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Other This years screen lottery (17, 17 pro, 17 pro max and air)

I came from an iPhone 16 Pro Max with a really good OLED panel — great viewing angles with no color shift, perfect brightness, good uniformity, and overall just a solid display. Back then, I checked and it had a Samsung G9P panel (same as my iPhone 15 Pro Max, which was also excellent).

As of today, I’ve gone through seven iPhone 17 Pro Max units. (All have the TT turned off)

  • 1. iPhone 17 Pro Max Blue 256GB (GH3 panel) – Preorder unit. It arrived with great color uniformity and brightness, but had a noticeable green color shift at certain angles.
  • 2. iPhone 17 Pro Max Orange 512GB (GH3 panel) – I thought, why not try the orange one? Unfortunately, worse color uniformity, lower brightness, and the green tint was more visible — even from the front it looked slightly green.
  • 3. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 512GB (GH3 panel) – Tried silver, again GH3. At this point, I thought all Pro Max models came with this panel. It was better than the orange one, similar to the blue, but still had the green shift at angles. I decided to give it one more try…
  • 4. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 256GB (G9N panel) – Went back to a smaller storage capacity since higher storage didn’t seem to mean a better panel. This one had the much-loved Samsung G9N. At first, I thought it was the perfect display — the green shift was gone, consistent colors at all angles — but then I noticed poor uniformity: the upper area looked yellowish, and overall it was a very warm panel (with True Tone and Night Shift off). I dislike warm and uneven screens, plus it was dimmer, so I went for another attempt…
  • 5. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 512GB (GVC panel) – Good panel, but slightly green overall, noticeable green shift at angles. Still, it was uniform and bright — close, but not quite there yet. I decided to try one last time…
  • 6. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 512GB (GVC panel) – Much better than all the previous five. Uniform, bright, accurate colors — overall a great panel. The green shift was still there but barely noticeable, the best I had seen so far. I said, “This is the one.” But then… I noticed a small gap between the screen and the frame on the top-right corner — slightly more than normal. So, here we go again…
  • 7. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 1TB (GVC panel) – I thought maybe the higher-capacity model might have a better panel. It had good uniformity and brightness, but the green shift was more noticeable than on the previous one, and colors looked a bit duller.
In conclusion, I kept the sixth one — overall the best panel of them all. It’s a GVC, but I think it’s one of the good ones. The small screen-to-frame gap doesn’t really bother me anymore, and I don’t think it affects anything. Honestly, I’m done playing the display lottery this year it hasn’t been great at all, at least in my case (7 iPhone 17 Pro Max units total: 3 GH3, 3 GVC, and 1 G9N).

Sorry for the long post, this is as short as I could make it!
 
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If you live in NYC, the new batch of 512GB Silver 17 Pro Max in the Apple Downtown Brooklyn store have perfect screens. My friend picked one up with a perfect screen then I tried my luck and also got a perfect screen. Good luck!
 
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mtbn said:
I came from an iPhone 16 Pro Max with a really good OLED panel — great viewing angles with no color shift, perfect brightness, good uniformity, and overall just a solid display. Back then, I checked and it had a Samsung G9P panel (same as my iPhone 15 Pro Max, which was also excellent).

As of today, I’ve gone through seven iPhone 17 Pro Max units. (All have the TT turned off)

  • 1. iPhone 17 Pro Max Blue 256GB (GH3 panel) – Preorder unit. It arrived with great color uniformity and brightness, but had a noticeable green color shift at certain angles.
  • 2. iPhone 17 Pro Max Orange 512GB (GH3 panel) – I thought, why not try the orange one? Unfortunately, worse color uniformity, lower brightness, and the green tint was more visible — even from the front it looked slightly green.
  • 3. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 512GB (GH3 panel) – Tried silver, again GH3. At this point, I thought all Pro Max models came with this panel. It was better than the orange one, similar to the blue, but still had the green shift at angles. I decided to give it one more try…
  • 4. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 256GB (G9N panel) – Went back to a smaller storage capacity since higher storage didn’t seem to mean a better panel. This one had the much-loved Samsung G9N. At first, I thought it was the perfect display — the green shift was gone, consistent colors at all angles — but then I noticed poor uniformity: the upper area looked yellowish, and overall it was a very warm panel (with True Tone and Night Shift off). I dislike warm and uneven screens, plus it was dimmer, so I went for another attempt…
  • 5. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 512GB (GVC panel) – Good panel, but slightly green overall, noticeable green shift at angles. Still, it was uniform and bright — close, but not quite there yet. I decided to try one last time…
  • 6. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 512GB (GVC panel) – Much better than all the previous five. Uniform, bright, accurate colors — overall a great panel. The green shift was still there but barely noticeable, the best I had seen so far. I said, “This is the one.” But then… I noticed a small gap between the screen and the frame on the top-right corner — slightly more than normal. So, here we go again…
  • 7. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 1TB (GVC panel) – I thought maybe the higher-capacity model might have a better panel. It had good uniformity and brightness, but the green shift was more noticeable than on the previous one, and colors looked a bit duller.
In conclusion, I kept the sixth one — overall the best panel of them all. It’s a GVC, but I think it’s one of the good ones. The small screen-to-frame gap doesn’t really bother me anymore, and I don’t think it affects anything. Honestly, I’m done playing the display lottery this year it hasn’t been great at all, at least in my case (7 iPhone 17 Pro Max units total: 3 GH3, 3 GVC, and 1 G9N).

