you do have a green tint on the bottom of the display based on what i’m seeingHello Guys,
Im from Germany and I have a 17 Pro Max (256gb cosmic orange) with a LG GVC Display.
I took a few pictures to see if I have that infamous green tint. Can you tell me if the display has the green tint problem or if I actually got a good display? How far do I have to tilt the smartphone?
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.
Other This years screen lottery (17, 17 pro, 17 pro max and air)
- Thread starter Furrr
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Between myself, friends who got one, and all those I've seen in various stores, ten out of ten Airs have an LG panel with noticeable off-axis green tint. Also, the best I can tell, this panel has an ever so slight green push even when viewed head-on, and the contrast somehow doesn't look too great at around 50-60% brightness on it. Every time I look at any other of my screens, and then glance towards the Air, the screen on it just feels 'off' somehow. Maybe I just need more time to get used to it. What's clear however is that at this point in time at least, screen lottery with Air is just not worth trying.
Yes, you have the off-axis green tint at the bottom half that's typical of that type of panel. I wouldn't say that automatically makes it a bad screen, as LG screens tend to be really uniform in terms of tint and brightness when viewed head-on. I'll say the green bottom half is something you'll notice more often that you'd think if you use the phone one handed, as you might have it at that angle any time you need to reach for something higher up on the screen.
I didn't sell all of my Android phones due to defects or OCD. As I said they are all perfect on the 1st attempt. I sold them when I wanted to buy a different one. What's wrong with that? I'm sensitive to poor uniformity because I view white and light backgrounds and documents most of the day. It interferes with my daily activities, that's not OCD. Why should I settle for mediocrity on a $1200 phone when I know firsthand that there are screens that do not exhibit this behavior, and that everyone pays the same price for these devices. We are all owed better QC. If you choose to not care about it that's great, not judging. I do care about it.
Yes the 17 Pros mostly have Samsung panels and some have BOE. You can still get a bad Samsung panel. Just because it is a Samsung panel doesn't mean it'll be good. People love to hate on BOE for no good reason. I've owned many laptops with BOE screens and they have been really great. I've had OnePlus phones and Xiaomi phones with BOE screens and never had to return any of them, they were perfect.
Yes you have the green tint. Whether it bothers you is purely up to you. Here's my 17PM for reference:Hello Guys,
Im from Germany and I have a 17 Pro Max (256gb cosmic orange) with a LG GVC Display.
I took a few pictures to see if I have that infamous green tint. Can you tell me if the display has the green tint problem or if I actually got a good display? How far do I have to tilt the smartphone?
I've just spoken to Apple and they've offered me an appointment at a Genius Bar (124,274 miles away). After seeing @Harthag picture, I definitely want it replaced or repaired. I don't want to sound like an idiot at the Genius Bar (Apple Store) when I show them the problem. I'm just afraid of driving that far for nothing. I can't have the display replaced there as many times as I need to until I get a good one. What do you think? Do you think I have a good chance of getting an iPhone 17 PM with a Samsung display?
The "genius" will likely say there is nothing wrong. Are you within the return period? If so you should consider just returning the phone and getting a new one when at the store. There's no way to know whether any phone will have a particular display and you can't request a specific screen replacement. If you keep the genius appointment be nice and politely explain how this issue really impacts you and request a replacement device. Kindness and ability to communicate can go a long way. Good luck!
Why not decide if you're happy with the screen yourself?Hello Guys,
Im from Germany and I have a 17 Pro Max (256gb cosmic orange) with a LG GVC Display.
I took a few pictures to see if I have that infamous green tint. Can you tell me if the display has the green tint problem or if I actually got a good display? How far do I have to tilt the smartphone?
@Agit24 at the apple stores they don't know what panels are in the sealed iphone boxes. I tried to look for a 17PM demo device ... looked on 6 devices and only one of them had a nice and perfect Samungs screen all other where greenish. Then I asked the store manager whether I can buy that one. He said no...
Then I just bought a new one in a sealed box ... got it to my home unboxed and it was green ... did this 4 times since because they were all green... last one is also green ... I live with that green monster one week now ... I thought maybe I will get used to it but it still feels not so good ... every time I see the green light I get distracted because it is unexpected and should not be there at least not for the price we paid.
