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

[Erik Humphrey]

That's your call. Was it something that bothered you from the moment you got your new iPhone or only after you found this thread? If it is an absolute bother, are you willing to go through the hassle of possible repeated exchanges to maybe get something that's more acceptable? As noted from this thread, there are people that have done multiple exchanges only to get similar results. The warmer screens seems to be the norm with the more-blue ones being the outliers.

Yeahhh, that's the thing; gonna be holding an iPhone 13 Pro Max with a different display in eight or so months anyway. Mistakes were made; now just have to deal with the hassle of the janky (but snappy) replacement process.

 

[helloapple1]

Got the first replacement for iP12PM a couple days ago; screen worse than launch day phone I still have.

Is it more efficient to return your phone and keep re-buying it, or to request a replacement phone and keep returning them? Can't return my phone right now since Apple Support isn't sure whether I can return the replacement in the box it came in until a specific Support department opens up for the day.

Or should I just start doing my replacements/returns at a retail store? Can they find you one with a properly calibrated display during an appointment, or will they just give you the first phone available and tell you to come back another time?

What's the most effective strategy?

Am I able to do a replacement if my phone is outside the return window?

 

[Erik Humphrey]

Am I able to do a replacement if my phone is outside the return window?

Probably, though you'll still have to pay $29 and probably won't be able to do it at an Apple retail anymore.

What I'm not sure of yet:

• If the replacement device is worse than the original, do you still have to return the original anyway?
• Does each roll cost $29, or will they replace the replacement?

Waiting a bit before asking them what to do with the two phones, since it hasn't really gotten anywhere so far.

 

[helloapple1]

Probably, though you'll still have to pay $29 and probably won't be able to do it at an Apple retail anymore.

What I'm not sure of yet:

• If the replacement device is worse than the original, do you still have to return the original anyway?
• Does each roll cost $29, or will they replace the replacement?

Thank you for that info. I’m contemplating whether to contact Apple about the screen issue now or wait another month in hopes that replacement units are perfect by then.

 

[Erik Humphrey]

Thank you for that info. I’m contemplating whether to contact Apple about the screen issue now or wait another month in hopes that replacement units are perfect by then.

I don't think they'll improve since they haven't after a couple months (I wanted to try at least once, though; that was a mistake!), but if your phone is currently in the replacement window, I'd go to an Apple retail or do a slow return and repurchase.

 

[Fred Zed]

Hi, thanks for taking the time to reply.

As I wrote to the other person who replied to my question, what I find interesting is that
- many mention the gap is there by design, many instead that they have no gap at all. If it was by design, why would some not have any gaps? Also it happens to be in random spots. So I guess it’s as you say, a story of manufacturing tolerance i.e. some are as they should be - with no gap - others have some gaps but possibly not an issue. Yet I find it interesting that in producing something so advanced, so expensive, the final physical result could be different like that.

- Apple seems to be replacing the phone for some and telling others it’s not an issue. So even they don’t have one version of the story. The person I spoke to yesterday told me it’s an issue and if she was in my shoes she’d return it. Waiting for the opinion of an engineer now.

- here they talk about potential issues with Face ID as it’s easily damaged by water. Non conclusive, but they mention it could be an issue down the road

Pixel 5 Owners Still Angry At Display Gap Problem, But Google’s Phone Isn’t Alone

Apple's iPhone 12 and Samsung's Galaxy Note 20 have screen gaps too.

www.forbes.com

Senior Apple Support advisor wasn't able to reverse the erroneous $29 express replacement charge or help with the replacement device having the same issue; guess I'll have to play the support agent lottery in addition to the OLED lottery as well.

Next time, I'm definitely scheduling a Genius Bar appointment; that usually takes longer (and has travel costs), but this is starting to take a bit too long. Or should have just not done anything about it; maybe warmer is indeed more colour-accurate. But the colour #191919 shouldn't look so yellow-green on the phone compared to on a computer. Many stages of grief here; not worth it.

Very good point regarding the color #191919 .
I downloaded this color and checked it out on my iPhone 12PM. Set the iPhone to min brightness in a dark room and it appears evenly lit greenish “glow”. Even on a low display brightness in a dark room it’s it noticeable.

I then conducted the same test on my note 20 ultra using the same test card #191919 and it appeared as a grey color, but with no hints of a “glow” green tint.

my eyes also can pickup a slight green tint in the settings menu where dark gray areas are used so I wasn’t surprised with my results.

