iPhone 12 Pro Yellow Screen/Tint? Display seem "Warm"? Check here first!

[spcdust]

Hey can one of you please check my display if you don’t mind do you need the whole serial numbers?

You need to download the Windows application 3Utools (http://www.3u.com), connect your iPhone and then select an option which, if I recall, was called something like "Verification Report" - this is where you will get the extra info, including screen serial number, for your phone.

 

[Bstephens]

Hey can one of you please check my display if you don’t mind do you need the whole serial numbers?

You gotta download the program to your pc and connect your phone.

 

[virnew]

Mine is G9Q on the mini

 

[superloco831]

Oh ok thanks for the information I will definitely do that this evening haven’t the time this morning before work have an awesome day

 

[virnew]

https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/jwm47x

 

[slud]

I previously posted that I fortunately am not seeing any of the issues of yellow screen (apart from a perceived overtly aggressive application of TrueTone) or raised blacks / green tint / green flashing and am perfectly happy with my display. However, just for curiosities sake and also to feed into this thread I used the 3uTools application to check what screen I have installed on my iPhone 12 Pro Max and it came up that I have the G9N - "Good Samsung Screen" which may back up the assertion that this is a better screen?. Also manufacture week date was 18/10/20.

I have the same panel but there is a definite yellow tint compared to my 11promax. It doesnt have any of the other issues that some people are having.

 

[myllian]

I did the test, I got a G9P ("Bad Samsung") Panel. Production date 2020/10/04.
My screen is generally good, except for yellow/green tint compared to my iPhone X. Serial is F18DH.

 

[QuattroRS6]

I was just in contact with apple support online (Germany). They offered me a repair for my device. I asked for replacement and they also agreed on it. I asked if they are aware of that problem for the 12 series. Answer was yes they are. Furthermore I asked wether it's only possible to fix it with repair or replacement and not software. They confirmed that.

Not sure what I will do now... Replace it or repair?!? I am still able to return it until 8th January.

Everytime i called the Apple Support from Germany they send UPS to pickup my Phone, then they brought it to the Netherlands near Amsterdam and 2 - 3 Days later i got my Phone back unrepaired because they didnt find any Problem. So because of that Experiences i always try to get a replacement.

 

[highn0r]

I have also a G9N Panel which should be a good one. I have yellow tint issues + flickering blacks/greys in lower brightness...

 

[Pyrazol]

I was just in contact with apple support online (Germany). They offered me a repair for my device. I asked for replacement and they also agreed on it. I asked if they are aware of that problem for the 12 series. Answer was yes they are. Furthermore I asked wether it's only possible to fix it with repair or replacement and not software. They confirmed that.

Not sure what I will do now... Replace it or repair?!? I am still able to return it until 8th January.

The guy in the store in Munich told me they wouldn’t be able to exchange it right away anyway. I’ve ordered another one from a different retailer, hopefully that gets here before January. Then I’ll compare and hopefully the second one is better. If not I don’t know what I’ll do.

 

[kenneththam1996]

My 12PM vs girlfriend’s regular 12. Both at 100% brightness and my 12pm screen is dimmer than 12 not as what apple claimed 800nits vs 625nit. And also both of the device is yellow but the 12PM is SIGNIFICANTLY yellow. This is really annoying

edit: BOTH device nightshift, true tone, auto brightness and color filter off.

 

[Chief_Brody]

I did the test, I got a G9P ("Bad Samsung") Panel. Production date 2020/10/04.
My screen is generally good, except for yellow/green tint compared to my iPhone X. Serial is F18DH.

I ran the tool, but how did you figure out it’s a bad Samsung?

 

[gtg465x]

3 iPhone 12 128Gb in black over the past month, all the same.
Green/yellow tint. No dark black issue.
True Tone is horridly yellow VS iPad Air 3, MacBook Pro.

if your not happy, fill this 2min form out and give Apple the message.