Then I just bought a new one in a sealed box ... got it to my home unboxed and it was green ... did this 4 times since because they were all green... last one is also green ... I live with that green monster one week now ... I thought maybe I will get used to it but it still feels not so good ... every time I see the green light I get distracted because it is unexpected and should not be there at least not for the price we paid.
In my experience at least, four out of six 17PMs I've seen were screens with off-axis green tint. So the chance is not great, but seems much better than with Air at least. Meanwhile, none of the six 17 Pros I've seen had off axis green tint.
I think at this point everyone should use their iPhones on dark mode. I feel like the chances of finding the perfect screen is almost impossible at this point.
This nightmare started with the 16PM. Display quality went down since apple started putting more ****** LG Displays in the Pro Maxes.
I can tolerate a warmer decent display. But both 16 and 17 PM have been the only phones that i have returned 3 in a row since 2011! Green off axis tint is just unacceptable at this price range.
I can tolerate a warmer decent display. But both 16 and 17 PM have been the only phones that i have returned 3 in a row since 2011! Green off axis tint is just unacceptable at this price range.
I just tested that however it functions as normal. Less bright in dark room but same brightness under office lights. I don’t mind slightly less brightness but I hate the washed out colors so much.
I think the main problem here is not the green tint. Personally I agree with you that LGs uniform brightness/color shift is way better than Samsungs non uniform ones. However after testing +20 devices total, I can easily tell that Samsung has a way punchier display and usually brighter screen. People like what they like. I also got a GVC after 3 tries and as much as I want to justify it, even bad batch Samsung simply looks better best batch LG (that I could find) when you don’t focus on the details which is the general advice given to people in this topic. **** this lottery ******** for sure but it is what it is. If I could get a refund now, I would take it then buy a S25 Ultra for sure.
I generally hate multi-quoting because it automatically seems like I'm raging hard about the subject at hand, but I really genuinely just find a number of recent talking points interesting about this whole panel lottery debacle / difference of opinion in some cases.
Do not go looking for problems where you might not have noticed. Better is the enemy of good.
..And your time and sanity.
It seems, while LG and Samsung both have winners and losers, that the sore spot of uneven green tint off axis in some extreme scenarios as soon as moving off axis is much more glaring than an uneven red tint bleed on a Samsung. I also would not be able to stand it, it feels like the weird rainbow gradient that was going on, on Samsung Galaxy phones in the early generations from memory (when I picked them up at the store to look at the demo units, at least). Just a really gross and cheap and almost nauseous feeling, to my eyes at least. And like a sentiment of 'have we really not moved past this?' especially knowing they are all not like this. Lots of LG are not like this.
In fairness- I have no fault with either manufacturer, and probably on average would prefer best Samsung to best LG, there are qualities I like to LG's when I compare photos and get really in the weeds of comparing direct colors not just the main UI / text elements, even ness and brightness, etc.
--
Even in TV space, Samsung with QD-OLED on average had way better yield at 'quality panels' to someone who is observant to these things in year one, but it proved in the years and models that followed they slipped up a lot just like LG WOLEDs have in the past (even acknowledging they are different tech and approaches) and the grass isn't always greener on being happy. OLED TV's are a landmine on an individual panel basis, even if Samsung tech is on average a better bet than LG there.. and I say this as someone with great panel WOLED's. It's just not as wide a gap as one might be expecting (in terms of perceivable 'defects' I'll say).
At least you can easily return your phone at least in certain markets if you get one you don't like (which I think is not most people, most people just don't see this stuff oddly enough despite looking at their device 24/7) and most people within that smaller subset get burnt out after a couple tries. And some people who are really particular just get lucky and don't have to go through this all that often despite not great odds. After one or maybe two returns max of a huge television, the retailer would likely tell you to pound sand because what are they gonna do with 7 open box items and taking a $1k loss on each one to make just you happy when most people buy once and never come back? What makes it more a daunting task, is because with your tv its likely to be a screen you throw all content at and keep an incredibly long time (it would be comical for most to even consider upgrading every 12 months, unless you're a hardcore enthusiast or just got money to burn and like incremental change as a textbook definition) you want to make sure you get one that doesn't gross you out or take you out of the content. Also can’t box up a tv and throw it in your bag , physically returning the thing is not gonna be any semblance of ‘fun’. And they’ll be looking at you like you’re trying to scam them too instead of just returning a tv you aren’t happy with.