I can also see this green tint on this test card when ambient lightening is not pitch dark and display brightness is above min level compared to my other devices.
Using the pitch dark room and min brightness merely exacerbated the issue for me.

occurs with true tone on or off.

 

[Wags]

Probably, though you'll still have to pay $29 and probably won't be able to do it at an Apple retail anymore.

What I'm not sure of yet:

• If the replacement device is worse than the original, do you still have to return the original anyway?
• Does each roll cost $29, or will they replace the replacement?

Waiting a bit before asking them what to do with the two phones, since it hasn't really gotten anywhere

Probably, though you'll still have to pay $29 and probably won't be able to do it at an Apple retail anymore.

What I'm not sure of yet:

• If the replacement device is worse than the original, do you still have to return the original anyway?
• Does each roll cost $29, or will they replace the replacement?

Waiting a bit before asking them what to do with the two phones, since it hasn't really gotten anywhere so far.

Will Apple check the devices when arrive and then decide if will replace? Could easily say within tolerances.

 

[418608]

Very good point regarding the color #191919 .
I downloaded this color and checked it out on my iPhone 12PM. Set the iPhone to min brightness in a dark room and it appears evenly lit greenish “glow”. Even on a low display brightness in a dark room it’s it noticeable.

I then conducted the same test on my note 20 ultra using the same test card #191919 and it appeared as a grey color, but with no hints of a “glow” green tint.

my eyes also can pickup a slight green tint in the settings menu where dark gray areas are used so I wasn’t surprised with my results.

I can also see this green tint on this test card when ambient lightening is not pitch dark and display brightness is above min level compared to my other devices.
Using the pitch dark room and min brightness merely exacerbated the issue for me.

occurs with true tone on or off.

very interesting (and disappointing) this #191919.
Had not seen any trace of green tint on my phone or any flickering until now.

However, viewing this colour, min brightness in a dark room, after saving the picture, moving back and forth between another picture and the grey picture, the screen started flickering all of the sudden... then it stopped. Lasted a few seconds. Experienced it 3-4 times Over 5 minutes.
Green tint wise, very minimal perhaps a thin strip on the right hand side. But nothing I would have noticed if it wasn’t pointed out.
Same on my wife’s phone!

The blacks however are black. Pixels do get turned off completely.
And this is the first time I see a bit of flickering.

https://www.colorhexa.com/191919.png

 

[Sam in SoCal]

Nah I’m not taking the easy road out of this. Perhaps we should ask the person who posted on the thread lol I’m very neutral and laid back. It’s really not that serious.
@Sam in SoCal

Sorry what was the question? Lol

 

[Corgirat]

I’m not sure if this is useful for anyone here but I just did full restore of iOS 14.3 back into my 12pro max last night. I erased everything first, then put back the iOS into the phone, did not transfer any data from backup. I managed to install all the apps from scratch using Dropbox backup etc. Then today noticed the screen is so much more bluish and crispier looking now. I checked the raised black glow in the dark and it was less noticeable also. It was a real pain I had to do it 2-3 times because I couldn’t get some data back so after trial and error my battery %drops slower and screen is looking better. I wish I can do this after every is updates but takes too much effort.

 

[Corgirat]

I’m not sure if this is useful for anyone here but I just did full restore of iOS 14.3 back into my 12pro max last night. I erased everything first, then put back the iOS into the phone, did not transfer any data from backup. I managed to install all the apps from scratch using Dropbox backup etc. Then today noticed the screen is so much more bluish and crispier looking now. I checked the raised black glow in the dark and it was less noticeable also. It was a real pain I had to do it 2-3 times because I couldn’t get some data back so after trial and error my battery %drops slower and screen is looking better. I wish I can do this after every is updates but takes too much effort.

I used MacBook to restore

 

[Jutah]

my brother once bought an android phone for £500, it had a clear rust stain on the screen under the glass.
He didn’t mind. He could not be bothered to even call the company to request a fix.

People are different. My brother has never read one of these threads, let alone written on one. Bless him.

I’m different and since you are on here, something tells me you are not like my brother either.

In this instance, after accepting to deal with the yellow screen via color filter and keep the phone (several on here seem to mind that too... should they just stop talking about it snd enjoy their “damn thing”?), I discovered this gap thing and I’m trying to make an informed decision on whether it’s an issue or not.
Not an ocd issue. Just an issue that down the road could cause damage to the phone.

