Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 12 Pro iPhone 12 Pro “raised blacks” display
- Thread starter Morrisound
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I have a helpful answer as well, return the phone if you aren't happy with its screen.
If you are running the beta you can report bugs etc to Apple? So perhaps do that with your findings it sounds promising though and hopefully by the GM release they may have fixed it.
I have Apple calling me back on Monday to update me on my case about it.
I’ve already reported it. Let’s hope. I’ll keep reporting every new beta until we get an answer..
I can replicate this issue on the two 12 Pro Max that I tested.
That’s not a great sign. But I still think this is a software issue. I can’t see Apple ship this many iPhones, which all seem to have the issue. I think it has something to do with smearing on true blacks. I get it when scrolling in settings, but 2 seconds after I stop scrolling screen goes back to true black.
When watching a photo in portrait in the Gallery app I can see this problem. Is it the same for you? Strangely enough not all photos are affected by this, some acually look ok.
Last edited:
I can also confirm this issue with my 12 Mini black 128GB. IMO it is an issue with EVERY iPhone 12 series phone. It is just VERY hard to see it. I had it almost dark and almost couldn't reproduce the issue. Went into a 99% dark room and same issue here. Only till around 30-40% backlight I could reproduce it, higher backlight brightness and pixels turned off after a few seconds. But even then it took several seconds to turn off even though the video was running full screen with no menu etc, you can literally see it turn off. To me it is a software issue with every iPhone 12 because it does only happen in low brightness and in high brightness you can see them turn off after a few seconds of black screen, not the moment the screen gets black. Some just cannot see it because it is indeed very hard to reproduce this bug.
It wouldn't bother me at all if it wouldn't affect battery life. But because of OLED it does. And that is the problem. I often use my phone with low backlight level, so it is a problem. We all have to write to Apple. I just did so through the link someone provided here. The more we write, the better.
PS: Even the black part of the settings menu doesn't look 100% black in the dark. It effects the blacks everywhere. They are turned on, although much darker than on my iPhone 11 6.1. LCD.
It wouldn't bother me at all if it wouldn't affect battery life. But because of OLED it does. And that is the problem. I often use my phone with low backlight level, so it is a problem. We all have to write to Apple. I just did so through the link someone provided here. The more we write, the better.
PS: Even the black part of the settings menu doesn't look 100% black in the dark. It effects the blacks everywhere. They are turned on, although much darker than on my iPhone 11 6.1. LCD.
Last edited:
This would - if it's true that Samsung makes the panels for the Mini and the Max- indicate a software problem, wouldn't it? I rellay hope so.
I compared the two today. IPhone 11 Pro was behaving as it should.
I mentioned it before, but I believe this might be intentional. This prevents the black smearing when scrolling at low brightness levels since the pixels are “on” and won’t be delayed. This isn’t an issue past ~40% brightness, so at that point they can turn off. I’m still not sure which I prefer, the smearing or the slightly gray blacks at low brightness.
Hello, my girlfriend has iphone 12 and no oled problem she has real deep black,
me with my 12 pro I have the problem of blacks which becomes like not totally black on a black photo.
Today I went to recover an iphone 12 pro max and the problem is the same.
It would be nice to share the opinion of the people WHO HAVE THE BETA 14.3 BETA 1 to confirm or deny if the beta fixes this problem like a lottery
..sorry for my english i use google translation
me with my 12 pro I have the problem of blacks which becomes like not totally black on a black photo.
Today I went to recover an iphone 12 pro max and the problem is the same.
It would be nice to share the opinion of the people WHO HAVE THE BETA 14.3 BETA 1 to confirm or deny if the beta fixes this problem like a lottery
..sorry for my english i use google translation
I would recommend anyone having this issue send Apple some feedback who knows someone may actually read them?
Feedback - iPhone
Apple wants to hear from you. Send us your comments and feedback about iPhone.www.apple.com
You could also create a case using the Support app and chat to the advisors who seem like they want to help I told them I don't want to exchange my device as its likely the replacement will suffer the same issue.
