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adam1080

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 29, 2012
597
983
LATEST EDIT (Oct 22, 2023): upgrading to iOS 17.1 RC 1 or later mostly removes this issue. (some slight blooming/uniformity issues in very, very specific or hyper-critical viewing that is not noticeable in normal use. Unlike the original issue...) If you have this issue, upgrade to the 17.1 Beta or hopefully Apple releases the full release this week.)
--------------------------------

Well, for the last week and a half I have been touting the iPhone 15 Pro/ProMax as one of the best iPhones in years. Despite incremental changes, it is greater than the sum of its parts. I also had ZERO issues with over-heating and thought those claims were rare and blow out of proportion.

Then last night I saw something I have never experienced on an iPhone. Terrible and VERY noticeable burn-in. This was never an issue on my X, 11 Pro, 13 Pro or 14 Pro OLED screens.

1696430897798.jpeg


You can clearly see the Photos App, Notes App, Clock App, Calendar App with "22or 3ish)" and below the the "X" app that is the main home page of my phone here:

1696431037704.jpeg


1696431124800.jpeg


I then decided to go play a gray "Uniformity" Video on YouTube that I had played about a week early after reading a post here that some users were seeing issues with their display on brightness uniformity issues from one side of their screen to another. At a couple days old, my iPhone looked great.

Last night... these were the results:

1696431270808.jpeg


1696431300262.png


I only 2 days ago turned off the Always On Display option, but the calendar clearly shows 22 ish burned-in. Auto-lock has been set at 2 minutes since the restore on launch day.

I have AppleCar+ Theft and Loss. Just not sure when to take it back at this point.

Disappointed that in less than 14 days something like this was even possible under normal use.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edit 10/5/23 evening:

Status update-



Welp, I think this all might be coming to an anti-climactic end...


After almost 45 min, I finally met with the Genius. I was sitting there working on my MBP waiting, so when he asked me my issue I showed him the pictures and videos of the 15 PM on my Mac. His reaction and body language was basically "oof, that IS a problem." I told him "it won't be visible in the daylight lighting of the Apple Store, but if you have a windowless closet back there, then run back and go nuts."

The word used by the genius to describe it was "ghosting." He said, "how long after leaving your Home Screen do the images persist?" I laughed and said "that depends on how long do you want to keep looking at the phone. What time does your shift end?"

I said "But seriously, the images never leave. I ran an HDR YouTube "screen-cleaner/scrubber" at full brightness for an hour and they were still there just as noticeable as soon as I switched to a dark mode grey screen." And as I said on the forum, there were just as visible before I left for the store.

He ran a series of diagnostics on the phone right there at the desk, seemingly looked at the results and then read some internal Knowledge-base Articles for a couple minutes(never took the phone back to look at it in the dark) and then "Yep, that's a problem. Normally what we would do for this issue is replace the screen, but since there are no parts available for the 15's yet I will order you a replacement phone."

My response to him was, "No... Normally what I would do with a problem like this on a new phone is return it and get another phone, NOT repair it." I could see him going to look at the return date/option on the account/diagnostic screen of his iPad and the "Duh/Doh" moment he had realizing the 15's still have not been out 14 days yet. That was funny to see...

He started looking at availability of any devices in the 3 stores in the state and... bupkis.

He confirmed that normal "refurbs" don't even exist nor show up in their system yet. That this would be a "new" phone. I asked if it would "be a new sellable phone in a sealed box?" and he said, it would be a new phone in a sealed box, but not the "sellable box" and "would not come with the accessories like the cable."

I asked him how long that would take and he said, "not longer than a few days. We will give you a call as soon as it comes in."
------------------------------------


So there we are... I can't find another iPhone 15 Pro Max of any storage size or color for purchase at any of the Apple Stores in my state. I can't find my exact phone at BestBuy, AT&T, Walmart, etc. for pickup today or tomorrow. So it looks like I won't be returning it and will be sticking with the "new" replacement phone when it arrives.

I know some folks have said that result was not the ideal outcome with how those units identified, but here I am. I won't plan on keeping my iPhone 15 Pro Max and will just trade it in for the 16 Pro whichever when that comes out. Chances are I will replace this one more time before then anyway. I had to replace my 14 Pro once, and the phones I do keep for 2 years usually qualify to get the battery or whole phone replaced too. AppleCare is my insurance after-all.