Sorry for the long post, this is as short as I could make it!
Click to expand...
You returned 6 and they didn’t said nothing? 🫣
 
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Just wanna add that a lot of the discussion about Samsung v LG etc is bull ****. There is nothing verified saying that G9N, GVC etc belongs to a certain manufacturer.

It originated with this article which has absolutely 0 evidence https://rewa.tech/things-you-don-t-know-about-iphone-13/

The fact there’s a community now believing certain displays are made by certain manufacturers, and that certain variations of those displays represent different qualities is complete misinformation.

If you’re new to this thread, this is all completely anecdotal, and there is no substance to any claim here.

For reference … “g9P” display on my 17 pro and its perfectly fine. Despite the original article stating its a 4th tier display :)
 
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mtbn said:
I came from an iPhone 16 Pro Max with a really good OLED panel — great viewing angles with no color shift, perfect brightness, good uniformity, and overall just a solid display. Back then, I checked and it had a Samsung G9P panel (same as my iPhone 15 Pro Max, which was also excellent).

As of today, I’ve gone through seven iPhone 17 Pro Max units. (All have the TT turned off)

  • 1. iPhone 17 Pro Max Blue 256GB (GH3 panel) – Preorder unit. It arrived with great color uniformity and brightness, but had a noticeable green color shift at certain angles.
  • 2. iPhone 17 Pro Max Orange 512GB (GH3 panel) – I thought, why not try the orange one? Unfortunately, worse color uniformity, lower brightness, and the green tint was more visible — even from the front it looked slightly green.
  • 3. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 512GB (GH3 panel) – Tried silver, again GH3. At this point, I thought all Pro Max models came with this panel. It was better than the orange one, similar to the blue, but still had the green shift at angles. I decided to give it one more try…
  • 4. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 256GB (G9N panel) – Went back to a smaller storage capacity since higher storage didn’t seem to mean a better panel. This one had the much-loved Samsung G9N. At first, I thought it was the perfect display — the green shift was gone, consistent colors at all angles — but then I noticed poor uniformity: the upper area looked yellowish, and overall it was a very warm panel (with True Tone and Night Shift off). I dislike warm and uneven screens, plus it was dimmer, so I went for another attempt…
  • 5. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 512GB (GVC panel) – Good panel, but slightly green overall, noticeable green shift at angles. Still, it was uniform and bright — close, but not quite there yet. I decided to try one last time…
  • 6. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 512GB (GVC panel) – Much better than all the previous five. Uniform, bright, accurate colors — overall a great panel. The green shift was still there but barely noticeable, the best I had seen so far. I said, “This is the one.” But then… I noticed a small gap between the screen and the frame on the top-right corner — slightly more than normal. So, here we go again…
  • 7. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 1TB (GVC panel) – I thought maybe the higher-capacity model might have a better panel. It had good uniformity and brightness, but the green shift was more noticeable than on the previous one, and colors looked a bit duller.
In conclusion, I kept the sixth one — overall the best panel of them all. It’s a GVC, but I think it’s one of the good ones. The small screen-to-frame gap doesn’t really bother me anymore, and I don’t think it affects anything. Honestly, I’m done playing the display lottery this year it hasn’t been great at all, at least in my case (7 iPhone 17 Pro Max units total: 3 GH3, 3 GVC, and 1 G9N).

Sorry for the long post, this is as short as I could make it!
Click to expand...
I want to see you do this with a high end OLED tv. A perfect panel is impossible.
 
mtbn said:
I came from an iPhone 16 Pro Max with a really good OLED panel — great viewing angles with no color shift, perfect brightness, good uniformity, and overall just a solid display. Back then, I checked and it had a Samsung G9P panel (same as my iPhone 15 Pro Max, which was also excellent).