It isn't something that affects my day to day usage as I wouldn't have known about it had I not read these forums, I suspect its fixable in software but if not I may try an exchange in a few months and give Apple a chance to release some updates as they may silently fix it perhaps a 14.2.1 update next week to fix any bugs on the Mini and Pro Max.
We could do with some of the sites and YouTubers reporting it however they may be reluctant to do so as it might affect Apple sending them free devices to review in the future.
Me too. And if it doesn't happen with any OLED iPhone before iPhone 12 with the latest iOS, then why? I am not an expert, do we have a different OLED technology with the latest iPhones?
Strange enough I don't have the way too yellow OLED problem. Comparing it to my redish/blueish iPhone 11 LCD it is more yellow but way less than iPhone 11 Pro I tested last year. That seems fine to me, and I am very picky about yellow (OLED) screens, always have been.
Last edited:
Do we have a new technology here or why does it seem to be an iPhone 12 series only problem?
I think this could be the explanation. But then Apple should make it so that it only is active during scrolling etc and not doing movies.
Okay, I was finally able to replicate this on my 12 mini (unfortunately).
One important thing is not only to be in a 100% blackened out room, but also to let your eyes adjust to the darkness for 1-2 minutes (which I didn't at first). This is just to set up proper testing conditions. Some people will likely be able to notice the effect in less strict conditions as well, depending on eyesight and sensitivity.
Testing procedure:
![zone-ab.png]( "zone-ab.png")
Effect 1: If the brightness level is within zone A, the raised blacks are permanently visible in the video. However, the lower the brightness within that zone, the more it approaches true black, by virtue of the lower brightness. For me the easiest way to reproduce it was to set the brightness level such that the slider position is on the top "dot" of the sun symbol (in landscape orientation — the position is different in portrait orientation).
Effect 2: If the brighness level is within zone B, the raised blacks are visible until about 3 seconds after the slide bar disappears. After that, the screen turns true black again. If that was the only effect, it wouldn't be much of a problem.
Effect 3: I don't know how to reliably reproduce that one. I only saw it two times by chance and afterwards wasn't able to reproduce it again. The brightness was somewhere in zone B when it happened for me. The effect is the one already described by others, where the black starts to flicker on the screen. For me it was just a short flicker that didn't repeat, and it appeared to me that it was a little brighter than the raised blacks of effect 1 and 2 above. It happened maybe 5-10 seconds after exiting the Control Center.
So, I hope that makes it easier for people to see if they can replicate the problem. And maybe someone will come up with a way to reliably reproduce effect 3.
One important thing is not only to be in a 100% blackened out room, but also to let your eyes adjust to the darkness for 1-2 minutes (which I didn't at first). This is just to set up proper testing conditions. Some people will likely be able to notice the effect in less strict conditions as well, depending on eyesight and sensitivity.
Testing procedure:
- Turn off Auto-Brightness in Settings. This is not strictly necessary, but ensures reproducible brightness levels.
- Start the all-black video from the first post, so that it runs in full-screen mode in Safari. The video runs for an hour, so you have ample time for the following steps.
- Select some brightness level via Control Center.
- Exit Control Center, back to the fullscreen all-black video, and wait until after the bottom slide bar has disappeared, so that the screen becomes completely black.
- Observe an effect (or don't). (see below)
- Repeat from step 3.
Effect 1: If the brightness level is within zone A, the raised blacks are permanently visible in the video. However, the lower the brightness within that zone, the more it approaches true black, by virtue of the lower brightness. For me the easiest way to reproduce it was to set the brightness level such that the slider position is on the top "dot" of the sun symbol (in landscape orientation — the position is different in portrait orientation).
Effect 2: If the brighness level is within zone B, the raised blacks are visible until about 3 seconds after the slide bar disappears. After that, the screen turns true black again. If that was the only effect, it wouldn't be much of a problem.
