iPhone 7 Plus display dingier than iPhone 6 Plus display

Well, I received the 2nd replacement iPhone 7 Plus today, and unfortunately it is even dimmer than the first 1st replacement iPhone 7 Plus, and both are much dimmer than my iPhone 6 Plus.

Here are the results, and thoughts about going forward.

First, comparison screenshots.

Left is 1st replacement iPhone 7 Plus received 12/23/2016, right is 2nd replacement iPhone 2 Plus received 1/23/2017. The 1st replacement is clearly brighter.

Switched order to show it's not a camera illusion. Left is 2nd replacement iPhone 7 Plus received today, right is 1st replacement iPhone 7 Plus. The 1st replacement is obviously much brighter.

Here we have the 2nd replacement iPhone 7 Plus on the left, the iPhone 6 Plus in the middle and the 1st replacement iPhone 7 Plus on the right. The iPhone 6 Plus is obviously brighter than either iPhone 7 Plus.

Again, the 2nd replacement iPhone 7 Plus on the left, the iPhone 6 Plus in the middle and the 1st replacement iPhone 7 Plus on the right. This time the view is more straight on. The iPhone 6 Plus is obviously brighter than either iPhone 7 Plus.

First, I am going to return the original iPhone 7 Plus and the 2nd replacement iPhone 7 Plus as soon as possible. I'm getting nervous about having all these extra iPhone 7 Pluses here. I have reset both of those devices and packed them up nicely in their boxes, with all the original accessories. Apple can be pick them up at any time.

I'm currently using the 1st replacement iPhone 7 Plus, which, while obviously worse than the iPhone 6 Plus is very noticeably better than the 2nd replacement iPhone 7 Plus received today. It's even more obvious to the naked eye than it is in the photos.

As to what to do next, I don't really know. It seems obvious to me:

1. There is great variation in the manufacturing of different iPhone 7 Pluses. I know that not just from direct comparison today, but also from seeing my American friends' iPhone 7 Pluses last month, which I posted photos of. Theirs are clearly much brighter than mine. I am really surprised there is such variation from device to device.

2. I'm sorry to say this, but I feel that the Apple engineering team is not being honest with the liaison or with me. I previously posted a clipping from the Apple home page. The iPhone 7 Plus is supposed to be not just 25% brighter but, in Apple's words:

"So what you see will be noticeably more brilliant and vibrant."

As I mentioned before, if something looks darker and looks dingier it is impossible to say it is "noticeably more brilliant and vibrant." The word "noticeably" means something you can visually see. If you can't see it, it isn't noticeable.

I don't know how much Apple wants to continue to try to solve the problem. But there is a problem.

I am pretty stressed out from this over the last 10 weeks. One option for me would be to just move on and stick with this iPhone 7 Plus or sell it and switch to another company's smartphone. In that case Apple will have lost a customer, because how can I ever buy anything from Apple again with any confidence?

I would hope that Apple would stand by their word and really try to figure out what is going on here. I wonder what I should tell my friends and colleagues at this point. And I've still been waiting more than 2 months now to send my iPhone 6 Plus to my sister.

Anyway, that's how things stand now. I will post again if and when I have updates.

One final final note here, since the iPhone 7 Plus display was still bothering me.

If I tweak the white balance:

1. General > Accessibility > Display Accommodations > Color Filters

2. Turn the Color Filters on.

3. Select Color Tint

4. Turn the Intensity all the way down and the Hue about 75% up.

Then I can actually make the iPhone 7 Plus, on the left, look brighter and whiter than the iPhone 6 Plus on the right. Not at maximum brightness, but at about 80% maximum brightness, where I use it most of the time.

I hope this helps others where the dingy yellowish screen is driving them crazy, like it was me. It's much more pleasing now.

I just heard back from the Apple liaison again. She says the engineering team claims mine really is brighter but I just can't see it, which makes no sense to me. Nevertheless they are going to send out yet another unit and see if it's better.

Again, please take a look at Apple's home page at https://www.apple.com/iphone-7/ - In addition to claiming it is 25% brighter it says:

"So what you see will be noticeably more brilliant and vibrant."

If something looks darker and looks dingier it is impossible to say it is "noticeably more brilliant and vibrant." The word "noticeably" means something you can visually see. If you can't see it, it isn't noticeable.

In addition, my U.S. friends' iPhone 7 Pluses when they visited were noticeably brighter than mine.

I think Apple must admit there is a manufacturing quality enforcement issue going on. If there is such variation in display quality there must be something going on.

I do hope this next device change fixes the problem. If not, regrettably this will be my last Apple purchase because it becomes a basic trust issue at that point.

And today I did get another email from the Apple liaison saying that they still hadn't heard back from the engineering team, this time promising to get back to me by next Tuesday at the latest. So again, I'll update people here when I hear back.

In the meantime, I have two iPhone 7s - my original and the replacement unit they sent me. I've been using the replacement unit and they said to hold on to both until there is some resolution. And I still have my iPhone 6 Plus for comparison purposes.