Your conclusion indicates it’s not an issue and it’s by design. I assume just based on what you read online. I’m not so sure as Apple replaced it for several people, and Apple support on the phone told me It should not be like that.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to reply.
Have a great day.

hi Renzo (italiano?) yes, the gap is absolutely normal and shouldn’t pops out any issue in the future.

3 on 3 pro max pro I owned showe it, same thing for the 12pro of my wife.

in some unit it’s more noticeable in some other it’s less, but I’m pretty sure that if you test many unit with the apple sticker the gap will be present for sure.

 

[Jutah]

Are you guys aware of any kind of ban for too many purchase/return products in Apple? In Amazon they’re very very strict now, but I’ve never heard anything about apple.

I’m on my 4th, all pretty much the same, slight difference.
The returning window is getting close but I’m tired to play the t lottery because it’s clear that this year - besides the really faulty units - the screen are warmer and with the green glow flickering.

thebfirst point bother me, the second.. not so much and probably it’ll be fixed with an upgrade.

 

[Gagaohlala]

I’m not sure if this is useful for anyone here but I just did full restore of iOS 14.3 back into my 12pro max last night. I erased everything first, then put back the iOS into the phone, did not transfer any data from backup. I managed to install all the apps from scratch using Dropbox backup etc. Then today noticed the screen is so much more bluish and crispier looking now. I checked the raised black glow in the dark and it was less noticeable also. It was a real pain I had to do it 2-3 times because I couldn’t get some data back so after trial and error my battery %drops slower and screen is looking better. I wish I can do this after every is updates but takes too much effort.

Well are you sure it’s not your mind or eyes ? I really doubt a reset like you did would affect the tint of the screen or the flickering blacks ! But of course didn’t try it myself so

 

[Fred Zed]

Hi, thanks for taking the time to reply.

As I wrote to the other person who replied to my question, what I find interesting is that
- many mention the gap is there by design, many instead that they have no gap at all. If it was by design, why would some not have any gaps? Also it happens to be in random spots. So I guess it’s as you say, a story of manufacturing tolerance i.e. some are as they should be - with no gap - others have some gaps but possibly not an issue. Yet I find it interesting that in producing something so advanced, so expensive, the final physical result could be different like that.

- Apple seems to be replacing the phone for some and telling others it’s not an issue. So even they don’t have one version of the story. The person I spoke to yesterday told me it’s an issue and if she was in my shoes she’d return it. Waiting for the opinion of an engineer now.

- here they talk about potential issues with Face ID as it’s easily damaged by water. Non conclusive, but they mention it could be an issue down the road

Pixel 5 Owners Still Angry At Display Gap Problem, But Google’s Phone Isn’t Alone

Apple's iPhone 12 and Samsung's Galaxy Note 20 have screen gaps too.

www.forbes.com

Typical media , instilling discord as per usual no matter what the subject.

 

[418608]

hi Renzo (italiano?) yes, the gap is absolutely normal and shouldn’t pops out any issue in the future.

3 on 3 pro max pro I owned showe it, same thing for the 12pro of my wife.

in some unit it’s more noticeable in some other it’s less, but I’m pretty sure that if you test many unit with the apple sticker the gap will be present for sure.

Si

everyone seems to be concluding it’s normal, but when I contacted Apple to create a case (just to have a log to indicate the issue was reported), they immediately told me a replacement is the recommended option... no hesitation. Both agents.. one of the two read up some information and said “yes for these issues we are expected to replace them”. That doesn’t sound to me like the gap should be there...
That said, it could still happen that one sends it back, they check it and conclude “it’s within tolerance”.

 

[spartan1967]

Are you guys aware of any kind of ban for too many purchase/return products in Apple? In Amazon they’re very very strict now, but I’ve never heard anything about apple.

I’m on my 4th, all pretty much the same, slight difference.
The returning window is getting close but I’m tired to play the t lottery because it’s clear that this year - besides the really faulty units - the screen are warmer and with the green glow flickering.

thebfirst point bother me, the second.. not so much and probably it’ll be fixed with an upgrade.

I would not count on anything Apple has not even acknowledged yet. Get your money back or buy an 11, but please do not settle for anything as inadequate as this.

 

[ExploRichie]

The problem with the flickering on true blacks is worse then the yellow tint.
Hope they will fix it ...

 

[Fred Zed]

very interesting (and disappointing) this #191919.
Had not seen any trace of green tint on my phone or any flickering until now.

However, viewing this colour, min brightness in a dark room, after saving the picture, moving back and forth between another picture and the grey picture, the screen started flickering all of the sudden... then it stopped. Lasted a few seconds. Experienced it 3-4 times Over 5 minutes.
Green tint wise, very minimal perhaps a thin strip on the right hand side. But nothing I would have noticed if it wasn’t pointed out.
Same on my wife’s phone!

