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The first thing I noticed upon turning my 12 Pro Max on was the yellowish screen. I did not realize that it has been an issue until I came looking here to see if others were experiencing the same thing. I compared it to 3 of the other iPhones in my house (11 Pro Max, XS Max, XR) and also a 4th gen iPad Pro...the 12 Pro Max is definitely warmer. I do not care for it, but I‘m not sure if it’s just that I am not used to it. I’ll give it a few days I guess.
 
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Yes .. There it is. I kind of wondered why the difference while I was transferring data, but now I'm a bit upset. Someone said turn both off and compare. I did. the iPhone 11 display is black, the iPhone 12 display doesn't have the same deep black. Just took a picture (11 Pro Max on right, 12 on left). Even with brightness set a little lower on the 11 you can see the yellower display on the 12.
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“The latest offering from Samsung Display has reduced blue-light emissions and lower power consumption. Swiss certification and testing company SGS has awarded it the ‘Eye Care Display’ certification while Underwriters Laboratories has certified the display for lower blue-light emission and power consumption.”
Wow, if that’s preventing being able to display a neutral 6500K white, then that’s ******** by Samsung. Eye care functions are already easily provided by features like Night Mode, no need to limit the display capabilities on the hardware level. If that were a good idea, Apple would have promoted it as a feature of the new display generation. It’s sounds to me like Samsung had to limit the relative intensity of the blue subpixels in order for the overall display to be able to reach the expected HDR nits without excessive power consumption, or something along those lines, and try to justify it as an eye-care measure.
 
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Just got mine 12 pro max yesterday and was very frustrating at the yellowish of screen compare to my 8 plus. Then I tried to adjust the “hue” option in color filters setting, everything went back to normal as my 8 plus. The brightness is a bit less harsh than the 8 plus though.
Just search for “ color filter” you can find it. No return or replacement now. :)
 
Just got mine 12 pro max yesterday and was very frustrating at the yellowish of screen compare to my 8 plus. Then I tried to adjust the “hue” option in color filters setting, everything went back to normal as my 8 plus. The brightness is a bit less harsh than the 8 plus though.
Just search for “ color filter” you can find it. No return or replacement now. :)
this does work but the contrast takes a hit, turn the filter on and off and you can the difference. Its annoying as this option does remove the yellow.
 
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Hi all. Ive been following this thread for a few days and just registered so I can comment.

I am seriously wondering why no major youtubers/reviewers have addressed this issue at all! As soon as I turned on my 12 I was disappointed with the ugly urine-colored display. I work all day at a computer and can’t even bear to look at my phone screen while sitting at my desk because of how bad the color is next to my work computer and monitors. Even compared with my personal laptop it looks horrible. I have never felt this same physical discomfort looking at the color of any previous phone I’ve ever used.

All these youtubers and reviewers are PROFESSIONAL editors and videographers and photographers, and seriously not one has even suggested that these screens are any worse than the hundreds of phones, laptops, tablets, etc that they use daily. And not to mention a lot of these people probably do all their editing work using professionally calibrated display setups that cost more than my car. Even in that Erica griffin video where she pulled out a legit colorimeter, she only briefly touched on the fact that the displays are “slightly warmer” and are lacking blues.

This display is not “slightly warmer” it is straight up jaundiced, ugly piss yellow. Here’s a picture next to my iPhone 11, first photo is true tone off for both, second is true tone on for both. I tried my best to edit the pictures to match my 11’s screen color temp, and for some reason the camera picks up a reddish pink more than yellow on the 12, but the intensity of the color difference is pretty obvious.

I’m honesly baffled how no major reviews besides Erica griffin have even mentioned this at ALL. Did they get hand-picked pristine display builds from Tim Apple himself? Are they all being paid to basically advertise? I don’t get it.

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Hi all. Ive been following this thread for a few days and just registered so I can comment.

I am seriously wondering why no major youtubers/reviewers have addressed this issue at all! As soon as I turned on my 12 I was disappointed with the ugly urine-colored display. I work all day at a computer and can’t even bear to look at my phone screen while sitting at my desk because of how bad the color is next to my work computer and monitors. Even compared with my personal laptop it looks horrible. I have never felt this same physical discomfort looking at the color of any previous phone I’ve ever used.

All these youtubers and reviewers are PROFESSIONAL editors and videographers and photographers, and seriously not one has even suggested that these screens are any worse than the hundreds of phones, laptops, tablets, etc that they use daily. And not to mention a lot of these people probably do all their editing work using professionally calibrated display setups that cost more than my car. Even in that Erica griffin video where she pulled out a legit colorimeter, she only briefly touched on the fact that the displays are “slightly warmer” and are lacking blues.

