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myrtlebee

macrumors 68030
Jul 9, 2011
2,677
2,242
Maryland
Purchased a brand new iPhone 5S during the summer and it had the same issue - badly. It wouldn't be much of an issue if iOS wasn't white so often at the top, but it is, so this is a considerable problem. My first 5S was exchanged for another and this one has the same issue ever so slightly and certain angles, but nowhere near as badly. It had its own screen imperfections which I deal with, but that's for another thread. Switched to a 6S and wound up returning it immediately because of screen problems. So sick of dealing with all of these screen issues.
 

tlou

macrumors newbie
Oct 5, 2015
15
17
Purchased a brand new iPhone 5S during the summer and it had the same issue - badly. It wouldn't be much of an issue if iOS wasn't white so often at the top, but it is, so this is a considerable problem. My first 5S was exchanged for another and this one has the same issue ever so slightly and certain angles, but nowhere near as badly. It had its own screen imperfections which I deal with, but that's for another thread. Switched to a 6S and wound up returning it immediately because of screen problems. So sick of dealing with all of these screen issues.

Out of interest what issues did you have with the 6s? Tint and backlight bleed?

Unfortunately it's annoying but lcd displays commonly suffer from uniformity issues due to the backlight.

That's why I prefer self emissive displays, like I use a plasma for my tv. I hope Apple eventually use Oled displays on their phones, macs etc. While Oled does have its own drawbacks I can tolerate them more than backlight bleed etc
 
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Zeos

macrumors 6502
Jan 24, 2008
425
25
I have some considerable black "blotching" on my 6S in the upper left corner. But the overall screen is fine, so I plan to just keep the phone. With my luck, I would trade it in and get the dreaded yellow-tinted screen.
 

myrtlebee

macrumors 68030
Jul 9, 2011
2,677
2,242
Maryland
Out of interest what issues did you have with the 6s? Tint and backlight bleed?

Unfortunately it's annoying but lcd displays commonly suffer from uniformity issues due to the backlight.

That's why I prefer self emissive displays, like I use a plasma for my tv. I hope Apple eventually use Oled displays on their phones, macs etc. While Oled does have its own drawbacks I can tolerate them more than backlight bleed etc

I've been dealing with Apple's lack of quality control with screens for years. Very disappointing as I love the products otherwise. If it's not dust under the glass or dead pixels, scratches or dings out of the box, loose buttons, or misaligned screens, it's something else. In regards to the 6S, this is what I posted in another thread:

Upgraded to a 6S from T-Mobile, received it today and it had the issue that is common with the 6S+, the dark corner on the top left of the screen. Also the screen was much brighter on the bottom than the top.
 

freedomisle

macrumors regular
Oct 6, 2015
120
105
But if this "spotlight" issue is rare then I might be tempted to try an exchange as I paid £789 sim free which is over $1200. I'm almost tempted to go into an Apple Store and look at the display models, but it's so bright in there I might not spot the issue, and I'll probably look weird holding a load of phones at weird angles lol.

I did just that.. Inspected every iPhone 6s Plus on display :rolleyes: @Apple Store, Bental Centre, Kingston Upon Thames

9/10 had backlight/pressure point issues. But, my eyesight is very good, the majority of Apple employees couldnt even see the backlight issues on the phones.. Or so they claim.
 
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freedomisle

macrumors regular
Oct 6, 2015
120
105
I have some considerable black "blotching" on my 6S in the upper left corner. But the overall screen is fine, so I plan to just keep the phone. With my luck, I would trade it in and get the dreaded yellow-tinted screen.

I have the yellow tinted screen, I prefer it to the blue screens my previous iPhone 6s+'s had. The warmer whites are easier on my eyes :cool:
 

tlou

macrumors newbie
Oct 5, 2015
15
17
I have the yellow tinted screen, I prefer it to the blue screens my previous iPhone 6s+'s had. The warmer whites are easier on my eyes :cool:

For me personally tint is not an issue as long as it's uniform. I'd rather a really yellow uniform tint than uneven tint.

I remember I had an iMac a few years ago and half the screen was yellow tinted, would be annoying when you'd scroll a webpage as you'd see it changing colour.

I did just that.. Inspected every iPhone 6s Plus on display :rolleyes: @Apple Store, Bental Centre, Kingston Upon Thames

9/10 had backlight/pressure point issues. But, my eyesight is very good, the majority of Apple employees couldnt even see the backlight issues on the phones.. Or so they claim.

Most people can't see the "issues" I see. People like us are in a minority. I wish I was in the group that doesn't see these things.


