I use screenshots regularly for work, and sometimes when pasting into various illustration programs, (procreate/affinity designer) the resulting image needs to be corrected. Since it occurs in both programs, while also intermittently, I'm assuming it has something to do with IpadOS.
iPad Pro, iPadOS 26
This intermittent washed-out screenshot issue in iPadOS is a known color profile/tone mapping bug that affects some iPad Pro models. Here's what's happening and how to fix it:
Root cause:
The iPad Pro uses an HDR display with True Tone and P3 wide color gamut. When taking screenshots, iPadOS sometimes captures in the wrong color space (HDR instead of sRGB), resulting in washed-out colors when pasted into apps like Procreate or Affinity Designer that expect standard color profiles.
1. Disable True Tone before taking screenshots:
- Go to Settings > Display & Brightness > True Tone
- Turn it OFF before taking your screenshots
- This prevents color temperature adjustments that can affect screenshot color accuracy
2. Check Procreate/Affinity color settings:
- In Procreate: when creating a canvas, set Color Profile to "sRGB IEC61966-2.1" to match what the iPad captures
- In Affinity Designer: go to File > Document Setup > Color > set to sRGB
- Mismatched color profiles between the screenshot and your document cause the washed-out effect
3. Use Files app as an intermediary:
- Instead of pasting directly, save the screenshot to Files app first
- Then import it into Procreate/Affinity Designer using their import function
- This allows the app to properly interpret the screenshot's color profile
4. Check "Increase Contrast" setting:
- Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Increase Contrast
- If enabled, toggle it off and see if screenshots look normal
5. Update iPadOS:
- Settings > General > Software Update
- Apple has patched several screenshot color issues in recent updates
The intermittent nature suggests True Tone or display brightness adapting dynamically - disabling True Tone should provide consistent results.
This intermittent washed-out screenshot issue in iPadOS is a known color profile/tone mapping bug that affects some iPad Pro models. Here's what's happening and how to fix it:
Root cause:
The iPad Pro uses an HDR display with True Tone and P3 wide color gamut. When taking screenshots, iPadOS sometimes captures in the wrong color space (HDR instead of sRGB), resulting in washed-out colors when pasted into apps like Procreate or Affinity Designer that expect standard color profiles.
1. Disable True Tone before taking screenshots:
- Go to Settings > Display & Brightness > True Tone
- Turn it OFF before taking your screenshots
- This prevents color temperature adjustments that can affect screenshot color accuracy
2. Check Procreate/Affinity color settings:
- In Procreate: when creating a canvas, set Color Profile to "sRGB IEC61966-2.1" to match what the iPad captures
- In Affinity Designer: go to File > Document Setup > Color > set to sRGB
- Mismatched color profiles between the screenshot and your document cause the washed-out effect
3. Use Files app as an intermediary:
- Instead of pasting directly, save the screenshot to Files app first
- Then import it into Procreate/Affinity Designer using their import function
- This allows the app to properly interpret the screenshot's color profile
4. Check "Increase Contrast" setting:
- Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Increase Contrast
- If enabled, toggle it off and see if screenshots look normal
5. Update iPadOS:
- Settings > General > Software Update
- Apple has patched several screenshot color issues in recent updates
The intermittent nature suggests True Tone or display brightness adapting dynamically - disabling True Tone should provide consistent results.
Thanks! This is super helpful. I will be shifting to Linux to run affinity designer via wine because apple has started integrating Israeli tech, but I appreciate your thorough response.
iPad screenshots appear washed out intermittently
