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iPhone 6: Apparent backlight uniformity issue

My new Verizon iPhone 6 64GB exhibits a darker region on the top 1/8th of the display. It is most evident when displaying a white background. It is difficult to tell whether it's a chromaticity issue (AMLCD issue), a luminance uniformity problem (backlight), or something else all together.


Anyone else notice this effect on their new phone?

iPhone 6, iOS 8, Verizon 64GB

Posted on Sep 20, 2014 6:25 AM

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259 replies

Sep 20, 2014 10:50 AM in response to Brown1428

I have a similar issue too. Only my top part of screen (about 1/8) experiences a yellowish tint. And the right side colors are more cooler than left side, when keyboard is open the right delete key is a nice bluefish color and left shift key is a more grayish yellowish one. Very annoying and I don't know what to do. I just returned a retina Macbook Pro that my gf bought because the right side 1/3 of screen had a nasty yellow tint, and when I came to return it, lady said it's normal and compared it to a open box and the open box way way worse, whole screen looked like pee, then I took my early-2013 release MacBook to her and showed it to her, and she saw the difference and returned it, my display is a perfect white with even uniformity throughout, I also returned a retina iPad mini for the same issue, lower 1/3 of display was yellow, I don't know who makes this crap for Apple as all products are affected. I have a bunch of Samsung and LG flagship phones and all displays are uniformly white.. Will you guys be exchanging you iPhone or living with it? I can't imagine why apple is so stupid to make iOS 7,8 so white when their screens can't even display white, it's all yellow or blue or gray...

Sep 20, 2014 11:16 AM in response to Igor_ki

I'm embarrassed to say I've been through the same issue with all the products you mentioned. I went through 7+ Ipad Airs and gave up. I returned a retina macbook pro because of dust particles stuck under the screen and uneven colors. It's disappointing that so many Apple displays/products exhibit so many flaws. It seems to be mostly with the high-res screens. I greatly enjoy the Apple ecosystem, culture, OS integration and product support, but the nonsense needs to stop with poor displays. Apple is suppose to be known for using some of the best display... I guess my standards are too high. I'll be keeping the iphone 6 considering the display isn't too horrendous and I'm finding I nearly find flaws in most displays. The best display I have experienced was the HTC One M8. It had natural whites and uniform colors and an even backlight. I regret getting rid of it for the S5 and iPhone 6. Anyhow, I'll be living with the iphone 6 I have for the moment considering it doesn't have any dead/hot pixels, I like the build/sound quality and it works well overall. That's not to say I may not exchange it later if I notice my display just isn't up to par with the other's considering Apple's quality has dropped dramatically in regards to their screens.

Sep 20, 2014 11:34 AM in response to athletejmv

Do you have the same yellow top and lighter darker colors on your sides on the iPhone? I also had an iPad air which had an almost perfect screen but dust under the glass! Drove me nuts, always looked like it was periods on the screen when reading. My LG g2 had a perfect display as well, so does an Samsung tablet we have at home and various other things, the worst part is that Apple advertises the iPhone and retina Macbook displays as the best in the world with colora that pop! But in really only yellow seems to pop the most haha.. I actually changed my keyboard now to a black one so I don't notice the differences...

Sep 20, 2014 6:49 PM in response to Brown1428

I too am seeing some darkening/uneven lighting at the top few millimeters of my iPhone 6. My wife's looks good, no discoloration. Its especially noticeable when held at an angle looking down the phone toward the top. Disappointed. I'll give it a few days and if it doesn't clear up or bother's me enough I'll swap it out. I've got a gold 64gb on AT&T, the discoloration almost has the same goldish/copper tint. Boooooooo

Sep 22, 2014 11:40 PM in response to Brown1428

I've got the same issue issue iPhine 6 and its driving me nuts. I'm coming from an iPhone 5s which had a slew of display issues, and was hoping to be spared with these on the 6. The top section of my screen gradually fades to a warmer, yellower colour. It also appears to warmer in the top right than the top left.


I had the same issues with my 5s. The first 5s I received had the exact same problem with a yellowing near the top; I swapped this and received one that wasn't so noticeable. 8 months later, the screen came loose and had to swap it. This new one had yellowing down the left side when held in portrait mode. That was swapped for one, but with yellowing down the right In portrait. At this point, I wasnt allowed to swap any more as I'd already swapped it twice for non problematic display issues. But, for being good customer, and trying to see me right, I was authorised by the store manager for a CRU - a Customer Replacement Unit - an iPhone fresh from the box, ssealed, with all accessories instead of the normal replacement stock. This too has a yellowing near the top, albeit sutbtly. Even worse, this unit has scan lines running across the screen in portrait mode. After 5 attempts, I went into the display lottery and came out a lose at the other end.


My girlfriends gold iPhone 6 also exhibits the traits, and when compared to mine, looks worse. The one I did check to instore seemed perfect, no gradient whatsoever. Additionally, another friend who has a Space Grey iPhone also didn't seem to have an issue.

Since I've noticed this, I've noticed ALL of my other devices have this yellowing, but much more subdued.

My work 27" iMac (2009) is yellow down the screen.
My 15" MacBook Pro with Retina display (2013) is more yellow down the screen, as well as to the left.

My iPad (3rd-gen) is also yellow towards the top of the screen, as well as the left hand side.

I'm guessing some form of discolouration is normal, and the idea of display panel uniformity is probably a pipe dream. The problem is, the brief times I did check other iPhones (apart from my girlfriends), I didn't study for long periods of time and instead compared them to the yellow area of mine. They probably exhibit the same issue, but the whole screen may have a different white point throwing everything off.

I'll probably try and live with it for now, I'm not going to rush to the Apple Store to swap it – I'll make an appointment for next time I'm passing by.

After the iPhone 5s, I must be flagged as a "problem customer" by now; but when you're spending £700 for a device you use everyday, you want it to be as good as it can be...

Sep 22, 2014 11:59 PM in response to jamie.shaw

The issue is these yellow gradients/patches should not be a norm :-/ in my opinion. I have had an HTC One M8, Galaxy S5 (wife's phone) and a Note 3, which all had great displays. The S5 Amoled was more yellow than white on backgrounds and had some uneven tones, but they were hardly noticeable and I was able to live with that. The Note 3 had a great display for reading on overall. However, the iPhone 6 screen is just blatantly patchy/shady looking.


For now, I'll wait until the iPhone 7 to possibly try again. I went ahead and ordered a Nexus 5 to hold me over since I sold my HTC One M8 with perfect screen. We have an older Nexus 4 my wife will be using.


Also, using Siri was a nightmare compared to Google Now.


The following link/post has some photos of my screen (first two posted).

Re: iPhone 6-Darkish band and off yellow color top of screen on white backgrounds.

Sep 23, 2014 9:08 AM in response to Brown1428

I have the same issue. It's slightly, but noticeably, darker along the status bar at the top of the screen. I wouldn't have noticed it but for the fact that the darkness is not uniform. It looks almost like ghosting on a plasma TV. Even though this is a minor issue, I will likely exchange the phone because it is driving me nuts.


My wife has the same 64GB iPhone 6 in white, but it does not have this issue.

iPhone 6: Apparent backlight uniformity issue

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