I've been dealing with Apple's lack of quality control with screens for years. Very disappointing as I love the products otherwise. If it's not dust under the glass or dead pixels, scratches or dings out of the box, loose buttons, or misaligned screens, it's something else. In regards to the 6S, this is what I posted in another thread:

Upgraded to a 6S from T-Mobile, received it today and it had the issue that is common with the 6S+, the dark corner on the top left of the screen. Also the screen was much brighter on the bottom than the top.

Yes unfortunately the quality control isn't great, but with the amount of units they sell I just don't think it's possible for them to implement the sort of quality control we would like to see.

From their point of view the additional resources spent on better quality control wouldn't really make a difference in sales. Obviously there's a fine line, as if it ever got to a stage where Apple had a reputation of bad quality then it would have an effect on sales, and reputation is very difficult to change.

Fortunately Apple has a very good reputation, and to be fair when you do get "lucky" and get a good one their devices are incredible.

I used to be patient enough to take part in the quality control "lottery" and I'd happily go through 4 or 5 devices, but now I just can't be bothered unless an issue is really major.

Whereas before I'd exchange an iPhone if it had a loose button, then the next phone would have a solid buttons but backlight bleed, so I'd exchange again and it would have different faults.

Ironically by the end of it I'd have realised that my first unit with the button "issue" was actually the best....
 
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tlou

macrumors newbie
Oct 5, 2015
15
17
I'm sorry to bump this thread. But for anyone that might be interested I managed to find a display without the "spotlighting" at the top of the display. So they do exist.

The majority of the units I seen on demo and received in exchange did display this issue, so I feel like I'm lucky. Which when spending a huge amount of money shouldn't be the case to be honest.

I appreciate that backlighting issues on lcd displays are common anyway, whether it's uneven backlighting, backlight bleed etc

The only "issue" I have now though is a yellow tint, but it's more tolerable than the spotlighting for me. Obviously given a choice I'd want a "perfect" display with no issues at all but it doesn't exist, and for the level of perfection that some people demand they'd have to pay a hell of a lot more in order for Apple to implement that level of quality control.

The reality is people like me that do complain are a minority, so the extra expense in a higher level of quality control would not really result in any financial gains and therefore isn't really worth the investment. The majority of people are just happy to own an apple device, they don't analyse things the way a minority (like myself do)

Lastly I only personally keep devices for one year before moving onto the next model, so I came to the conclusion that it was pointless obsessing over what are essentially minor "issues" on a device that is ultimately only "temporary"...
 

macjoshua

macrumors 6502a
Mar 4, 2011
504
555
Nashville, TN
Lastly I only personally keep devices for one year before moving onto the next model, so I came to the conclusion that it was pointless obsessing over what are essentially minor "issues" on a device that is ultimately only "temporary"...

I agree. I went through a few iPhone 6s units and just settled for one with spotlighting at the top left corner. I don't notice it much anymore, and I'm only going to have the phone until sometime in the fall, so it's not worth bothering with. The good part about these imperfections is that they remind me that it's just a phone, and the less I like it, the more I'll stop staring at it and do other things with my life.
 
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peter.sift

macrumors newbie
Jul 12, 2015
23
12
I also had a lot of trouble with backlight bleed on my gold 6s+. My very first device had a defective vibration (very loud) but a perfect screen. Then I exchanged it and got a device with many dark spots on the top. I tried really hard to get over it but I failed. My third device had the same issue so I returned it again to get it repaired. They replaced the display and guess what, it had the same issue and then I had enough from that poor quality control (I paid almost 1000 € for this so I'm not willing to keep an iphone with screen issues ( that issue was visible in every situation where white backgrounds were present).

It seems that this issue is quiet widespread because I only saw 2 6s+ without backlight bleeding. The other 16 devices I saw had the exact same issue which is simply ridiculous but every 6s I saw was perfect in terms of screen quality.

I really loved my 6s+, but this issue was a deal-breaker for me. I ended up selling it, got a used iphone 6s (one month old) and am now waiting for the 7+ (in hope of better screen quality). This one does have a perfect screen (even though i miss the excellent battery life and that huge and extremely sharp screen).

It's sad that Apple is lacking of quality control in their products, especially when they are so expensive (Apple even said to me that this is tolerable and a normal amount of bleed). Even my 200 € Moto G3 has a perfect screen (it's also IPS-LCD).
 
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jtwlbz

macrumors 6502a
Dec 23, 2014
634
193
Dont buy iphone if you want perfect screen. 6s is the worst due to 3d touch stuff. Mine is decent but there is still some dark spot up top. Im ok with that. I returned about 4 times to get decent one. I was almost about to give up.
 
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