So its a "new" replacement and not a return for me.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
For those curious about the issue itself, I did try and pick the Genius' brain and experience about that. Asked him what he thought it was and if there are others that have had that issue(he also owns the phone.) He said. "I did check and this has not been an issue we are seeing at any scale with the 15 Pro's. I have not seen this issue on my phone and no one has returned one so far to this store with that issue." We went on to talk about the heating issues that neither of us had experienced. His last meaningful comment was, "This is not likely any software related issue because if it was wide-spread enough and software related, we would most likely know that by now. This type of issue on a screen so new is likely a faulty display and is clearly not operating within spec or design."

So it seems rare (which the 1 or 2 other people this thread has discovered might confirm that), but this Store and Genius certainly agreed it was outside of any allowable tolerances. Only time will tell I guess.

Thanks everyone for coming on this journey with me and commiserating a bit on something so unusual/frustrating.

Hope everyone's screen stays pretty and your titanium frosty!

_____________________________
Edit - Oct 11th, 2023:
Screen confirmed to be SAMSUNG with July 14, 2023 MFG date. Picking up replacement phone before Oct 16th.
 
Last edited:

Harthag

macrumors 68020
Jun 20, 2009
2,013
2,563
U.S.
Well, for the last week and a half I have been touting the iPhone 15 Pro/ProMax as one of the best iPhones in years. Despite incremental changes, it is greater than the sum of its parts. I also had ZERO issues with over-heating and thought those claims were rare and blow out of proportion.

Then last night I saw something I have never experienced on an iPhone. Terrible and VERY noticeable burn-in. This was never an issue on my X, 11 Pro, 13 Pro or 14 Pro OLED screens.

View attachment 2288347

You can clearly see the Photos App, Notes App, Clock App, Calendar App with "22or 3ish)" and below the the "X" app that is the main home page of my phone here:

View attachment 2288350

View attachment 2288354

I then decided to go play a gray "Uniformity" Video on YouTube that I had played about a week early after reading a post here that some users were seeing issues with their display on brightness uniformity issues from one side of their screen to another. At a couple days old, my iPhone looked great.

Last night... these were the results:

View attachment 2288356

View attachment 2288357

I only 2 days ago turned off the Always On Display option, but the calendar clearly shows 22 ish burned-in. Auto-lock has been set at 2 minutes since the restore on launch day.

I have AppleCar+ Theft and Loss. Just not sure when to take it back at this point.

Disappointed that in less than 14 days something like this was even possible under normal use.
That's horrible. Take it back ASAP or call AC+ and request an express replacement.
 

MarkNewton2023

macrumors 6502a
Sep 17, 2023
604
604
Well, for the last week and a half I have been touting the iPhone 15 Pro/ProMax as one of the best iPhones in years. Despite incremental changes, it is greater than the sum of its parts. I also had ZERO issues with over-heating and thought those claims were rare and blow out of proportion.

Then last night I saw something I have never experienced on an iPhone. Terrible and VERY noticeable burn-in. This was never an issue on my X, 11 Pro, 13 Pro or 14 Pro OLED screens.

View attachment 2288347

You can clearly see the Photos App, Notes App, Clock App, Calendar App with "22or 3ish)" and below the the "X" app that is the main home page of my phone here:

View attachment 2288350

View attachment 2288354

I then decided to go play a gray "Uniformity" Video on YouTube that I had played about a week early after reading a post here that some users were seeing issues with their display on brightness uniformity issues from one side of their screen to another. At a couple days old, my iPhone looked great.

Last night... these were the results:

View attachment 2288356

View attachment 2288357

I only 2 days ago turned off the Always On Display option, but the calendar clearly shows 22 ish burned-in. Auto-lock has been set at 2 minutes since the restore on launch day.

I have AppleCar+ Theft and Loss. Just not sure when to take it back at this point.

Disappointed that in less than 14 days something like this was even possible under normal use.
This is interesting. Thank you for sharing. I would bring the phone to store for check and replacement.
 

NEPOBABY

Suspended
Jan 10, 2023
697
1,688
How the hell. Normally that can only happen if OLED is set to very bright and left on for a very long time.

Anyway it backs up the idea that people who want OLED Macs aren't well informed. MicroLED is much better, especially with refinements.
 

StudioMacs

macrumors 65816
Apr 7, 2022
1,133
2,270
Then last night I saw something I have never experienced on an iPhone. Terrible and VERY noticeable burn-in. This was never an issue on my X, 11 Pro, 13 Pro or 14 Pro OLED screens.


