iPhone screen showing negative/shimmering black/dark areas

I haven't noticed this on my iphone but probably because I swapped out my iPod touch for THAT VERY REASON. It is definitely a problem on many if not all iPod touches. You had to hold it at an angle with the top left corner up to show all the colors on the screen. Very frustruating. I've noticed this VERY slightly on the iPhone screen, but it is definitely much much better.

The best reason I heard that would cause this when still researching the problem for my touch was that the anti-reflective coating that is place on the screen is meant to block colors at a certain angle, but is still transparent, so when deep blacks are near other color that is backlit they would reflect black back onto the screen, creating that negative look as well as the washing out it causes. I don't remember that specific link but there are several reviews on the web that compare the screens and all determine that the iPhone is better quality.

Hope that rant helped...

Exactly the same problem I have! I too exchanged the iPod Touch for an iPhone because of this bad screen problem only to find that my new iPhone is even worse! Very disappointing, I'm going to yet again make an exchange tomorrow. Did Apple change their screen on both of these products recently for some reason? I hope not!

So dude, I feel your pain 😟

I get the same problem with my iphone cover flow has random black areas while browsing - very annoying , doing a restore now to see if fixs, if not im taking off all my cover art and redownloading

Oh please, oh please don't tell me this problem is spreading to the iPhone as well. My nearest Apple Store is in the middle of renovation, or else I would have opted for the phone versus touch for the exact reason that I do not want a crappy screen. Do you mind posting some photos of this problem?

My iPhone also has the same screen issues the iPod touch had. Clearly they are using these crummy screens for both units now.

I called technical support and because I was within 14days of the return
period, they suggested that I return to the apple store in which i bought it
and exchange units. :S so basically I get another 4 hour drive to the closest one near myself - this *****

My iPhone has this problem too. It's a shame because it works so well in every other way.

I'm going to try exchanging mine for a new one soon.

Same problem - I just returned my touch because of this issue.

I think it's worse than just a coating issue. Try this test.

Using a photo editing gprogram such as Photoshop, create a picture that contains a full screen gradient from white to black. Sync that to your iPhone/iPod Touch and view it.

You'll see a very regular gradient across the screen until you get to the black limit. Here it will appear lighter than the almost black portion of the gradient right next to it. In fact, it appears the same shade as the portion of the screen not showing the picture.

This leads me to suspect that there is some power conservation going one with black pixels that they don't have quite right yet. I think a low-level driver tweek could fix this for all of us. Just exclude the black limit color from display. I.e., if the color of black is 0, then display the color 1. This ends up looking blacker on our screens than absolute black does anyway.

You see this same issue when watching a widescreen movie. You'll notice that the black bands above and below the screen image are not black but a dark grey. The same dark grey that is shown when an absolute black appears in a photo or movie.

Apple, you REALLY need to fix this. And I don't think a unit swap is going to do the job with what I expain above. Not is you handle the pixels the same way in software.

Well, I'm going to take mine in and have them look at it. If they want to replace it, I'll do the same test.
As far as everyone? Dunno, could be a firmware problem that not all see.

I gotta believe there is an easy fix for this. Will use my developer account to lodge a defect and see where it goes from there. I won't be able to share info from that exchange, non-disclosure and all, but may get someting moving for all or find out if something is already.

Would the Apple Store be against me asking fora replacement? I got it a week ago, and I am fed up with this Negative Black on my screen during movies, etc.!

I've noticed the same type of shimmering in dark areas of one movie in particular (Twister) and less so on a couple of others. Interestingly, though, I've had NO shimmering on a black and white movie that I ripped...clear as a bell. I'm wondering if some of the shimmering has to do with the way the movie is converted and/or if ALL iPhones and iTouches have this problem. Would hate to go through the trouble of taking it back if EVERY one will have the problem.

While these support forums are OK, I think the important thing is to opena ticket with Applecare. I;ve done this today and I suugest all do as well. This is how issues get prioritized.

You're right...but I'm just wondering if EVERY iPhone owner has this "slight" shimmering problem OR if it's select units. It looks like (in darker scenes) like the image is pressed TOO hard against the screen and is smudging...but very odd it doesn't happen on my black and white movie.