Hey guys,
I would like to add my experiences and some tests I've done with my iPhone 12 Pro Max to the conversation.
First off, I purchased my iPhone 12 Pro Max through best buy as an upgrade from my iPhone 7 Plus.
I first noticed the warmer tint after getting home, and realizing true tone was on. Turning off True tone put the display to a nice warm white color that would be considered off white. Still very nice to look at though, and none of the colors of the wallpaper, photos, video, etc were distorted.
After reading online about the complaints people had I was only curious because this was my first OLED Panel. I remembered when having my Plasma TV, it too was always warmer than an LCD, and since I'm used to calibrated displays, I figured this was just the nature of OLED panels, and the choice of calibration Apple has gone with for this model.
However, after hearing more and more complaints, I decided to do my own tests to see if it was hardware / software.
Here are the tests I performed on my 12 Pro Max.
1. I re-enabled True Tone, and hit the sensor with a bright white/blue LED flashlight. The display immediately went bright and turned cool white to match the light source that it was receiving.
2. I did the same test with a smart LED bulb set to cool white at 100% brightness, and same result.
3. Yesterday when I was out getting groceries, I pulled the phone out and let True Tone adjust to natural sunlsight, this was in the morning before the sun was fully up, so it had a warmer tone, and the screen brightened and turned a warmer tone to match the lightning. So the screen seems to be fine, and the sensor seems to be fine.
What I did find though, is indoor when it's darker, or you're in a warmer lit environment, that's where True Tone seems to exaggerate the warm tint on the screen. Of course, I don't use True tone as to keep a consistent display look. However, I used it for the lighting tests to see the response. As far as Nightshift goes, I use it at night with a lighter setting, but it's still a tad warmer then when off.
My conclusion is, the phone is working as Apple intended, if there are any problems, that REALLY need to be address,I'm sure apple will. For those who have known bad units I'm sure apple will take care of you. However from my own experience, and the majority of people who understand about calibration and cool vs warm color seem to suggest the phone is how it should be for the particular panel used.
Hope this helps