This display is not “slightly warmer” it is straight up jaundiced, ugly piss yellow. Here’s a picture next to my iPhone 11, first photo is true tone off for both, second is true tone on for both. I tried my best to edit the pictures to match my 11’s screen color temp, and for some reason the camera picks up a reddish pink more than yellow on the 12, but the intensity of the color difference is pretty obvious.

I’m honesly baffled how no major reviews besides Erica griffin have even mentioned this at ALL. Did they get hand-picked pristine display builds from Tim Apple himself? Are they all being paid to basically advertise? I don’t get it.

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That's exactly how mine 11PM looks as well when compared with the regular 11, so nothing has changed.

This is normal for many OLED displays in general since even non-Apple OLED phones have very similar 'yellowing' when compared with previous OLEDs and LCDs.
 
this does work but the contrast takes a hit, turn the filter on and off and you can the difference. Its annoying as this option does remove the yellow.
Seems my eyes are not that sensitive to tell the contrast difference.o_O But I prefer the adjusted color much better. Just took before and after pictures.
 

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Just got mine 12 pro max yesterday and was very frustrating at the yellowish of screen compare to my 8 plus. Then I tried to adjust the “hue” option in color filters setting, everything went back to normal as my 8 plus. The brightness is a bit less harsh than the 8 plus though.
Just search for “ color filter” you can find it. No return or replacement now. :)
Did the same and screen became much cooler as oppossed to the yellow it came with
 
We really need to stop making excuses for Apple here. This is unacceptable. I received my iPhone 12 Pro Max yesterday and immediately noticed a difference. No it is not a "feature", it is not intentional. It is poor display quality control. This cannot be fixed via software update.

I compared the 12 Pro max to my iPhone XS, my girlfriend's iPhone 11, my iPad Pro 11" 2020, my 13" macbook pro, my recently calibrated 32" 4K display, and my work phone (Pixel 4). It is understandable that there is small variance, but the green / yellow tint exhibited is undeniable when compared with any of these devices. This is not a feature nor intentional. Applying a color filter is not a "fix", as it degrades the display contrast and brightness. It simply should not be required for a $1300 Pro device. The proof is in the pudding as literally 4 other Apple devices I compared to do not have egregious screen tint.

I am honestly shocked no creative professionals are talking about this. For anyone who does any sort of serious photography or videography (i.e. the "Pros" they are marketing to), this is unusable.

Due to some of the posts I was reading I kept trying to fact check myself? Is this correct? Are my eyes seeing things? I spent hours trying to make excuses myself, but the fact of the matter is there is no excuse. Let's all accept it and do something about it.
 
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Happy to report my DNP express replacement through AppleCare is indeed 3rd times the charm. The panel exhibits no yellow tint, is much brighter than the the previous two units, and color profile is vibrant. No need to use a color filter this go around. Also it is not exhibiting any of the raised black or flickering issues that the F17 serial had. So far I am satisfied however I have not been able to fully test out the earpiece/speaker.
Double check that your color filter is off
 
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got my iPhone 12 Pro Max in the post a couple of hours ago (uk)

G6TD serial .. gold 256gb

compared to my 11 pro (silver 256gb) , the display is clearly more yellow.

I don’t have a 3rd camera to take a photo

Why does this happen??? People are saying that every year the first batch of phones come with yellow screens. Is there a reason for this?

anyway what’s the next step.. do you guys hold on to the phone for a while then return in a couple months? Or is it worth getting a replacement now..?

Displays often get cooler / more blue as they age, so when you compare older displays to new ones, after your eyes have gotten used to the older, cooler ones, the new ones look too yellow to your eyes. This is why professionals who depend on color accuracy for their job recalibrate their displays at least once per year, sometimes more.
 
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Displays often get cooler / more blue as they age, so when you compare older displays to new ones, after your eyes have gotten used to the older, cooler ones, the new ones look too yellow to your eyes. This is why professionals who depend on color accuracy for their job recalibrate their displays at least once per year, sometimes more.

Think you might be onto something here, last night viewing macrumors forum in dark mode the lighter grey threads had a yellow grey color to them, this morning they look grey.

Is it my eyes adjusting to the new screen?

Or is it the screen adjusting itself?
 