Feedback - iPhone

Apple wants to hear from you. Send us your comments and feedback about iPhone.

www.apple.com

So below is some mucking around I did.
True Tone off, night-shift off, auto brightness off.
Measurements using i1 Display spectrometer configured for OLED Samsung in DisplayCAL on the most recent unit I have. I also checked the last one, which was similar but no so comprehensively as this. I can only do a measure of a white screen as I don't have sophisticated software to talk to the phone.

note: Delta E 1 or less is considered an accurate display (not possible to tell difference side by side with human eye)

ColorWiki - Delta E: The Color Difference

www.colorwiki.com

iPhone 12
100% Brightness (625cd/m) Delta E 1.8 - 6550K
View attachment 1674684
50% Brightness (150cd/m) Delta E 2.6 - 6550K
View attachment 1674685
25% Brightness (55cd/m) Delta E 2.8 - 6550K
View attachment 1674682
For reference > 2018 MacBook Pro ~No Calibration.
100% Brightness (500cd/m) Delta E 0.1 - 7000K
View attachment 1674683

Thanks for the measurements. More confirmation for me that the color temperature is not the problem. 6500K is good. The problem is the balance of the colors... there’s way too much green. The sad part is, I think these panels could have been calibrated with perfect RGB balance, but I think the calibration machines at the factory are programmed to prioritize brightness and / or power consumption over RGB balance. Green OLED subpixels are by far the most efficient, and can get brighter than blue or red, so a screen that is tinted slightly green will get brighter and use less power than one that isn’t. It could be that the OLED manufacturers are having a hard time hitting the brightness spec requirements given by Apple without tinting the screens slightly green, or it could be that Apple has set both brightness and maximum power draw specs (hello smaller batteries) that are hard to achieve together without a green tint, which could explain why green tint seems to be a much bigger problem this year. Personally, I would prefer a display that wasn’t quite as bright or efficient, but had perfect RGB balance.

 

[myllian]

I ran the tool, but how did you figure out it’s a bad Samsung?

It's from the video that was posted a couple of pages ago:

Basically a bunch of guys compared screen serial numbers and came to that conclusion:

 

[Chief_Brody]

It's from the video that was posted a couple of pages ago:

Basically a bunch of guys compared screen serial numbers and came to that conclusion:

View attachment 1674861

Oh I see. Thank you.

 

[maka344]

Oh I see. Thank you.

I remember reading that Samsung was the only manufacturer of the Pro screens this year.

Edit: As per the report, LG Display has supplied panels for the 6.1-inch display models, i.e. iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro while the panel for the other two models — 5.4-inch iPhone Mini and 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max have been supplied by Samsung Display.

 

[Pixels7]

Thanks for the measurements. More confirmation for me that the color temperature is not the problem. 6500K is good. The problem is the balance of the colors... there’s way too much green. The sad part is, I think these panels could have been calibrated with perfect RGB balance, but I think the calibration machines at the factory are programmed to prioritize brightness and / or power consumption over RGB balance. Green OLED subpixels are by far the most efficient, and can get brighter than blue or red, so a screen that is tinted slightly green will get brighter and use less power than one that isn’t. It could be that the OLED manufacturers are having a hard time hitting the brightness spec requirements given by Apple without tinting the screens slightly green, or it could be that Apple has set both brightness and maximum power draw specs (hello smaller batteries) that are hard to achieve together without a green tint, which could explain why green tint seems to be a much bigger problem this year. Personally, I would prefer a display that wasn’t quite as bright or efficient, but had perfect RGB balance.

And OLED panels have more green pixels, I thought? Can it be that OLED panels can get a green tint more easily because of that? Or maybe I’m understanding all of this wrongly

But all of this can be corrected with a calibration tool/slider in iOS, I think? I just hope they’ll add a slider for calibration. But it’s wishful thinking I guess..!

 

[Significant1]

I remember reading that Samsung was the only manufacturer of the Pro screens this year.

Edit: As per the report, LG Display has supplied panels for the 6.1-inch display models, i.e. iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro while the panel for the other two models — 5.4-inch iPhone Mini and 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max have been supplied by Samsung Display.

No, it only says iPhone 12. Mine is 12 Pro and if the above list of prefix is to be trusted, it has a Samsung panel. That also makes more sense, since it is also stated that LG will produce 20 million and Samsung 60 million (I don't expect Mini and Pro Max combined to sell 3x as much as 12 and 12 Pro combined).