Effect 3: I don't know how to reliably reproduce that one. I only saw it two times by chance and afterwards wasn't able to reproduce it again. The brightness was somewhere in zone B when it happened for me. The effect is the one already described by others, where the black starts to flicker on the screen. For me it was just a short flicker that didn't repeat, and it appeared to me that it was a little brighter than the raised blacks of effect 1 and 2 above. It happened maybe 5-10 seconds after exiting the Control Center.
So, I hope that makes it easier for people to see if they can replicate the problem. And maybe someone will come up with a way to reliably reproduce effect 3.
Last edited:
Ok, here's how I can see the problem:Okay, I was finally able to replicate this on my 12 mini (unfortunately).
One important thing is not only to be in a 100% blackened out room, but also to let your eyes adjust to the darkness for 1-2 minutes (which I didn't at first). This is just to set up proper testing conditions. Some people will likely be able to notice the effect in less strict conditions as well, depending on eyesight and sensitivity.
Testing procedure:
There are three different effects, in my opinion. The first two (maybe all three) depend on the brightness level. The following screenshot shows two brightness zones A and B (as accurate as I was able to determine them).
- Turn off Auto-Brightness in Settings. This is not strictly necessary, but ensures reproducible brightness levels.
- Start the all-black video from the first post, so that it runs in full-screen mode in Safari. The video runs for an hour, so you have ample time for the following steps.
- Select some brightness level via Control Center.
- Exit Control Center, back to the fullscreen all-black video, and wait until after the bottom slide bar has disappeared, so that the screen becomes completely black.
- Observe an effect (or don't).
- Repeat from step 3.
View attachment 1664734
Effect 1: If the brightness level is within zone A, the raised blacks are permanently visible in the video. However, the lower the brightness within that zone, the more it approaches true black, by virtue of the lower brightness. For me the easiest way to reproduce it was to set the brightness level such that the slider position is on the top "dot" of the sun symbol.
Effect 2: If the brighness level is within zone B, the raised blacks are visible until about 3 seconds after the slide bar disappears. After that, the screen turns true black again. If that was the only effect, it wouldn't be much of a problem.
Effect 3: I don't know how to reliably reproduce that one. I only saw it two times by chance and afterwards wasn't able to reproduce it again. The brightness was somewhere in zone B when it happened for me. The effect is the one already described by others, where the black starts to flicker on the screen. For me it was just a short flicker that didn't repeat, and it appeared to me that it was a little brighter than the raised blacks of effect 1 and 2 above. It happened maybe 5-10 seconds after exiting the Control Center.
So, I hope that makes it easier for people to see if they can replicate the problem. And maybe someone will come up with a way to reliably reproduce effect 3.
Enter a dark room, Look at a photo in the gallery.
This is exactly the same behaviour that I get with my 12 Pro and I imagine the Pro Max may also suffer.Okay, I was finally able to replicate this on my 12 mini (unfortunately).
One important thing is not only to be in a 100% blackened out room, but also to let your eyes adjust to the darkness for 1-2 minutes (which I didn't at first). This is just to set up proper testing conditions. Some people will likely be able to notice the effect in less strict conditions as well, depending on eyesight and sensitivity.
Testing procedure:
There are three different effects, in my opinion. The first two (maybe all three) depend on the brightness level. The following screenshot shows two brightness zones A and B (as accurate as I was able to determine them).
- Turn off Auto-Brightness in Settings. This is not strictly necessary, but ensures reproducible brightness levels.
- Start the all-black video from the first post, so that it runs in full-screen mode in Safari. The video runs for an hour, so you have ample time for the following steps.
- Select some brightness level via Control Center.
- Exit Control Center, back to the fullscreen all-black video, and wait until after the bottom slide bar has disappeared, so that the screen becomes completely black.
- Observe an effect (or don't).
- Repeat from step 3.