Wow, if that’s preventing being able to display a neutral 6500K white, then that’s ******** by Samsung. Eye care functions are already easily provided by features like Night Mode, no need to limit the display capabilities on the hardware level. If that were a good idea, Apple would have promoted it as a feature of the new display generation. It’s sounds to me like Samsung had to limit the relative intensity of the blue subpixels in order for the overall display to be able to reach the expected HDR nits without excessive power consumption, or something along those lines, and try to justify it as an eye-care measure.
This YouTuber actually measured the color temperature of the 12 and 12 Pro and they were both right at 6500K. Her iPhone X was a bit cooler, so it’s the one that is off, but she admits in the video that many people prefer cooler temperatures, especially when comparing side by side.

edit: Also, her video measuring the iPhone X display a few years ago shows it was 6500K when new, which proves my theory that displays get cooler over time.
 
This YouTuber actually measured the color temperature of the 12 and 12 Pro and they were both right at 6500K. Her iPhone X was a bit cooler, so it’s the one that is off, but she admits in the video that many people prefer cooler temperatures, especially when comparing side by side.

edit: Also, her video measuring the iPhone X display a few years ago shows it was 6500K when new, which proves my theory that displays get cooler over time.
Look again at the comparison between the two color rgb balance charts tho. Notice how on the X, from the brightest end of the spectrum all the way to the lowest end, the balance is very consistent and all three hues hover right around 100%, +/- about 2-3%. And actually the blues are the higher than red and gree throughout meaning the X would appear slightly cooler across the entire range of shadows/highlights.

On the 12, all three hues are about 100% at the brightest point but the greens actually increase by about 3% moving down in brightness, and the blues decrease about 10%(!) toward the shadow end. Red also decreases, but not as much as blue. That’s a HUGE disparity (~13%) between how much green and how much blue were getting in this new screen vs. what the X had. That’s why the midtones and shadows are suffering from this ugly greenish yellow we’re all complaining about.

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This comments on the yellowness.

Despite a largely positive review, main display cons listed
  • A yellow cast impacts the color perception in every activity.
  • The device luminance is generally low, especially in dark conditions.
  • The blue light filter has a significant impact on brightness and color.
  • Flicker is noticeable in low-light conditions.
 
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Hi everyone

I received my new 12 PM yesterday and it definitely has a warmer/yellowish/dull screen. I am so sad! If I return and buy a new one, I have to wait an entire month before it ships! I cannot go to an apple store because I have a health condition, I only leave my house for doctor's appointments.

I read somewhere on this thread that I can order an express replacement. Can anyone please help me? How do I go about that?

Thank you very much for your help! I appreciate it!
 
Hi everyone! Just wanted to share my experience here with the yellow screen issue as I was able to compare two identical iPhone 12 Minis with different serial numbers. Received a faulty iPhone 12 Mini yesterday from my preorder that had some kind of metallic glue on top and decided to send it back. Did not want to wait and purchased another one in-store today. The new iPhone is definitely more yellow both with and without TrueTone compared to my XS and to the iPhone 11 Pro and you just cannot get true white no matter what you do. This is a real issue. Curious enough I put the faulty and new iPhone 12 Mini side by side with TrueTone on, Auto-Brightness off and on full brightness - all settings the same. You can see that the left faulty iPhone with serial C6KDM has more of a pink tint than the right one with serial FD9DJ and it looks much worse.
 

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Look again at the comparison between the two color rgb balance charts tho. Notice how on the X, from the brightest end of the spectrum all the way to the lowest end, the balance is very consistent and all three hues hover right around 100%, +/- about 2-3%. And actually the blues are the higher than red and gree throughout meaning the X would appear slightly cooler across the entire range of shadows/highlights.

On the 12, all three hues are about 100% at the brightest point but the greens actually increase by about 3% moving down in brightness, and the blues decrease about 10%(!) toward the shadow end. Red also decreases, but not as much as blue. That’s a HUGE disparity (~13%) between how much green and how much blue were getting in this new screen vs. what the X had. That’s why the midtones and shadows are suffering from this ugly greenish yellow we’re all complaining about.

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This is the best analytical explanation. Normally, we don’t use the phone at full brightness. I’m seeing on my 12 Pro Max that at max brightness whites are not that bad. However, at 10-70%ish, whites look yellow/greenish. The graphs above proves what we are seeing with our very eyes. It’s even worse for us that have been spoiled with accurate white screens.

on another note, youtubers are not noticing this huge color inaccuracies because they seem to film with bright lighting. Same thing when viewing at the stores with bright lights. Now, when you get home and use it under normal conditions or compare it to another accurate screen, we notice the difference.

If that’s the way screens will be from here forward, then we deserve a statement from Apple addressing the issue so we can make the decision to buy or not to buy. Maybe it’s not their faults and it’s just the way things will be from here forward.