I received a call from the Apple liaison today and the final conclusion is that as far as Apple is concerned that's just the way they are.

They admit there is a variation in the phones during manufacture, but they aren't willing to continue to exchange phones until we find one that is as bright and noticeably more vibrant and brilliant as advertised - or even as bright as the iPhone 7 Plus my friend from the U.S. has, which we compared side-by-side during his visit here to Japan.

However, Apple are willing to let me think about it for a week or so and even though I bought it from my carrier, Softbank, and even though Softbank does not allow returns and refunds, Apple would be willing to let me sell the phone to Apple for the full retail price and I could just buy another cell phone with the carrier. In other words, they are offering me a way out, if I decide I want to do that.

So I will think about it.

I'm of course disappointed with Apple and with the quality of the screen. And the logic of the engineering team bewilders me. They are advertising one thing and selling another. It's clear to anybody who looks at my side-by-side photos, which compare the iPhone 7 Plus and my iPhone 6 Plus displays. It's even more obvious in person. The Apple Store people who have seen it also agree. 100% of everybody who sees the two iPhones side-by-side agree the iPhone 6 Plus is the one that is brighter.

So I will think about exactly how much this bothers me for a bit. I'll see what my carrier offers. Perhaps an iPhone 6S Plus if I decide to stick with Apple. Or maybe it's time to look into Android substitutes.

Since Apple is offering a complete refund of the full purchase price, I suppose I will remain an Apple customer for now. But I certainly wouldn't buy anything else from Apple again unless it was clear there was a full money-back guarantee from the start. I don't want to go through this experience again.

I guess that is the end of my story. I hope other people have better luck than I did with their iPhone 7 Pluses. And I hope Apple reconsiders the way they advertise the iPhone 7 Plus screen. Because what they are advertising just is not what you get.

This is what I decided to do...

Since Apple agreed to buy back my iPhone 7 Plus at the full Softbank (my carrier in Japan) contract list price of 129,000 yen I decided to take them up on it.

And I ordered a new iPhone 7 Plus from the Apple site today, to be delivered tomorrow morning. That cost 120,000 yen.*

So, not only am I making 9,000 yen on the deal, I’m getting a new phone and two more years of AppleCare coverage.

Plus since I’m getting it directly from Apple, the new iPhone will be unlocked to start with and I can use it on my scheduled U.S. trip for my mother’s birthday in April.

Will it be “as bright” as the iPhone 6 Plus. Probably not. But at this point this deal seems like a no-brainer to do for now. And who knows, maybe it will be brighter. Maybe the problem is with the Softbank shipments themselves. Nobody seems to know why there are such variations from device to device.

Also getting it directly from Apple means there is a 14 day return policy if I change my mind.

And I’m sticking with Apple, which I feel relieved and comfortable about for now.

—–

* I don’t know why the Softbank list price (pre carrier discount for a two year contract) comes to 129,000 yen including tax and AppleCare, instead of the 120,000 yen you would pay when buying direct from Apple. That remains a mystery, but Apple is agreeable with paying the 129,000 list price on my Softbank contract. Probably to shut up a crackpot customer.

And just a final note...

As mentioned in my last post, I decided to return the iPhone 7 Plus I got from my carrier (Softbank) to Apple and take them up on their offer for a full refund.

I ordered a new one direct from Apple, which arrived the next morning. Just now the delivery company picked up the original iPhone 7 Plus to send back to Apple, and now I'm left with a more sane two iPhones: the iPhone 6 Plus I want to give my sister, and my new iPhone 7 Plus.

The display is about the same (I think there is a manufacturing issue where there happens to be a lot of variation) but it's fine. Looking at it you would say, "What a nice screen." My objection all along has just been Apple stating "it's 25% brighter" etc. But I'm just too stressed about it to obsess about it any more. This definitely falls under hashtag #FirstWorldProblems. But the screen is fine. Apple should fix their advertising though, because what they are saying isn't true. And while I'm sticking with Apple, I'll certainly be more hesitant before making any new Apple purchases - and make sure there is an easy return for anything I'm not satisfied with it. Dealing with Apple support can be very stressful. I'm glad the VP's liaison stepped in to assist.

Anyway, the whole thing wasn't a complete waste of time. I ended up with:

1. A newer iPhone 7 Plus and another full two years of AppleCare warranty.

2. I actually ended up with a net 9,000 yen discount off the final purchase because of a discrepancy between the Apple price and the carrier's price.

3. And the new iPhone 7 Plus is unlocked immediately, which means I can use it when I'm in Boston next month (instead of having to wait the full 6 months before I could have unlocked the carrier's iPhone).

So I'm going to reset the iPhone 6 Plus and send it to my sister and just not worry about it anymore.

Hi Gail. Well to be fair, the iPhone 7 Plus display is not a dramatic improvement over previous models. The technical authors I've read say the same thing. In color gamut the change is marginal. As for brightness, I still maintain the 6 Plus is brighter at maximum settings.

Also the settings I used are not new to the iPhone 7 Plus. They are also in the 6 Plus.

