Severe color shift after macOS 15.5 update — muddy and oversaturated display

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Level 1

6 points

Severe color shift after macOS 15.5 update — muddy and oversaturated display

Hi everyone,

After updating my MacBook to macOS 15.5, I noticed the display colors have changed drastically. Everything looks overly dark, muddy, and oversaturated — especially skin tones and makeup details, which now appear flat and lose all subtle shading.

I’ve tried switching color profiles, disabling True Tone and Night Shift, booting in Safe Mode, creating a new user account, and even resetting NVRAM/SMC — nothing helps. Images that look perfect on my phone now look terrible on my Mac.

Is anyone else experiencing this after the 15.5 update? Any fixes or workarounds so far?

Thanks in advance!

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 15.5

Posted on May 20, 2025 10:42 AM

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Answer 1

den.thed

Level 10

92,404 points

May 20, 2025 11:07 AM in response to Judy0810

Apple > System Settings > Accessibility > Display

1) turn off "Increase contrast" if it is turned on

2) set the "Display contrast" slider to Normal

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Answer 2

den.thed

Level 10

92,404 points

May 20, 2025 12:04 PM in response to Judy0810

Hmm... next try turning On Reduce transparency.

Then if that doesn't help, scroll down to Color Filters and turn off Color filters.

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Answer 3

den.thed

Level 10

92,404 points

May 21, 2025 7:13 AM in response to Judy0810

Make sure that you have a good backup and have the MacBook Air checked out by your local Apple Store or AASP.

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

Find Locations

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Answer 4

May 22, 2025 11:26 AM in response to den.thed

I had the same problem after updating on 15.5... now I understand why so many people say never update your Mac if it's running...

But changing the True Tone setting off seems to be the solution for me...it seems more or less back to what it was.

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Answer 5

Judy0810 Author

Level 1

6 points

May 21, 2025 1:20 AM in response to den.thed

My device doesn’t have Color Filters enabled either, and turning on Reduce Transparency doesn’t make any difference. This issue started after I updated to the latest version. Do you have any other suggestions?

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Answer 6

Judy0810 Author

Level 1

6 points

May 20, 2025 11:50 AM in response to den.thed

This is my settings, but the colors still look the same. I've already turned off both True Tone and Night Shift, but the colors are still like that. :(

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