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iPhone 7 Plus display dingier than iPhone 6 Plus display

I just upgraded from an iPhone 6 Plus to an iPhone 7 Plus. The first thing I noticed was that the display on the iPhone 7 Plus seems to be "dingier" than that of the iPhone 6 Plus. It's not as bright for the same setting. At maximum setting the iPhone 6 Plus is noticeably brighter, and whiter.


I thought the iPhone 7 Plus was supposed to be brighter than the iPhone 6 Plus. Is there something wrong with my new iPhone do you think?


All the settings are, I believe, the same. I restored from a backup of my iPhone 6 Plus I saved in iTunes this morning.

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013), i5, 512 GB SSD, 16 GB RAM

Posted on Nov 12, 2016 3:27 AM

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92 replies

Dec 22, 2016 10:21 PM in response to Doug Lerner2

I think decided to just send back the old one and keep the new one and move forward with my life and send my sister the iPhone 6 Plus to replace her old iPhone 4S. After I do that I will have no means to compare the iPhone 7 Plus with the iPhone 6 Plus anymore. But this has been going on for 6 weeks and the stress isn't worth it. The replacement iPhone 7 Plus is only marginally better than the original one, if at all, and the iPhone 6 Plus remains definitely brighter. But it's stupid to let this consume my life like this. Since Apple is clearly not selling a product as advertised I guess this will be my last Apple purchase unless Apple takes it upon themselves to do something about it. It's a lack of trust issue.

Dec 22, 2016 10:42 PM in response to Doug Lerner2

I apologize in advance for not reading the entire thread, but wanted to make sure you were aware of the Accessibility controls that provide extremely finite settings for your color display on the iPhone 7. The display on the iPhone 7 is a major advancement over previous displays, and you can make very dramatic changes to that display by going to Settings>General>Accessibility>Display Accomodations. You have several options for massaging the display:


1. At the bottom, you have a Reduce White Point slider

2. Under Color Filters, when you have turned them on, you have several pre-set filters you can select from

3. If you then select Color Tint, you can use the Intensity and Tint sliders to adjust what you see in very finite minute increments


So, just thought I would add that in case it hasn't already been hashed to death....and sorry if it is just a redundant piece of info 🙂


Cheers,


GB

Dec 22, 2016 10:57 PM in response to gail from maine

Thanks for your post. Yes, I was aware of those settings under Accessibility controls and spent a while playing with them trying to achieve at least the brightness of the iPhone 6 Plus. But they didn't really help.


The iPhone 7 Plus has many features which are an advancement over the iPhone 6 Plus. But I don't see how you can say the display is a major advancement over previous displays. It is clearly and obviously an inferior display to that on the iPhone 6 Plus. It's dimmer for one thing. 100% of people who have seen my iPhone 6 Plus side-by-side with my iPhone 7 Plus agree, including Apple store staff.

Dec 23, 2016 12:21 AM in response to Doug Lerner2

Actually I would like to pursue the problem some more. Two friends are visiting from the U.S. and they both have iPhone 7 Pluses. I just lined them up on my dining table and took the attached photo. Mine is on the right (the replacement iPhone) and clearly looks dimmer and dingier. All the settings are set to max brightness.


I hope Apple can resolve this. I'm now feeling like I shouldn't have to "settle" for an inferior device.

User uploaded file

Dec 23, 2016 12:40 AM in response to Doug Lerner2

I found this article to be interesting:


http://www.displaymate.com/iPhone7_ShootOut_1.htm


And remember, "brighter" is not always better. Harsh whites are extremely hard on the eyes, so softening the effect may appear to be dingier, but it simply may be that the harshness has been toned down. The color contrast is far superior, and again, I found that the combination of the Accessibility features could render my display brighter appearing than my husband's 6 Plus.


And just to make sure, your device isn't in Night Shift mode, correct? 😀


Best of luck,


GB

Dec 23, 2016 2:55 AM in response to Doug Lerner2

Judging by this photo only, here are my conclusions:

1. the one in the middle seems to have a pretty decent and even display

2. the one on the left is calibrated on the cooler side, with a slight magenta cast on the whole left side (especially top left corner)

3. the one on the right (your replacement device) is calibrated on the warmer side, with a slight yellow cast on the whole right side

I mention that I'd might also go wrong with the above due to the camera on you iPad Air that playing tricks with white balance on the edges.

Dec 23, 2016 3:12 AM in response to NicKelRO

It's not just color calibration. I did mention in posts above that it's hard to capture in a photograph because of camera exposure, but it's very clear to the naked eye that the actual brightness levels on the two iPhone 7 Pluses on the left are also obviously brighter than the brightness level on mine.


Anyway, I want one with a decent and even display - and one that is 25% brighter and "noticeably more brilliant and vibrant" - as advertised at https://www.apple.com/iphone-7/ - in other words, I want want I paid for.

Dec 28, 2016 9:23 PM in response to Doug Lerner2

I got yet another email from the Apple liaison. Because of the winter break they weren't able to get back to me yet but promised they would by next Wednesday or Thursday. I'll let people know when I hear more because I know many of you are in the same position I am and want to figure out what is going on. I think it must be manufacturing problems.

Dec 29, 2016 5:25 PM in response to Doug Lerner2

Thanks Doug for your feedback and constant updates.


I am facing the same problem here in France, as is one of my friends (we got three of them at the same time last Friday, one is pretty good, on the warm side but bright and quite acceptable, mine is warmer and dimmer and definitely not right and the third one is pretty much catastrophic as the display changes drastically with different viewing angles and is warm and dim).


I was thinking about the glue thing and the variation seen between our three units could (just a theory) be caused by a glue that is, for whatever reason, blocking light (dim and dull) and tinting everything because it is too thick or not applied correctly and the chemical structure is not right (dried too slow or too fast ?). I don't have any hope for this to fix itself, but I'm worried about an exchange because my phone is otherwise perfect and I know it could lead to a painful process of countless exchanges for nothing. I'm very curious what apple has to say about that, it's definitely a huge problem.

iPhone 7 Plus display dingier than iPhone 6 Plus display

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