 

[fatTribble]

My conclusions...

I’m keeping my slightly warm looking launch day 12 Max. I noticed the warmer display before I even set it up. I thought maybe True Tone was on out of the box. Turning off auto brightness and increasing display brightness slightly makes it look less yellow to me. I still notice it even when my brilliant white iPhone 11 Pro isn’t next to it.

I tried to explain the warmer screen to my spouse who said the 12 Max looks crisper and brighter to him. I was baffled that we could look at the same screens and he saw no warmer tone to the 12 Max. So for my iPhone there is some subjectivity to it. I feel for those who have what they described as piss yellow. Mine just isn’t that bad.

I’m on iPhone Upgrade Program so this isn’t my forever iPhone. Most posts here indicate that most or all of the 12s are warmer looking. If I’m honest with myself, if Apple touted its warmer display during the keynote as being better for eye health I’d swallow the marketing. Without that, I just don’t like the idea of buying a new model that seems less good or even defective. But mine isn’t bad enough for me to return or start hating Apple.

For those with green/flickering and other issues besides the slightly warmer display, those issues certainly sound like defects. For the warmer display issue I’m really curious what we see next year.

Kudos and thanks to all of you who have tried to put some data around the issue or have compared various models in stores. I found it very helpful!

 

[BB8]

My Mini has the GH prefix and it is pretty egregiously bad.

 

[jltech]

I remember reading that Samsung was the only manufacturer of the Pro screens this year.

Edit: As per the report, LG Display has supplied panels for the 6.1-inch display models, i.e. iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro while the panel for the other two models — 5.4-inch iPhone Mini and 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max have been supplied by Samsung Display.

You might want to reread that report. It says Samsung supplied for 3 phones - the Pro, Pro Max and Mini. Leaving only the 12 to be supplied by LG.

 

[gtg465x]

I previously posted that I fortunately am not seeing any of the issues of yellow screen (apart from a perceived overtly aggressive application of TrueTone) or raised blacks / green tint / green flashing and am perfectly happy with my display. However, just for curiosities sake and also to feed into this thread I used the 3uTools application to check what screen I have installed on my iPhone 12 Pro Max and it came up that I have the G9N - "Good Samsung Screen" which may back up the assertion that this is a better screen?. Also manufacture week date was 18/10/20.

What are the first 5 characters of your serial?

 

[lowtek]

Like some other people in this thread, I grabbed a i1Display Pro and took some white point measurements of my 12 Mini. Didn't have access to fancy Calman software so I used DisplayCal. I'm not an color expert so take my results with a grain of salt.

iPhone XR: 6700-6800K (number bounced back and forth)
iPad Pro 10.5": 6700-6800K
iPhone 12 Mini: 6400K

Expected results, fairly close to what professional reviewers were getting. I can also confirm color tinting does lower your brightness; My 12 Mini went from just over 600 nits to 450 nits with color tinting and night mode applied. It also destroyed color accuracy, we're talking a ΔE of 9 compared to 1 before. I know many people have said this before, but that's a completely unacceptable solution.

 

[ghosttrooper]

Hmm. Now I'm conflicted if I should follow through with this appointment on Sunday. My display has great brightness, saturation, pretty much everything except for the slightly warmer temp and green flicker issue. But if the warmer tint is consistent across all devices and the green flicker is getting a software fix, then idk if its worth the hassle.

Btw thanks to everyone who are testing with actual equipment, its very interesting to see these results. Makes me want to get a colorimeter even though I have no use for one lol.

 

[Clunkystar]

Can turning True Tone on make the display cooler than with it off? Or only warmer? I’ve noticed sometimes it makes the display cooler, but I don’t think I’ve noticed this on other phones. True Tone also seems to be highly variable in some lighting conditions, causing the phone to change from warm to cool every few seconds. Anyone else experience this?

Ive also started to notice the black level flicker issue that people were talking about. Not sure I had this before but I was able to see it in a dark room with adjusted eyes.