As of today, I’ve gone through seven iPhone 17 Pro Max units. (All have the TT turned off)

  • 1. iPhone 17 Pro Max Blue 256GB (GH3 panel) – Preorder unit. It arrived with great color uniformity and brightness, but had a noticeable green color shift at certain angles.
  • 2. iPhone 17 Pro Max Orange 512GB (GH3 panel) – I thought, why not try the orange one? Unfortunately, worse color uniformity, lower brightness, and the green tint was more visible — even from the front it looked slightly green.
  • 3. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 512GB (GH3 panel) – Tried silver, again GH3. At this point, I thought all Pro Max models came with this panel. It was better than the orange one, similar to the blue, but still had the green shift at angles. I decided to give it one more try…
  • 4. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 256GB (G9N panel) – Went back to a smaller storage capacity since higher storage didn’t seem to mean a better panel. This one had the much-loved Samsung G9N. At first, I thought it was the perfect display — the green shift was gone, consistent colors at all angles — but then I noticed poor uniformity: the upper area looked yellowish, and overall it was a very warm panel (with True Tone and Night Shift off). I dislike warm and uneven screens, plus it was dimmer, so I went for another attempt…
  • 5. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 512GB (GVC panel) – Good panel, but slightly green overall, noticeable green shift at angles. Still, it was uniform and bright — close, but not quite there yet. I decided to try one last time…
  • 6. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 512GB (GVC panel) – Much better than all the previous five. Uniform, bright, accurate colors — overall a great panel. The green shift was still there but barely noticeable, the best I had seen so far. I said, “This is the one.” But then… I noticed a small gap between the screen and the frame on the top-right corner — slightly more than normal. So, here we go again…
  • 7. iPhone 17 Pro Max Silver 1TB (GVC panel) – I thought maybe the higher-capacity model might have a better panel. It had good uniformity and brightness, but the green shift was more noticeable than on the previous one, and colors looked a bit duller.
In conclusion, I kept the sixth one — overall the best panel of them all. It’s a GVC, but I think it’s one of the good ones. The small screen-to-frame gap doesn’t really bother me anymore, and I don’t think it affects anything. Honestly, I’m done playing the display lottery this year it hasn’t been great at all, at least in my case (7 iPhone 17 Pro Max units total: 3 GH3, 3 GVC, and 1 G9N).

Sorry for the long post, this is as short as I could make it!
Click to expand...
There is no rhyme or reason to this. 7 exchanges is a lot man, and I guarantee you wouldn’t have had an issue with any of the other 6 phones. The only reason you’re content now is because you’ve gotten use to your phone with the “screen gap”. If 90% of people here sat with their phones for a period of time they’d stop noticing the tints off axis too.
 
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Gothamjoker said:
You returned 6 and they didn’t said nothing? 🫣
Click to expand...
slippery-pete said:
My thoughts exactly. What would be the odds that out of the millions of iPhones sold, one person would get six bad/defective screens. Someone needs to play the Powerball!
Click to expand...
A few things to clarify:

First, I’m not sure if these should really be considered defective screens within Apple’s quality margins, they all seem to be “fine.” It’s more a matter of personal preference, and I think most of us here in this thread are for that exact reason.

Second, for a high-end phone at this price point, we have every right to expect everything to work perfectly especially if you’re someone like me who upgrades every year and knows exactly what a good iPhone display should look like.

Third, I only returned three of them. The other three: I sold two to people I know (the ones that looked best and only had the green tint at certain angles), and I gave one to my couple. Everyone I sold to knew exactly why I was selling them and surprisingly, none of them were bothered at all by the green shift when viewing from an angle.

For a casual user who doesn’t pay attention to those details, any panel looks fine and that’s exactly where the problem lies. As long as this remains something that only a few people notice, there won’t be a real solution.
 
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mtbn said:
A few things to clarify:

First, I’m not sure if these should really be considered defective screens within Apple’s quality margins, they all seem to be “fine.” It’s more a matter of personal preference, and I think most of us here in this thread are for that exact reason.

Second, for a high-end phone at this price point, we have every right to expect everything to work perfectly especially if you’re someone like me who upgrades every year and knows exactly what a good iPhone display should look like.

Third, I only returned three of them. The other three: I sold two to people I know (the ones that looked best and only had the green tint at certain angles), and I gave one to my couple. Everyone I sold to knew exactly why I was selling them and surprisingly, none of them were bothered at all by the green shift when viewing from an angle.

For a casual user who doesn’t pay attention to those details, any panel looks fine and that’s exactly where the problem lies. As long as this remains something that only a few people notice, there won’t be a real solution.
Click to expand...
Agree 100%. No harm in selling the phones you don't like, I did the same thing until getting an acceptable one. Who cares what some of these people think. I commented earlier that I buy several non-Apple flagships each year and none have any of these screen quality issues. My original Z Fold 7 didn't open fully, sent a photo to Samsung and they replaced it same day. A Pixel 9 Pro XL last year had a scratch on the screen out of the box. Other than these I can't recall the last time I exchanged a phone due to screen uniformity or tint or pixel issues aside from iPhones. Richest company on the planet. No excuse.
 
