yellow tint are linked and it’s due to how the viewer perceives the colour, whether they notice the yellow or the green in the panel more. But to add to that, I think the grey glow of pixels at certain brightnesses under 100% is a more widespread issue, which is only exacerbated by panels that err more on the green side of things at these low brightness levels, making this glow more striking and visible. I would argue that most people aren’t noticing it due to a host of different factors. For one, it can be hard to spot if you’re not specifically looking for it. In my case, I wouldn’t have noticed it if I didn’t come across articles about it, which I can say wasn’t the case for the yellow tint issue. But to add to that, I’m in the category of people who hadn’t come from an OLED device before to compare it to, so I had no reference as to how it should look like, as my previous LCD of course used backlighting. In addition to this, the scenarios in which you would spot it are quite specific. Let’s just say there’s no way anyone is able to spot it in lighting conditions that aren’t pitch black. The glow is typically quite faint too, so if you’re watching bright content, your eyes are likely not able to adjust to see it.

Going back to the tint issue, looking at the RGB grey balance graphs that you and others have posted of their panels, my case seems to align with that of bad panels which exaggerate the green far more at brightnesses below ~ 10% whilst the red and blue are more muted at those levels and in general. The green tint to greys is quite noticeable at low brightness with my supposedly bad G9P panel. So I would consider myself in the same boat as you regarding your first iPhone model before you received your replacement.

 

[Mochio]

If green is 10, then the balance is about 8 for red and 7 for blue.

 

[nature]

 

[Chris.J]

^ That's pretty much what the service person said to me and they now recommend that it is 'repaired'

If Apple reject the repair of the screen, then I'm planning on simply arguing the toss with them, saying that the service person said that it needs repairing and I waited a month to get a Genius slot. I'll make a scene until they give me a replacement.

 

[gtg465x]

I feel like I have this issue too. I don’t notice whites being bad at all but in dark mode the grays are just so weird. The settings menu and sites like macrumors are just ever so greenish gray and it’s driving me mad.

You should get it replaced. There are definitely some with less green tint than others.

 

[Anthony Narciso]

You should get it replaced. There are definitely some with less green tint than others.

Think I should wait a little longer for better chances at a better screen or should I try now? I’m on the upgrade program so it’s not a huge deal date wise.

 

[nature]

^ That's pretty much what the service person said to me and they now recommend that it is 'repaired'

If Apple reject the repair of the screen, then I'm planning on simply arguing the toss with them, saying that the service person said that it needs repairing and I waited a month to get a Genius slot. I'll make a scene until they give me a replacement.

Do share how it goes

 

[418608]

what's the problem?

your 12 looks fine.

your XR looks green. you upgraded

I can assure you that in person, the iPh12 is yellow compared to the XR. The picture doesn’t display colours as they really are, but it’s useful to see there are difference, and the XR is pure white in person. Even my wife who is oblivious to anything related to electronics noticed it

 

[gtg465x]

That’s great to hear. Hopefully the replacement looks more like some of the recent successful replacements here. Do keep us posted on how it turns out. I’m in the same boat as you, as I’m sure many others are. It’s good to know that people are able to have Apple agree to replacements for this. I’m just waiting it out a bit to see if these later models are consistently better.



From your description I think this is what most people who are noticing a yellow tint are experiencing. I believe the green and yellow tint are linked and it’s due to how the viewer perceives the colour, whether they notice the yellow or the green in the panel more. But to add to that, I think the grey glow of pixels at certain brightnesses under 100% is a more widespread issue, which is only exacerbated by panels that err more on the green side of things at these low brightness levels, making this glow more striking and visible. I would argue that most people aren’t noticing it due to a host of different factors. For one, it can be hard to spot if you’re not specifically looking for it. In my case, I wouldn’t have noticed it if I didn’t come across articles about it, which I can say wasn’t the case for the yellow tint issue. But to add to that, I’m in the category of people who hadn’t come from an OLED device before to compare it to, so I had no reference as to how it should look like, as my previous LCD of course used backlighting. In addition to this, the scenarios in which you would spot it are quite specific. Let’s just say there’s no way anyone is able to spot it in lighting conditions that aren’t pitch black. The glow is typically quite faint too, so if you’re watching bright content, your eyes are likely not able to adjust to see it.

Going back to the tint issue, looking at the RGB grey balance graphs that you and others have posted of their panels, my case seems to align with that of bad panels which exaggerate the green far more at brightnesses below ~ 10% whilst the red and blue are more muted at those levels and in general. The green tint to greys is quite noticeable at low brightness with my supposedly bad G9P panel. So I would consider myself in the same boat as you regarding your first iPhone model before you received your replacement.

I think you’re probably right. Even though most people describe this problem as screens being overly warm or yellow, I think most screens actually don’t have an overly warm color temperature. I think it’s possible people are perceiving the green tilt in RGB balance as yellow or warm. My iPhone X actually had slightly too much red in RGB balance charts, but for whatever reason, even though its color temperature measured almost the same as my iPhone 12s, my brain perceived the X as looking whiter and cooler. I find it a bit concerning that Notebook Check, DXO, Erica Griffin, and everyone in this thread with a colorimeter has found the RGB grey balance of the various 12s to be tilted green, but Anandtech found BOTH of the models they tested to tilt red, kind of like my iPhone X. I would be interested to know if Anandtech bought those retail or if they were provided by Apple . Anandtech is usually my go to for display reviews, but their data not aligning with everyone else’s has me skeptical. And DisplayMate ran about a million tests, yet managed to not include a basic RGB balance chart, but I already didn’t trust DisplayMate, so that’s less surprising. So now we have the two most referenced display review sites, Anandtech and DisplayMate, neither mentioning the green tint issue. So there’s pretty much no hope of any news sites taking this seriously.

 

[MacGiver]

I agree that True Tone is bugged and it's my main issue with the 12's screen. Yes it is more yellow even without it enabled but not to a degree that bothers me.

These are my True Tone observations:

- In a warmly lit or dark room, it is severly more aggressively warm than any other Apple device with True Tone I've seen. Incomparably so.

- In the outside, or standing next to a window, it will generally drastically reduce the yellow tint on the fly and look as cool or perhaps even cooler than without True Tone enabled BUT this capability, which I guess is how it is supposed to behave and is how my iPad Air does for example, is sometimes compromised and the screen will no longer adapt. Once that's the case, the phone will either not at all change or sometimes be in the correct True Tone mode after locking the phone and waking it in the corresponding surrounding conditions.

- Rebooting the phone restores the capability of adapting on the fly, but only for a limited time.

I agree that True Tone is bugged and it's my main issue with the 12's screen. Yes it is more yellow even without it enabled but not to a degree that bothers me.

These are my True Tone observations:

- In a warmly lit or dark room, it is severly more aggressively warm than any other Apple device with True Tone I've seen. Incomparably so.

- In the outside, or standing next to a window, it will generally drastically reduce the yellow tint on the fly and look as cool or perhaps even cooler than without True Tone enabled BUT this capability, which I guess is how it is supposed to behave and is how my iPad Air does for example, is sometimes compromised and the screen will no longer adapt. Once that's the case, the phone will either not at all change or sometimes be in the correct True Tone mode after locking the phone and waking it in the corresponding surrounding conditions.

- Rebooting the phone restores the capability of adapting on the fly, but only for a limited time.

Exactly what I feel too...