Weird Rainbow Outline on Home Bar (iPhone 13 on iOS 26) - Happened and Disappeared Instantly

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Weird Rainbow Outline on Home Bar (iPhone 13 on iOS 26) - Happened and Disappeared Instantly

I wanted to share a strange experience I had with my iPhone 13 and see if anyone else has seen anything similar.

I was using my phone when the home bar suddenly developed a very visible rainbow-colored outline, as if it was severely "burned in" to the screen. It was quite alarming to see. What was even more unusual was that the pattern was most visible at the ends of the home bar and a little less visible in the middle. The whole effect was very clear on an orange background.

The most surprising part is that it disappeared completely in just a second.

After looking into it, it seems this isn't true burn-in, which is permanent. Instead, it was likely a case of temporary image persistence on the phone's OLED display. This happens when pixels get "fatigued" from displaying a static image for a long time, but they recover very quickly.

I had been using my phone on high brightness, which I've learned can contribute to this issue. Has anyone else experienced this specific rainbow outline on their home bar that disappeared almost instantly?

iPhone 13

Posted on Aug 7, 2025 4:01 AM

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Answer 1

SravanKrA

Level 10

433,338 points

Aug 7, 2025 4:04 AM in response to IloveAppleTVsoftware7point9

This is not the right forum to discuss beta

When you experience an issue or something that does not work as expected in beta, send your feedback directly to Apple with Feedback Assistant

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Apple Beta Software Program Agreement. All potential seed participants are asked to click through the Apple Beta Software Program Agreement. Review and use of pre-release software is strictly confidential. Keeping information about pre-release software confidential is critical to Apple's future success and the success of the AppleSeed Program. Please read and comply with the terms of the agreement to avoid legal consequences.

Active Participation. We ask that you use seeded software in your day-to-day activities. You will be testing functionality and usability in environments that can not be replicated at Apple. We will provide you with a variety of tools and forums that will allow you to give us detailed information about your experience.

Feedback Assistant. The app you use to provide your feedback to Apple is Feedback Assistant. On iOS and iPadOS, Feedback Assistant is available on the Home Screen once you install the seed build. On macOS, Feedback Assistant is installed to System › Library › CoreServices › Applications and can be launched with Spotlight.

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We do not recommend installing pre-release software on personal-critical and/or business-critical systems. Backups should be maintained to mitigate data loss in the event of an application or system crash. Apple is not liable for malfunctions resulting from the installation of this software. Furthermore, Apple makes no guarantee that data created or modified by this software will be compatible with future versions. Please note that members of the AppleSeed team are not available to assist with troubleshooting and tech support.

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Weird Rainbow Outline on Home Bar (iPhone 13 on iOS 26) - Happened and Disappeared Instantly

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