The blacks however are black. Pixels do get turned off completely.
And this is the first time I see a bit of flickering.

https://www.colorhexa.com/191919.png

I accidentally posted in the raised black threads for the below.

Reference image card #191919 . I just took some photos with no image optimization on, since I noticed that using that exaggerated the green tint issue. So pics attached is what I see with my eyes - near enough. Photos taken using variable display brightness levels, within a dark room. Subjects are iPhone 12PM and Note 20 Ultra. True tone and such turned off.

 

[Corgirat]

Well are you sure it’s not your mind or eyes ? I really doubt a reset like you did would affect the tint of the screen or the flickering blacks ! But of course didn’t try it myself so

It’s so weird but after this full restore it is definitely different. Now I’m looking at my screen with dark mode and night shift on, prior to the restore the screen was still so bright with the same setting but now it’s dimmer how it’s supposed to be. I was even considering to turn on reduce white point to deal with it, but no need to do so. I’m glad I went through the trouble. It runs much smoother too.

 

[Fred Zed]

If you replace it via support they’ll charge you £29 (and a credit card hold until your old device is returned) for an express replacement. You don’t need Apple care for this. Oh, and the problem is one of your volume buttons is wonky. Hint hint. The problem with express replacements is that they are stock that’s been around for a while which means a higher change that it’s not resolved. Whereas, new retail units are fresh off of the production line. Week 50’s are now rolling out.

I’m assuming USA carrier branded ones would be fresher than unlocked stock by a week or so?

 

[Fred Zed]

I see little point in arguing with these non-issue claimers than to disprove their baseless claims for the rest of the readers of this thread who care about this issue and will see this post. These non-issue claimers have a few things in common: 1) I can guarantee that they haven’t kept up with half, let alone the majority of the posts in this thread. 2) They will ignore the posts with evidence that disprove their claims and will continue to push their narrative. 3) Apple will personally be sending them a pair of Airpods Max for Christmas, free of charge for their valiant defence of Apple products.



I’ve made a number of posts about these IPhone display issues in this thread, and it’s getting boring repeating myself, as I know it is for some of you. But what can we do when the important posts get lost behind page numbers of threads, to be read once for a day or 2 then never again. What effect does this have? Well it causes these self proclaimed Apple Geniuses to be geniuses and appear oblivious to an almost 200 page thread of people discussing display issues. Yes, there are display issues if somehow you hadn’t noticed yet. Whether people notice/care about them is another question, which has been stated many times here. There are different groups of people who align with different opinions on this issue. Some people will just not notice it. Maybe they’re coming from an old iPhone or old Android and automatically assume new = better. Some sorry souls who do notice it might even see this as innovation and run with it, claiming that less blue light is better for our eyes, as if a feature called night shift with a colour temperature slider wasn’t invented for that exact purpose in mind. These might be the same people who claim that the yellow tint is intended because they have it in their minds that Apple can do no wrong. Yes, these people exist. Their eye catching keynotes and polished commercials could sway the masses to believe this. I’d also blame the reviewers who love to push the narrative that iPhones are the phones that “just work”. Yes, these phones are generally easy and great to use, but now we’ve got people thinking they’re flawless. Then we have a group of people who will notice the issue, but won’t care enough to flag it as an issue. They would rather just get used to it or use a workaround like colour tinting and be content with the decrease in brightness they would achieve as a side effect of doing this. This might be an acceptable compromise for some, but for those who paid a premium for a feature that is exclusive to the Pro lineup of iPhones, are well within their right to feel annoyed when they lose it because of an incorrectly calibrated display that bothers them. Then we have people who notice the issue, who aren’t necessarily power users but would like their display to look right, which I feel most people in this thread comprise of. Then there would be power users who give us their colorimeter/spectrophotometer readings for d65 white point and RGB greyscale. Yes these posts exist, and if you’d taken the time to actually read through the thread, you would have seen the variances in the RGB greyscale for affected displays, exhibiting muted blues and raised greens with varying reds which creates this tint for users.