What I did was compromise by tweaking the 7 Plus hue setting and compared the devices without reaching maximum intensity on either, to make keeping the device more acceptable.

So it's comparing apples and... whatever.

Still, it looks ok for now at the brightness I normally use it at. And if I don't compare side by side with a 6 Plus at maximum brightness.

Update on this:

I'd still like to figure out why the screen is not as bright as I expected. In a couple of different lighting conditions this morning it does appear about as bright as the iPhone 6 Plus. But most of the time it very clearly is dimmer and the whites less white than on the iPhone 6 Plus. And it's never brighter.

There are many things I like about the iPhone 7. If I had traded in my iPhone 6 Plus and didn't have it side by side for comparison I might have have not noticed. Or maybe I would have because when it was sitting on my desk it struck me as being a bit dim when I first started using it.

Like I said, the screen is by no means "poor quality." But it's not "brighter" which annoys me because Apple made a big deal of advertising it as being 25% brighter.

I contact Apple support and they suggested bringing it in. I have an appointment in 2 hours and they will probably exchange it for a new one. But... what if it's the same?

On the one hand I could just live with it. But why should I have to? One of the reasons (yes of course there were other reasons as well) on my list of reasons for buying the new iPhone 7 Plus yesterday was because the screen was supposed to be better and brighter. So it's annoying,

Unfortunately, unlike in the U.S., returning things in Japan is not as easy as returning things in the U.S. There is no 14 day return policy for example. So if I really wanted to return it it would be a whole big thing, making complaints, etc. Which I don't want to do.

But I do see lots of posts here and there about people complaining of the same thing, and it bothers me if the advertised brighter-and-better screen really isn't.

I'll know later today for sure.

Well, here's the result. First the guy at the store was very nice and patient. And he agreed the iPhone 7 Plus was obviously not as bright, and the whites not as white as the iPhone 6 Plus. The difference is obvious - particularly when viewed side by side.

He tried a complete reset, but that didn't help. He thought that it was not normal so replaced it with a new phone.

First we compared it with my iPhone 6 Plus, but it was still not as bright as the 6 Plus.

Then we compared with the iPhone 7 Plus I brought in, and it was even slightly darker than the one I got yesterday!

So for now I am back with the iPhone 7 Plus I brought in and don't know what to do.

It seems that Apple advertising a brighter and more vibrant screen for the iPhone 7 Plus just doesn't seem to be true. On principle I'm just not satisfied.

While the other features work well, the display is very important. If I knew yesterday what I know now I would not have gotten this phone.

But I don't know what to do about it. I'll contact Apple and see.

After much back and forth with Apple, I last spoke with some sort of supervisor or specialist just before. He is going to look into it more and hopefully arrange for an exchange for an iPhone 7 plus that is truly brighter.

Here are some photos so you can see what I'm talking about. I took them just now with my iPad. I took 6 photos from different distances and angles. Brightness settings are the same. In fact all the settings are the same. Both are set at maximum brightness for these photos. No hue tinting or other display changes have been made on either phone.

The phone on the left is my iPhone 6 Plus, which I was using with KDDI AU until Saturday. The phone on the right is my new iPhone 7 plus, which uses the Softbank carrier.

Everybody - the sales person, friends, and the technician at the service center I visited yesterday (Apple service center inside Bic Camera at Hachioji, Tokyo station) all agree that the iPhone 7 Plus is not not "25% brighter" - it is actually dimmer than the iPhone 6 Plus. And the whites are not as white.

At https://www.apple.com/iphone-7/ it says, in addition to the new phone being 25% brighter, that, "...what you see will be noticeably more brilliant and vibrant. Because we all deserve a bit more brightness in our day."

I would like that. While the phone seems to work well in all other respects, the display is important. I'm not saying the iPhone 7 Plus display is bad, per se. And if I never had an iPhone 6 Plus I might not have noticed. But as soon as I took it out of the box on Saturday it was obvious that it was dimmer than my iPhone 6 Plus, even before comparing it side-by-side.

As I mentioned, we already did try an exchange with a new iPhone 7 Plus at the service center yesterday, but both the technician and I agreed the exchange unit was even dimmer than the one I brought in. So we did not make the exchange. That makes me wonder if this is a general problem with the new iPhone 7 Plus. After this happened I started looking at floor models and so far I have to say I have not seen an iPhone 7 Plus that is brighter than the iPhone 6 Plus.

I think you will agree that the iPhone 6 Plus on the left is brighter, and the whites more white, than the iPhone 7 Plus on the right.

Well, it's Friday afternoon now and Apple was supposed to get back to me by the end of the week after investigating, so I hope they get back shortly. Tomorrow will be one week since getting the iPhone 7 Plus.

If it can be resolved, that would be great! As I said, I do like the way the new iPhone 7 Plus works. But it is just really disturbing that not only is it not 25% brighter than my iPhone 6 Plus, but it's actually dimmer under all lighting conditions. I can't help but notice it all the time and it really irks me.