Back to Apple/iPhones-
I don't have a hard limit myself for 'handheld devices', particularly iPhones and cyclical things, but even if the retailer were to allow me to go through 7 units, I am not sure I'd want to put myself through 7 cycles of buy, return, drive, deal with people, etc. I did too many around iPhone X, though not that bad, and I still want my time back lol.
After a couple at absolute best, I give up and return to what I had, and wait it out for another year or something like that. It's simply not worth my time to be tasked with this grating job every 12 or 24 months when I can just keep living life and spend my time elsewhere lol. It's also my strong recommendation to not trade or sell your current phone you're happy with until you're absolutely certain you like the one in your hand currently, not just from panel / individual defects perspective but even down to iOS version and all if you dont upgrade your older device day 1 to the new major version prior to getting the new one.
Three* things are certain in life: death, taxes, AND for those afflicted, panel lottery. So plan accordingly.
This is the sagest advice of all.
Do not go looking for problems where you might not have noticed. Better is the enemy of good.
..And your time and sanity.
That said... this is what I see too. This thread should serve to confirm what you already are miffed by, not to find your 'perfect' devices has these 'issues' you otherwise would have never in a million years noticed. It is in the eye of the beholder.
That's probably because 17 Pro is near exclusively Samsung, and in fringe scenarios / not enough data points of BOE, seems BOE is fine enough too. Still as always would love for someone, anyone to post pictures for some frame of reference lol.
It seems, while LG and Samsung both have winners and losers, that the sore spot of uneven green tint off axis in some extreme scenarios as soon as moving off axis is much more glaring than an uneven red tint bleed on a Samsung. I also would not be able to stand it, it feels like the weird rainbow gradient that was going on, on Samsung Galaxy phones in the early generations from memory (when I picked them up at the store to look at the demo units, at least). Just a really gross and cheap and almost nauseous feeling, to my eyes at least. And like a sentiment of 'have we really not moved past this?' especially knowing they are all not like this. Lots of LG are not like this.
In fairness- I have no fault with either manufacturer, and probably on average would prefer best Samsung to best LG, there are qualities I like to LG's when I compare photos and get really in the weeds of comparing direct colors not just the main UI / text elements, even ness and brightness, etc.
This could also be because LG binning of what is acceptable and what is not is way looser with LG on mobile OLED than Samsung on average, but I don't think LG = bad. It's just the faults of a bad LG are usually what cause people to get more annoyed, especially coming from the faults or no faults of a Samsung or other manufacturer previously as their reference for a year or years.
--
Even in TV space, Samsung with QD-OLED on average had way better yield at 'quality panels' to someone who is observant to these things in year one, but it proved in the years and models that followed they slipped up a lot just like LG WOLEDs have in the past (even acknowledging they are different tech and approaches) and the grass isn't always greener on being happy. OLED TV's are a landmine on an individual panel basis, even if Samsung tech is on average a better bet than LG there.. and I say this as someone with great panel WOLED's. It's just not as wide a gap as one might be expecting (in terms of perceivable 'defects' I'll say).
At least you can easily return your phone at least in certain markets if you get one you don't like (which I think is not most people, most people just don't see this stuff oddly enough despite looking at their device 24/7) and most people within that smaller subset get burnt out after a couple tries. And some people who are really particular just get lucky and don't have to go through this all that often despite not great odds. After one or maybe two returns max of a huge television, the retailer would likely tell you to pound sand because what are they gonna do with 7 open box items and taking a $1k loss on each one to make just you happy when most people buy once and never come back? What makes it more a daunting task, is because with your tv its likely to be a screen you throw all content at and keep an incredibly long time (it would be comical for most to even consider upgrading every 12 months, unless you're a hardcore enthusiast or just got money to burn and like incremental change as a textbook definition) you want to make sure you get one that doesn't gross you out or take you out of the content. Also can’t box up a tv and throw it in your bag , physically returning the thing is not gonna be any semblance of ‘fun’. And they’ll be looking at you like you’re trying to scam them too instead of just returning a tv you aren’t happy with.
Back to Apple/iPhones-
I don't have a hard limit myself for 'handheld devices', particularly iPhones and cyclical things, but even if the retailer were to allow me to go through 7 units, I am not sure I'd want to put myself through 7 cycles of buy, return, drive, deal with people, etc. I did too many around iPhone X, though not that bad, and I still want my time back lol.
