Apple Investigating Display Issues With iPhone 12 Models, Including Flickering and Green/Gray Glow

[neuropsychguy]

I actually had to use the new sim on my 12 Pro Max instead of my old sim. Rep stated it was because of 5G.

I did some research into it and learned something new. "5G" SIMs apparently have additional security features. T-Mobile has a decent explanation of some of the other future benefits (of course, specific to T-Mobile but the principles should be carrier agnostic): https://www.t-mobile.com/support/devices/latest-sim-for-great-network-experience#changeSIM

Even though my previous SIM was working well with the 5G network, I decided to switch over to the new SIM so there shouldn't be any issues going forward.

 

[krspkbl]

been using my pro max since the 13th. i can't see this issue on mine and trust me i am VERY picky when it comes to displays. i will notice the slightest imperfection. not dismissing it because it obviously is a real issue but i'm just sharing my experience. the screen on my Pro Max is the best screen i've ever had on any smartphone. no dead/stuck pixels, good colour uniformity/temperature, excellent brightness, no flickering...nothing.

as for the warm yellow screen. can't say i have that either. whites on the screen look very cool with true tone/night shift off. MAYBE if i went out of my way to compare it to another iPhone there would be some difference but that feels like asking for trouble. a 12 series phone shouldn't be expected to look like an 11 series, XS series, etc. and also i'm not gonna be using two phones at the one time so it's a non issue. now if you were using your phone under normal conditions and it was really warm with TT/NS off (and without comparing to another phone) then by all means get Apple to replace it until you're happy!

 

[Krieg121]

Not surprising...Apple's hw qualtiy has been trending downhill slowly but steadily while price increases since Jobs passed away. Sad to say now, that the only Apple devices I use are provided from my job. I will not buy another Apple device for awhile. Their software is also trending downwards.

 

[vmistery]

Mini has bigger issues lol

Does it?

 

[Azzurro]

So this was the weird thing that happened to my phone. I had green screen and it disappeared because I had to reboot it. It never happened again.

 

[Baymowe335]

It shows how little Apple understand the problem though. It's not green at all, it's grey, but a camera will pick it up as green due to exposure or some such. Because customers are sending photographs of it looking green, they think it's green. It aint.

For those of you who don't have this problem, you probably do I'm afraid. Best not to look for it.

I’m sure Apple’s engineers need your help.

 

[SamuelZ]

It shows how little Apple understand the problem though. It's not green at all, it's grey, but a camera will pick it up as green due to exposure or some such. Because customers are sending photographs of it looking green, they think it's green. It aint.

For those of you who don't have this problem, you probably do I'm afraid. Best not to look for it.

Not actually. If you own a affected unit, you'll find the green color is easily been picked up by human eyes in dark. On the contrary, the cameras struggled to pick the color. The real situation is that the green is more saturated. At least for me

 

[S_bastian]

My glowing black screen and flickering seems to be fixed with iOS 14.2.1. I’ll need to wait until it’s night to confirm (currently morning in Aus). Anyone else notice a difference?

 

[Alfieg]

I do have an affected unit...

To the naked eye, very much grey though.

 

[djoliverm]

My glowing black screen and flickering seems to be fixed with iOS 14.2.1. I’ll need to wait until it’s night to confirm (currently morning in Aus). Anyone else notice a difference?

I went into a dark closet and I wanna say that the raised black is fixed but I need to test fully at night when my eyes are also fully adjusted, lol.

 

[Nils132]

It’s still there with 14.2.1 ... :/

 

[S_bastian]

It’s still there with 14.2.1 ... :/

Yes, I spoke too soon. Perhaps my eyes weren't adjusted properly, or maybe it's slightly better, but I turned my screen up a bit and there it was

 

[flyinb22]

Does this include the yellow tint issue?

This is my question as well...just got my 12 Pro last night.
screen is not good, yellow/brown tint is awful.
Photo of my Xr next to the 12 Pro
exact same setting...same brightness
True Tone on/off makes no difference
auto brightness makes no difference

 

[moabal]

This is my question as well...just got my 12 Pro last night.
screen is not good, yellow/brown tint is awful.
Photo of my Xr next to the 12 Pro
exact same setting...same brightness
True Tone on/off makes no difference
auto brightness makes no difference

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

I know the accessibility tint setting is frowned upon because it’s likely to make your display less accurate, and people have also claimed it can reduce brightness and contrast, but I’ve achieved some pretty spectacular results using it. I sat down last night and started playing with it, mainly...

forums.macrumors.com

Follow these instructions. It should get you to an acceptable look. The key here is not just change the Color Tint settings but to add back a splash a yellow with slight Night Shift mode. Let me know how it goes!

Note, comparing to the XR is not ideal as it is not an OLED device. But in any case the 12 Pro is definitely too yellow.

 

[barry.wiestling]

Hoping an update will fix it. I notice the slight yellow hue.

Ques. Are these displays different from the XS Max? Other prior models??

Now I don't know if its coincidence...I got the Pro Max on Fri. On Saturday I had one of the worst headaches I've had in a long time, by Sat night I was in bed with an icepack. Again on Sunday and a slight one last night.