Hoping not to catch harsh criticism from those that are defending Apple to the end. At the end of the day, this is a forum to respectfully discuss our findings. This is one way to hold companies accountable for their products.
 
This is the best analytical explanation. Normally, we don’t use the phone at full brightness. I’m seeing on my 12 Pro Max that at max brightness whites are not that bad. However, at 10-70%ish, whites look yellow/greenish. The graphs above proves what we are seeing with our very eyes. It’s even worse for us that have been spoiled with accurate white screens.

on another note, youtubers are not noticing this huge color inaccuracies because they seem to film with bright lighting. Same thing when viewing at the stores with bright lights. Now, when you get home and use it under normal conditions or compare it to another accurate screen, we notice the difference.

If that’s the way screens will be from here forward, then we deserve a statement from Apple addressing the issue so we can make the decision to buy or not to buy. Maybe it’s not their faults and it’s just the way things will be from here forward.

Hoping not to catch harsh criticism from those that are defending Apple to the end. At the end of the day, this is a forum to respectfully discuss our findings. This is one way to hold companies accountable for their products.
There will be accurate screens. It does suck that we have to bother with this lottery and play this game especially for a premium device.

I honestly think True Tone was a ploy to be able to dump more screens out of tolerance on the public. 100% can see this being done to maximize yield and profits.

Apple will only change this if we the consumer demand it.
 
This is the best analytical explanation. Normally, we don’t use the phone at full brightness. I’m seeing on my 12 Pro Max that at max brightness whites are not that bad. However, at 10-70%ish, whites look yellow/greenish. The graphs above proves what we are seeing with our very eyes. It’s even worse for us that have been spoiled with accurate white screens.

on another note, youtubers are not noticing this huge color inaccuracies because they seem to film with bright lighting. Same thing when viewing at the stores with bright lights. Now, when you get home and use it under normal conditions or compare it to another accurate screen, we notice the difference.

If that’s the way screens will be from here forward, then we deserve a statement from Apple addressing the issue so we can make the decision to buy or not to buy. Maybe it’s not their faults and it’s just the way things will be from here forward.

Hoping not to catch harsh criticism from those that are defending Apple to the end. At the end of the day, this is a forum to respectfully discuss our findings. This is one way to hold companies accountable for their products.
Im not a display expert by any means, I’m just analyzing these calibration charts based on my experience with digital photography and using RGB tone curves to change how the colors in an image look. That said, I think the dark/light axis on these charts are more about darker/lighter parts of an image on screen rather than about the luminosity of the screen (think how a landscape shot would be dark in the shadows and bright in the sky). But, you could be onto something since technically oled screens work by emitting light from each set of sub pixels at different intensities right? So if all sub pixels are firing at full force, they might be closer to even? Idk just speculating at this point.

I didn’t consider that reviewers would be working under bright studio lights that change the color temp of the room, that definitely could be part of it for sure. who Knows at this point. I feel like such a first world problem complainer about all this lmao.
 
This YouTuber actually measured the color temperature of the 12 and 12 Pro and they were both right at 6500K. Her iPhone X was a bit cooler, so it’s the one that is off, but she admits in the video that many people prefer cooler temperatures, especially when comparing side by side.

edit: Also, her video measuring the iPhone X display a few years ago shows it was 6500K when new, which proves my theory that displays get cooler over time.
In the video she says that the same trend is going on with samsung and other android displays. Could it be that they're just moving to warmer colors?
 
Yeah but if you dont have AC+, its 29$ but super easy to get it waived
I just requested an express placement. They said it would cost $29. When I asked if I purchase AC+, will this fee be waived, she said no! So I just paid the $30.

Now I see this... How can I have the $29 fee waived?

Thanks
Screen Shot 2020-11-14 at 5.00.22 PM.png
 
Hi everyone! Just wanted to share my experience here with the yellow screen issue as I was able to compare two identical iPhone 12 Minis with different serial numbers. Received a faulty iPhone 12 Mini yesterday from my preorder that had some kind of metallic glue on top and decided to send it back. Did not want to wait and purchased another one in-store today. The new iPhone is definitely more yellow both with and without TrueTone compared to my XS and to the iPhone 11 Pro and you just cannot get true white no matter what you do. This is a real issue. Curious enough I put the faulty and new iPhone 12 Mini side by side with TrueTone on, Auto-Brightness off and on full brightness - all settings the same. You can see that the left faulty iPhone with serial C6KDM has more of a pink tint than the right one with serial FD9DJ and it looks much worse.

if those are TT and night shift off, both units are HOT garbage
 
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