After a couple at absolute best, I give up and return to what I had, and wait it out for another year or something like that. It's simply not worth my time to be tasked with this grating job every 12 or 24 months when I can just keep living life and spend my time elsewhere lol. It's also my strong recommendation to not trade or sell your current phone you're happy with until you're absolutely certain you like the one in your hand currently, not just from panel / individual defects perspective but even down to iOS version and all if you dont upgrade your older device day 1 to the new major version prior to getting the new one.
Three* things are certain in life: death, taxes, AND for those afflicted, panel lottery. So plan accordingly.
Last edited:
Ok, I got it. After thinking about it, I understand that it’s normal for most people not to tolerate the color shift on LG panels — it’s an obvious visual flaw. You buy an expensive device, and you don’t want to see that. Fair enough.
However, those of us who have been using, suffering through, and enjoying OLED panels for many years — both in phones and TVs — and who know the limitations of this technology, understand how incredibly hard it is to get a perfectly uniform panel with no color tint when viewed straight on. That’s why we’re happy with LG panels. More than happy, actually — despite the color shift.
However, those of us who have been using, suffering through, and enjoying OLED panels for many years — both in phones and TVs — and who know the limitations of this technology, understand how incredibly hard it is to get a perfectly uniform panel with no color tint when viewed straight on. That’s why we’re happy with LG panels. More than happy, actually — despite the color shift.
For anyone who is stuck with a GVC, I know it's not exactly a fix but you can increase the contrast without screwing the colors much by enabling Blue/Yellow color filter at minimum intensity. I don't have access to a Samsung iP17 but it at least looks on par with my Samsung iP13.
Actually, scratch that, what I wrote above only applies to doing a Color Tint, not the Blue/Yellow filter option. The trick you are suggesting has no impact on brightness at all, and it's pretty neat. Still, I think even at a minimum, its effect is a bit too strong.
Last edited:
Why would you want to do that? Samsung panels are quite oversaturated, whereas LG ones look more like a well-calibrated Filmmaker mode on a TV, just to make a comparison.
Using something from Samsung as an example of accurate colors and contrast goes beyond logic and what’s been proven over many years.
Because this way I can enjoy my oversaturated display in day-to-day usage and still easily turn it off when I need color accuracy. I still adjusted all my camera settings with the natural calibration.
I agree with effect being a little too strong however it is all we have unfortunately. If you want, you can create a shortcut to toggle it off in certain apps.
Posting this data point here. Apple Fifth avenue in NYC just got a huge shipment today 10/22 (as well as other stores in NYC) so I went. Waited on line for about an hour until 8:10 pm EST. I picked up a silver 17PM 512GB and got a G9N panel! First try, definitely lucked out and the panel itself is really crisp and uniform. Super happy with the purchase!
Just wanted to drop this information here in case it’s of use to anyone else, since NYC Fifth Ave store is open 24 hours!
Just wanted to drop this information here in case it’s of use to anyone else, since NYC Fifth Ave store is open 24 hours!
Last edited:
I’ll tell my story again. I’ve had a 15 Pro for about a year and a half, with a G9N panel. It never completely convinced me, but at the time I considered it good enough not to play the panel lottery. A hint of pink tint and some unevenness, but nothing too serious — though it did bother me occasionally.
My partner bought an Air when it came out, with a GVC panel that have color shift when tilted, but its white was less yellowish than the G9N’s and it was much more uniform, with no pink tint when viewed straight on.
It took me a while to convince her, but in the end, I ended up keeping the Air GVC and she took my 15 Pro G9N.
A few days ago, we came back from a trip around Europe. We took about 300 photos, both with my Air and her 15 Pro. Yesterday we created a shared album and added all the pictures. Once that was done, we looked through them on both phones side by side — and we both agreed that the colors and overall look on the Air GVC were much closer to reality than on the G9N 15 Pro, for both her photos and mine.
No one is “stuck” with a GVC. Just a matter of personal taste and preferences.
My GVC has perfect uniformity and the lowest green tint of the three I tested. Now I also learn that one weakness I cared about which was the colors can be fixed %80 just with a software toggle. I can't deny that perfect Samsung Displays feel simply perfect but the whole lottery thing is such a sh*tsh*w already, I would rather keep my GVC and enjoy it. As you mentioned it definitely seems to be the better choice compared to imperfect Samsungs.
When you say that colours can be fixed just with a software toggle do you mean a software update?
When you say that colours can be fixed by software toggle do you mean software update?