You can clearly see the Photos App, Notes App, Clock App, Calendar App with "22or 3ish)" and below the the "X" app that is the main home page of my phone here:

it’s not the AOD, as it’s the Home Screen rather than the Lock Screen.

Does the image persistence remain after a reboot?
 

iStorm

macrumors 68020
Sep 18, 2012
2,033
2,438
I only 2 days ago turned off the Always On Display option, but the calendar clearly shows 22 ish burned-in.
It looks like this has been occurring over a series of days. The first calendar digit is really clear since that wouldn't have changed until a few days ago, hence more burned in. The last digit is fuzzier, but it looks like you can make out most of the other digits (2, 3, 5, 7, 8). It has nothing to do with the Always On Display since app icons are not on the Lock Screen. Hopefully it's just a bad display and not a widespread issue.

The iPhone 15 does have a higher peak brightness...are you using the maximum brightness all the time, or using the phone outside in sunlight a lot?
 

Boy261

macrumors member
Dec 13, 2021
51
87
Either the display itself was already not good of the supply, or given the fact that there are all this bugs from ios 17 (most important one the overheating), i think it wouldnt be strange if they also messed up something that has to do with burn in mitigation.

Might even be a combination of those two factors, but either way the displays lately have a bunch of Nits so i can easily see this happening if something in the software to evade it is not well configured.

Really hope this does not become a thing due to the display itself cause im planing to get a 15 pro max soon 😅. Gotta say last years 14 pro camera “quake” and other years issue seemed mild but this year seems a bit worse overall.
 
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Boy261

macrumors member
Dec 13, 2021
51
87
This batch either has screwed up screens or there is a firmware issue because my panel also shows a much milder “burn in” of the keyboard on grey backgrounds at low brightness.
Just wrote the same before seeing this 😂 can definitelly be possible. With all the things happening seems like there is a bit of QC lacking.
 

adam1080

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 29, 2012
597
983
If it still shows after rebooting the phone, I would definitely return.

it’s not the AOD, as it’s the Home Screen rather than the Lock Screen.

Does the image persistence remain after a reboot?

It looks like this has been occurring over a series of days. The first calendar digit is really clear since that wouldn't have changed until a few days ago, hence more burned in. The last digit is fuzzier, but it looks like you can make out most of the other digits (2, 3, 5, 7, 8). It has nothing to do with the Always On Display since app icons are not on the Lock Screen. Hopefully it's just a bad display and not a widespread issue.

The iPhone 15 does have a higher peak brightness...are you using the maximum brightness all the time, or using the phone outside in sunlight a lot?

So, I will try a reboot but to get a space dark enough now that its daytime will be a bit annoying. I will have to go under some blankets or something as my basement is being remodeled after a flood and I don't have anywhere in my house/property that doesn't have a window that allows in light. Not even closets(its a weird 100 year old bungalow).

I do have Auto-Brightness disabled in Accessibility but the phone is still rarely at peak brightness and I have not used the phone in full sunlight for more than 3-5 min total. Been overcast and I don't use it outside much at all.

That setting has also been disabled since it was an option on all my OLED iPhones without any hint of burn-in on those(vaguely remember that being moved from the main Display settings into Accessibility in the last few years of iOS)
 

adam1080

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 29, 2012
597
983
I wonder if this also has to do with the heat that people complain about?
I have had zero heat issues whatsoever on my 15 PM. Nothing worse than any of the last 4 iPhones. Actually 13 Pro was way worse at launch until I installed Wipr. Since then 14 Pro and 15 Pro had no heat issues.
 

Fat_Guy

macrumors 65816
Feb 10, 2021
1,032
1,099
Is it burn in or simply image retention. I had what I thought was burn in on my sister’s big screen TV. It eventually disappeared, so image retention.


I would keep it for a while to see if it goes away but return it before the 2 weeks are up if it doesn’t disappear.


 
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Paddle1

macrumors 603
May 1, 2013
5,148
3,596
You may not need 2 minutes auto lock if using Face ID since the display only dims if you aren't currently looking at it.
 

StudioMacs

macrumors 65816
Apr 7, 2022
1,133
2,270
So, I will try a reboot but to get a space dark enough now that its daytime will be a bit annoying.

Maybe i‘m misunderstanding your comment, but you can reboot in any lighting to see if the image persistence remains, unless this is something that only shows up in a dark environment.
 
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