iPhone 12 Pro Max screen has yellow tint

I just did an interesting experiment. I took every available Apple device in my house, and put the settings exactly the same. Tried with TrueTone on and off. All next to each other full brightness.

iPad Mini 5, iPad Air 3, iPhone XR, iPhone 11- all different models and devices... the white point looks very similar and almost impossible to tell there's difference in person. The iPhone 12 Pro Max, not so much... it stands out bad...

Yet Apple claims these are to spec.

Below: from left to right, iPad Mini 5, iPad Air 3, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone XR, iPhone 11. The one sticking out like a sore thumb is the 12 Pro Max, and while it looks reddish in the photo, it's just white balance from camera being off. It appears very yellow/green in comparison to the others- which are very consistent across the board.

Edit: Forgot to mention. The phone I used to take the photo was an iPhone SE 2020. I laid it down next to them all with same settings and it also appeared consistent with all but the iPhone 12PM, but... needed it to take the pic so couldn't include. :)

So for years they’ve been getting it wrong and suddenly this jaundice child is correct?

for those who prefer warmer, there’s night shift. The rest of us just want flat white. Like we always had. And people on here have checked vs calibrated pro screens. All phones up to 11 were pretty close to calibrated. And the 12 is way off.

you may like the new look, but it’s way further from accurate than the others. I don’t like a blue white either.

Holly dolly. Great input. If you want to get rid of that dark room yellowness, turn off True Tone.

for me, lack of yellow is more important.

your post confirms to me that there are two issues. Faulty screens and a bad True Tone.

if you are ok with True Tone off, no amount of replacements will improve the issue you see with True Tone on. Unless apple relents and fixes it.

Comparing the replacement/new iPhone screen to my 7 Plus, there's still a noticeable whiteness difference, with the 7 being very pure white while the 12 is slightly off-white in the dark. Keep in mind the two models have different screens, so there will be a difference. And the 12 gets a bit more off-white in the dark, so I'm guessing there's an ambient feature that we can't turn off that's the reason for this. But yes, slightly off-white in the dark but fine in full light (like the Apple store).

The original 12 that I returned was much more noticeably yellow, and this new phone is much less so.

ssbmx90 wrote:

Exactly. if we can blow this thread up Community experts will see the issue & it will get pushed faster. I do the same with my job. keep posting and sharing.

Community Experts do NOT transmit customer comments on this USER to USER only forum. Doesn't matter how many posts there are. Cognizant Apple employees don't participate here.

If you all want to get Apple's attention, the ONLY way to do so is to provide feedback via this link --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

That said, it's been widely reported Apple is working on this, so blowing anything up is really not necessary and Apple is directly telling people to wait for the next iOS update (Note: 14.3 is in Beta at this moment). So feel free to use the link I posted or wait for the update. But blowing this thread up isn't going to get you what you think it will.

Have just received this from Apple:

I have looked into the case and the information that is provided is that a software update should resolve this issue as it is not a hardware issue and this is being worked on currently.

Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Kind regards, 

 Sarah | EMEIA Management Representative | Apple Online Store | Apple Distribution International

I think this is probably correct.

If your screen is yellow with True Tone off, you have a fault. (My first two were like this).

But the True Tone yellow seems to be deliberate. Just rename True Tone to Pistone. All good 😜. (Not!)

got phone # 4 on the way. We’ll see.

I

3x agree.

Its a disgrace, but they don’t care. Period.

if you’ve not tried a replacement I would if you can. Only 2 out of 5 for me were also bad with TT off. The one I’m on now is consistently OK with TT off. Wow, did I just say that, my nz$2000 phone is “ok” and that’s what I’ve got to accept!? Well yes I did and yes I do.

Anyone out there not got a 12. My advice. Don’t. And if you don’t have an iPhone, stick with Android. Apple hold us to ransom; at least with Android you have a choice of makers with the same OS. I loved my X, but the 12 has been a real let down.

I’ve not mentioned it in earlier posts, but something about the photos is off with the iPhone 12. I think they are over-sharpened or over compressed compared to my X.

3x. As I’ve said I’ve had five. Two were diabolical. Three ok with true tone off. There are two issues here. Hardware and software.

if anyone has yellow with TT off they need a replacement. The yellow with TT on is a “feature”. (Aka crappy design)

Apple told me they recognise the issue and are working on a fix which is likely to be a software fix. Just upgraded to 4.4 and it seems very slightly better. Will chase Apple as I have a case reference where they confirmed there was an issue.

I'll say this much: I have a contact person in the Exec office. I wrote them about the yellow tone and Apple is now passing this issue off as "expected behavior". They're not going to own it or fix it.

98% Chance I'm returning mine.

Car comparisons rarely work for a cell phone. Particularly one which is potentially dangerous. Is a warmer iPhone screen dangerous? I don't think so.

To your follow up post, I get your point. Here are your options:

1. Adjust the color yourself to be what you want
2. If it's that big a deal, return the phone if you're within the return period or sell it if you cant. Life's too short to fume about the hue of the screen on your cell phone

When comparing in the store be very aware of what is surrounding the phones. Different colors from different displays and lighting will hit the sensor on the phones and could cause some variance in brightness and tone.

That said, test in store with True Tone OFF, or at least side by side.

One day I noticed my screen was even more obnoxiously yellow and realized the sensor was picking up my bright red shirt and adjusting from that!

With all the back and forth whining between what should and should not be discussed here occurring, I sort have lost interest in this thread. But I will say this, judging by what most have said on here (including the alleged Apple employee who likes his warmer toned screen), my conclusion is that this just seems to be how iPhone 12 was produced this year. The only thing that concerns me is that to my knowledge, even with the auto brightness feature turned on, there should be no change in tone whatsoever when neither True Tone or Night Shift are activated. On my particular device, that seems to be what is occurring... my screen tone is changing depending on my surroundings and what type of light I'm in despite these features being turned off. I do also notice it becoming a brighter tone when I start changing the angle of how I'm viewing my screen. I am passed the return policy... I don't feel like fighting with Apple about refurbished exchanges or offers for repairs that will yield most likely... no results. So I guess I'll take this one up the tailpipe and be content with the fact that functionally, my iPhone 12 Pro Max is a beast of a machine and just go through with my plan to trade it up for iPhone 13 (or 12S or whatever) this fall!

Thank you!

Same here, brand new iPhone pro 12 max. It’s a software issue so either turn off True Tone, or go to Accessibility and find color filter. There you can apply a blue filter that reduces the yellowish tone.

I could go back to the store and return it with the hope that the new one will be working properly but it’s too much trouble. I prefer to go the workaround way :)