Users having to exchange their phone 3, 4, 5+ times isn’t normal. But you have to question why it has got to that stage. Don’t give me no “it was intended that way”, as there have been many posts from users here explaining that their exchanged phone has been a clear improvement over their original, which just reiterates the fact that there are better displays out there. Before you say these posts could be subjective, I’ll let you know that some of them have done their own Displaycal readings, showing us raw comparative data on how their display is better, but of course you wouldn’t have seen those posts. The conclusion that “it was intended that way” cannot possibly follow when there are people with both yellow tinted iPhones and non-yellow tinted iPhones, it just doesn’t make sense. They could either be intended with a yellow tint or without, not both. Apple intended user X to have a yellow tint to their display, whilst they also intended user Y to have a white display, because logic. These screens aren’t intended to be less white, that reasoning is bonkers, why would Apple intend for a screen to be less colour accurate? I’m intrigued to know what else these non-issue claimers consider as non-issues. Perhaps the raised and flickering blacks are also intended? Yes, I love me some flickering greens in dark scenes when viewing content.



It’s a display lottery. It always has been, and it likely always will be for the foreseeable future, until factory display calibration can reach an unheard of level of precision. A similar thing has recently happened with Sony’s PlayStation 5s. Some consoles are receiving louder internal fans than others, which is due to different part manufacturers. Same thing with PS4 Pros. These lotteries are everywhere in the tech industry, it’s just whether people care enough about them to flag them as issues and make a change, that’s all it is. I’ve made this point before, that the pandemic more than likely has affected products and their launches negatively. The proof is in the pudding, the annual September iPhone event was pushed to October this year, and the product lineups launched staggered with 12s and Pros first and pro Max and minis later. Knowing this, it’s not hard to believe that QC took a hit this year, it’s been a tough year. I would align with this reasoning rather than believing Apple intended to give us yellow tinted displays which is absurd. Regardless, it’s each individual’s choice whether they want to accept their displays or not. I will support those who are trying to receive a display they are happy with, because these are premium products, and it raises awareness around these issues. If everyone adopted an attitude of accepting subpar products, how is progress ever going to be made? Criticism and competition drives better products.

You forgot to mention a certain group of people, namely well known YouTubers that in my opinion kept silent about these issues earlier on. As any learned individual would know, these folks don’t necessarily state facts in their so called reviews but rather state what they feel would generate them increased views.

 

[Six0Four]

I don't think they'll improve since they haven't after a couple months (I wanted to try at least once, though; that was a mistake!), but if your phone is currently in the replacement window, I'd go to an Apple retail or do a slow return and repurchase.

I've owned 3 regular 12's. First was piss yellow and the next two were much better. Only slightly warmer than my xr.

 

[Fred Zed]

Lol they all have them. Whether it’s a design flaw or not or you notice or not it doesn’t matter, your 12 will have one or more of the following:

- raised blacks
- green/yellow/red tints on min brightness
- gaps for dust around screen
- aggressive True Tone (they all have this , software issue)

it’s up to you to decide whether you deem them issues or flaws - but they definitely occur across the vast majority of them.

Forgot one thing. Scratched frames.

 

[Fred Zed]

Something for you all to try as I have yet to see an iPhone 12 pro max that does not exhibit this behaviour in some way...

Another poster posted the below image on another thread:
View attachment 1693721

I noticed the shift from green tint to pink/red hue from top to bottom on the pro max display as being similar to the two pro Max’s I have tried. These displays seem to exhibit these sorts of issues (tints, hues, raised blacks instead of pure blacks) when on low brightness levels (lowest setting) Similarly, when on the lowest setting I get the raised blacks issue and have yet to see an iPhone 12 that doesn’t. I believe the raised blacks can be fixed in software but I’m not so sure about the tints.

furthermore, I checked a few more 12PM’s and they all seem to exhibit a similar pattern, with a portion of the screen looking more red/pink (not necessarily the bottom though). The issue is less pronounced when you increase the brightness.

I used a grey image below to check on mine:
View attachment 1693726

Here is a pic of my 12PM display with that image (night shift on, TT on and auto brightness in pitch black room)
View attachment 1693729

Compared to my 11PM for reference:
View attachment 1693731

back to the 12PM, you can also see it on YouTube and other similar Grey backgrounds when on the lowest brightness...
View attachment 1693742

even the iPhone 11 Pro Max display i used for comparison isn’t perfect; and I think perhaps this year the software or calibration is particularly bad but nevertheless these sorts of issues seem to be unavoidable at minimum brightness levels.

if anyone has a 12PM that doesn’t have any of these issues on lowest brightness then let me know:
- green/pink/red hue
- pure black doesn’t turn off pixels (check the raised blacks thread for a test)

Using that test card with True Tone off and set at min brightness mine looks evenly green 😭