My usage hasn't been that much up so far compared to the old phone. Again I have no idea..I feel ok now but my phone usage so far today is WAY down. Also, the weather also had dramatically changed in the past week (sometimes I get headaches with that also)

Kind of wondering in the back of my head if some fast paced flickering that I can barely see is triggering it?
(Maybe I'm thinking too much...which also might cause my to hurt. 😆 😐)

I’m with you here. I’m having the same issues with my 12 mini. Tonight when using dark mode I saw the flicker on the white text. It’s giving me headaches

 

[Syre]

I returned my beloved 12 Pro today... It was a launch day order and tomorrow was my final day to return it. I will definitely purchase one again if/when this gets resolved. It’s unfortunate because it had a pretty good display (compared to the other “warm” ones posted on here.) Also there was a small scratch on the stainless steel band out of the box, which didn’t bother me too much but this OLED problem was the icing on the cake. There’s something fishy about Apple keeping something widespread like this internally... not to mention M4X1K’s demonstration video is blocked from viewing on YouTube for all Apple devices (barring desktops). Hopefully it’s not a hardware issue. This reminds me back when Apple silently updated their manufacturing process for iPhone 5’s due to faulty power buttons.

 

[Woyly]

My 12 PM had this issue too. Omg hopefully they can fix it soon. Also, Oled smearing is crazy in photos app when I scroll through photos with dark mode turned on.

 

[pcc1]

So, what about the new iPhone 12 Mini’s poor data signal (upload slows to ~128Kbps; download seems fine when upload is working well enough request a web page or Spotify song) when I hike way out in the countryside where my iPhoneSE(2020) worked much better and had faster upload and fewer frozen data connections?

 

[PhillyGuy72]

I’m with you here. I’m having the same issues with my 12 mini. Tonight when using dark mode I saw the flicker on the white text. It’s giving me headaches

I've noticed a few screen flickers when typing only a few times, very brief but that's concerning right now. I can't see this steady screen flicker with my naked eye, it could be so fast that it's barely noticeable, yet the brain picks it up? (I remember this OLED flicker from iPhone X doing this for many new OLED users. I never has a problem with OLED on XS Max)

I filmed this brief clip under slo-mo video (below), the flicker IS always there and normal...so perhaps this display is much more sensitive or faulty!? Fast steady flicker is when brightness is up, slow more intense flicker when brightness is much lower (black bars, one magenta line over and over)

That is under slow motion, I am not seeing this with my naked eye, and personally not experiencing the green, deep yellow tint right now...and HOPE I never do! I'm not a technician by any means, I don't think a firmware update can fix this..hey, I could be totally wrong. Just seems the display itself to malfunction under the lower light, heavier flicker causing some kind of gray, green glow, almost a strain on the display? Odd and actually sad! And since this was found under an Apple internal memo..kinda makes this anger inducting!

The Minis and Pros have been out for 1 week now. I say exchange it and see what happens? I think a few here have already exchanged theres more than 2-3 times already. (This would make me mental!)

And this OlED mess is not totally limited to Apple, I have a used Samsung Note9 I bought last year pretty darn cheap. Some updates in the past 12 months on that phone caused the screens a similar green issue, a complete mess with the displays - with no fix or help Samsung. (But hey, its a 2 year old phone...go buy a new one - [eyeroll].)

*** WARNING - VIDEO HAS FLICKERING, DO NOT VIEW IF YOU HAVE A HISTORY OF EPILEPSY, SEIZURES ***

 

[Baymowe335]

The green / glow in very dark backgrounds is likely a hardware issue, people should just return the phone or demand a replacement. Happened with the LG V30 when LG started making OLED phone displays, same on the Pixel 2 XL. Some older Samsungs suffered from it. Obviously current and older OLED iPhones suffer from it. Just a bad OLED is likely what is happening. My 12 Pro and 12 Mini do not have this issue. My 12 Pro Max that I returned did have it.

You have no idea it’s a hardware issue.

 

[Harthag]

You have no idea it’s a hardware issue.

Why then do some phones exhibit this behavior and others don't? From past experience, I exchanged said offending phones and the replacements did not have the issue. Same with the iPhone 12. My 12 Pro and Mini do not have the issue, my 12 Pro Max did.

 

[Baymowe335]

Why then do some phones exhibit this behavior and others don't? From past experience, I exchanged said offending phones and the replacements did not have the issue. Same with the iPhone 12. My 12 Pro and Mini do not have the issue, my 12 Pro Max did.

Every panel can be calibrated a little differently.

 

[Harthag]

Every panel can be calibrated a little differently.

Oh right I agree with that. But the specific issues of green / gray screen glow on all black backgrounds that should be solid black, as well as green glow on dark gray backgrounds in low brightness, those aren’t calibration issues, IMO.

 

[throwinrocks]

After the last update my iPhone 12's screen will flash and go black while I'm using it and tapping the screen won't wake it up so I have to push the power button a couple of times. No screen protector on my phone.

 

[dg_ride]

I only have the green tint between 15 and 65% brightness, weird.