View attachment 1664734
Effect 1: If the brightness level is within zone A, the raised blacks are permanently visible in the video. However, the lower the brightness within that zone, the more it approaches true black, by virtue of the lower brightness. For me the easiest way to reproduce it was to set the brightness level such that the slider position is on the top "dot" of the sun symbol.
Effect 2: If the brighness level is within zone B, the raised blacks are visible until about 3 seconds after the slide bar disappears. After that, the screen turns true black again. If that was the only effect, it wouldn't be much of a problem.
Effect 3: I don't know how to reliably reproduce that one. I only saw it two times by chance and afterwards wasn't able to reproduce it again. The brightness was somewhere in zone B when it happened for me. The effect is the one already described by others, where the black starts to flicker on the screen. For me it was just a short flicker that didn't repeat, and it appeared to me that it was a little brighter than the raised blacks of effect 1 and 2 above. It happened maybe 5-10 seconds after exiting the Control Center.
So, I hope that makes it easier for people to see if they can replicate the problem. And maybe someone will come up with a way to reliably reproduce effect 3.
It does make it appear to be more a software issue than hardware as the chances of the same issue across the entire 12 series seems unusual although some people report they don’t have the issue perhaps some screens show it easier than others as it can be quite hard to see.
I hope it’s software anyway as I don’t want to get into the exchange game for my own sanity. lol
The Max has the same problem. Luckily I can return it until the 8th of January because of apples extended return period so I hope they’ll fix it until then.
If you have to not only be in a pitch black room but also have to let your eyes adjust to this pitch blackness in order to replicate this issue, is it really a problem? It seems kind of ridiculous to follow steps in order to find a problem.....Okay, I was finally able to replicate this on my 12 mini (unfortunately).
One important thing is not only to be in a 100% blackened out room, but also to let your eyes adjust to the darkness for 1-2 minutes (which I didn't at first). This is just to set up proper testing conditions. Some people will likely be able to notice the effect in less strict conditions as well, depending on eyesight and sensitivity.
Testing procedure:
There are three different effects, in my opinion. The first two (maybe all three) depend on the brightness level. The following screenshot shows two brightness zones A and B (as accurate as I was able to determine them).
- Turn off Auto-Brightness in Settings. This is not strictly necessary, but ensures reproducible brightness levels.
- Start the all-black video from the first post, so that it runs in full-screen mode in Safari. The video runs for an hour, so you have ample time for the following steps.
- Select some brightness level via Control Center.
- Exit Control Center, back to the fullscreen all-black video, and wait until after the bottom slide bar has disappeared, so that the screen becomes completely black.
- Observe an effect (or don't).
- Repeat from step 3.
View attachment 1664734
Effect 1: If the brightness level is within zone A, the raised blacks are permanently visible in the video. However, the lower the brightness within that zone, the more it approaches true black, by virtue of the lower brightness. For me the easiest way to reproduce it was to set the brightness level such that the slider position is on the top "dot" of the sun symbol.
Effect 2: If the brighness level is within zone B, the raised blacks are visible until about 3 seconds after the slide bar disappears. After that, the screen turns true black again. If that was the only effect, it wouldn't be much of a problem.
Effect 3: I don't know how to reliably reproduce that one. I only saw it two times by chance and afterwards wasn't able to reproduce it again. The brightness was somewhere in zone B when it happened for me. The effect is the one already described by others, where the black starts to flicker on the screen. For me it was just a short flicker that didn't repeat, and it appeared to me that it was a little brighter than the raised blacks of effect 1 and 2 above. It happened maybe 5-10 seconds after exiting the Control Center.
So, I hope that makes it easier for people to see if they can replicate the problem. And maybe someone will come up with a way to reliably reproduce effect 3.
Last edited:
You are right, but I find it harder (if not impossible) to make out when there are bright elements on the screen, which is likely with a photo. I wanted a "foolproof" way to reproduce. That aside, in the Photos app the same brightness setting "zones" apply for effects 1 and 2 as I described.