Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Problem Solved for Me

The iPhone4 must use an LCD that is diagonally polarized. I see no reduction in brightness in portrait or landscape orientation and only a slight reduction on the diagonal. This is clearly not the case for the 4s. As my sunglasses (Maui Jim, progressive prescription) were much more expensive than the 4s I traded phones with my wife. She gets Siri and I keep my spendy sunglasses.
 
You put an anti glare screen protector on a retina display. That is downgrading your experience 10 fold.

Yeah, I'm definitely missing wiping fingerprints and streaks off my screen every 5 minutes. And I really miss all the distracting reflections.
 
My black iPhone 4 was terrible when I had my polarised glasses on, haven't used the white 4S with them yet, not the weather! haha
 
I had a pair of polarized glasses and got into my new LCD panel read out vehicle and could not see the darn thing very well. Thought at first it was me, than the LCD panel on the car, than realized it was the glasses. Same at the gas pumps. Could not see the LCD gas pump read out either. Took off glasses and got some others. ;)
 
Just went to an Apple store and compared my phone to the ones on display. Took off the screen protector to level the playing field. My was the only one that looked green through my shades. Every other phone looked nearly perfect.
 
Just went to an Apple store and compared my phone to the ones on display. Took off the screen protector to level the playing field. My was the only one that looked green through my shades. Every other phone looked nearly perfect.


Thats strange. My 4S when looking through the glasses looks exactly the same when I have no glasses on.

My girlfriends 4 however, is so blue it is unreadable.
 
Just an update for anyone playing at home...

If your 4S screen shows wacky colors when viewed thru (polarized) sunglasses, don't bother trying to get a replacement if you're on AT&T or Verizon. They will look the same or maybe even worse.

I went to another Apple store tonight and checked out the screens of every black 4S. Out of all of them, maybe 10 or so, only 2 exhibited a normal looking screen thru my sunglasses. The one thing both phones had in common...Sprint. There were no other Sprint phones on display.
 
I agree with the OP!

Apple should realize that allot and I mean allot of people will want to use their phone with their polarized sunglasses on.

The iPhone 4 was fine but the iPhone 4s is green and unreadable.

I too have prescription sunglasses so taking them off still obstructs my reading.:mad:
 
I mentioned this in another thread but it bears repeating. They've changed something about the glass between the 4 and 4S.

With my polarized sunglasses and a Power Support Anti Glare HD film, the iPhone 4 looked the same at any angle. With the same glasses and same screen protector, the 4S has a terrible blue-green tint in the vertical position, with pink and yellow diagonal streaks. It's somewhat lessened in landscape, but there's a magenta cast.

The screen looks ok only when held at a 40 degree angle. And the worst part is that it looks better overall (but still discolored) with NO screen protector.

i called apple and they said they will replace units

----------

Just went to an Apple store and compared my phone to the ones on display. Took off the screen protector to level the playing field. My was the only one that looked green through my shades. Every other phone looked nearly perfect.

they told me they will replace , im going on monday, ill keep u posted
 
i called apple and they said they will replace units

----------



they told me they will replace , im going on monday, ill keep u posted

What do you mean? Replace it with what? I don't think this is a defect isolated to one unit, I believe it's how they're made. Even still, my glasses aren't prescription so I just take them off but still.
 
What do you mean? Replace it with what? I don't think this is a defect isolated to one unit, I believe it's how they're made. Even still, my glasses aren't prescription so I just take them off but still.

with a new phone , and hopefully not faulty like my one is, one guy comments further up that there are iphones that work with polarized lenses , just like my two previous iphones including a 4 which supposedly is the same screen,
have u tried putting on the original plastic screen protector that the phone came with?
did the problem go away then?

----------

Get a life! I wish that's all I had to worry about.

why are u here???
no life??
 
hmm, weird. I haven't really noticed this with my ray ban predator and aviators, both of which are polarized. But I also don't have a screen protector and I have a black iPhone 4S.

Is yours white? like others have said, the coating on those are slightly different to prevent UV damage to the white paint.

you are proof that there are defective phones out there, ive bought two 3gs's two iphone 4 and there was no problem with a green screen in portrait and a purple screen in landscape, now i have to iphone 4s with this problem

----------

The glass and reflections will be the same. You are wasting your time.

why are people on this forum reporting that they DONT have a problem with polarized sunglasses with their iphone 4s , perhaps they dont have proper polarized glasses (ripped off ) . also may i add that i had no problems with 3gs or 4 , arent they lcd screens?????
 
Last edited:
My wife's iPhone 4 looks weird with polarized lenses, so it's not just the iPhone 4S.

It's the same in an airplane with a glass cockpit.

And the same in many cars with displays.

Get over it and remove your polarized sunglasses, or wear sunglasses that aren't polarized. It's that simple.
 
Getting a little spoiled are we??

"Apple needs to realize many people use their products and wear polarized sunglasses"

I'm sure many people with corrective lenses use their phone, you want them to make glass on the front of your phone +4.0 diopters as well? You can't see the screen put your glasses on, you can't read the screen with polarized sunglasses, take them off. Holy crap does the level of consumer entitlement grow by the day.
 
As a weekend fishing guide, I can't do without polarized glasses. I use regular sunglasses when not on the water. While on the water, I can't see the screen to take pictures, or to read texts or emails. This is not unique to the iPhone, I've had it on every LCD screen phone I've owned. On my new white 4S I can see better with the phone vertically and can see nothing in landscape. So I slip the glasses up for a few seconds. My situation is probably made worse by the fact that I have have a Lifeproof case which is barely readable in bright light with or without polarized glasses. However, for the ability to take 8 MP pics in a small waterproof package, it's worth the irritation. In my experience, there is no screen on a smartphone that is immune to the physics of polarization. If you find one, let me know.
 
To those that have this problem. When your LCD is off does it look green/green tint in the sun/light?
I have two phones here one has this the other doesn't.
 
my white 4s, black 4 and white 3gs all look the same with my polarized arnette sunglasses...a mild rainbow effect until I turn the phone or my head 90degrees and then it goes clear as without the shades on
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.