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Harthag said:
Agree 100%. No harm in selling the phones you don't like, I did the same thing until getting an acceptable one. Who cares what some of these people think. I commented earlier that I buy several non-Apple flagships each year and none have any of these screen quality issues. My original Z Fold 7 didn't open fully, sent a photo to Samsung and they replaced it same day. A Pixel 9 Pro XL last year had a scratch on the screen out of the box. Other than these I can't recall the last time I exchanged a phone due to screen uniformity or tint or pixel issues aside from iPhones. Richest company on the planet. No excuse.
Click to expand...
HEY HARTHAG! When you turn on your flashlight, your screen become a little bit brighter and then dimming ? PLEASE HELP
 
BagPack45 said:
HEY HARTHAG! When you turn on your flashlight, your screen become a little bit brighter and then dimming ? PLEASE HELP
Click to expand...
You mean turning on the flashlight on the phone? Nothing changes on my screen when toggling it on or off. All of your issues seem to be software. I'd suggest doing a factory reset if possible. Set up the phone as new just in case some setting is doing this, you don't want that setting to carry over.
 
CaramelSky said:
Just wanna add that a lot of the discussion about Samsung v LG etc is bull ****. There is nothing verified saying that G9N, GVC etc belongs to a certain manufacturer.

It originated with this article which has absolutely 0 evidence https://rewa.tech/things-you-don-t-know-about-iphone-13/

The fact there’s a community now believing certain displays are made by certain manufacturers, and that certain variations of those displays represent different qualities is complete misinformation.

If you’re new to this thread, this is all completely anecdotal, and there is no substance to any claim here.

For reference … “g9P” display on my 17 pro and its perfectly fine. Despite the original article stating its a 4th tier display :)
Click to expand...
My exact thoughts! None of this has been officially confirmed. I’m actually convinced now that the GVC in my work 16e and the G9P in my 17PM could easily be from the same panel manufacturer, as there are many similarities in terms of uniformity between the 2.
 
Here's one more theory (maybe it has discussed already, didn't see)
Speaking about my tomorrow's post with two GVC screens with different quality. Left one iPhone made for Japan, while right one was made to sell in Scandinavian countries. I had many Apple tech that was made for different regions and I can say that MAYBE calibration of the same screen type can be different too. Today I tested my iPad Pro 11 OLED (US) - Samsung screen, 16 Pro (EU) - LG screen and my friends old iPhone 13 (US) - also LG, those screens are almost the same: nice white color, warm other colors, no eyestrain at all. Feeling good, looking good. And suddenly remembered my 14 Pro Max (Japan) and Macbook Pro 16 (India) - those had that not a clear white, some tint I guess. Indian Macbook's Mini-LED was so bad that I sell it after a month. So what I am leading for, I just googled some info and seems like US/EU/NZ/Australian screens can have different calibration than Asian, Indian, AE. I never had problems with the "1st type of panels", but the 2nd did gave me strange feelings, headaches, eyestrain.
 

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Harthag said:
You mean turning on the flashlight on the phone? Nothing changes on my screen when toggling it on or off. All of your issues seem to be software. I'd suggest doing a factory reset if possible. Set up the phone as new just in case some setting is doing this, you don't want that setting to carry over.
Click to expand...
Like this what is it why it’s brightness up and dimming, see at the bottom of the screen

 
BagPack45 said:
Like this what is it why it’s brightness up and dimming, see at the bottom of the screen

View attachment 2577145
Click to expand...
I see what you mean, it's barely visible but I see it. This doesn't happen on my 17PM. No idea what this issue could be I'm sorry. As I said before, maybe try a factory reset if you haven't done that already. Otherwise maybe try a hard reset, turn off auto-brightness and always on display and see if that does anything.
 
Harthag said:
I see what you mean, it's barely visible but I see it. This doesn't happen on my 17PM. No idea what this issue could be I'm sorry. As I said before, maybe try a factory reset if you haven't done that already. Otherwise maybe try a hard reset, turn off auto-brightness and always on display and see if that does anything.
Click to expand...
What do u think it's hardware or software issue?
 
15 Pro Max with G9P on the left, 17 Pro Max with GVC on the right (True Tone and Auto-Brightness both ON - that's how I use). It might not be obvious in the photos, but top and bottom half of the G9P display show slightly different tones. Top half is even warmer than the other half.

As I mentioned earlier, I am very happy with my 17 Pro Max featuring the GVC panel. Display is uniform, colors seem very accurate, overall it is an awesome display to look at.



IMG_0181.jpg

IMG_0182.jpg
 
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Very interesting recent contributions. It finally seems we’ve moved past the silliness of “After X attempts I finally got a Samsung” or “I won the lottery, got a G9N” that filled the first pages of this thread, without talking at all about uniformity, tint, brightness, or anything else, just looking at the first three letters of the panel serial number to feel satisfied.
 
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