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StumpyBloke

macrumors 603
Apr 21, 2012
5,415
6,001
England
But it’s what it is. It caps max brightness of the display to prevent permanent burn-in. Even Apple acknowledges it by stating that warning next to it. If you turn it off, you see the actual max brightness of the screen. I can’t even tell if my 11 Pro screen is brighter than my X, unless that “Auto-Brightness” is off.

Sorry yes, you’re absolutely right. Up until now, I didn’t realise the auto-brightness setting topped out at a level lower than the screen can actually do. Thanks for the heads-up
 

UKapple

macrumors regular
Nov 9, 2012
163
75
Well after a day of tinkering about with the pro and trying to tolerate the display I’ve decided that I’m just not happy with it. There’s just too much of a noticeable difference between the pro and my Xs max. To top it all off after the data transfer all apps are fine apart from the HSBC banking app which despite many reboots, downloads reinstalling of everything again and again just won’t function properly.

Out of curiosity I popped down to my local curry’s/PC World to check out the display models. These were also warmer/more yellow than my Xs max when comparing them. Not entirely sure if Apple are purposefully making the displays this way or whether it’s first batch models having poor QC at the factories.

So it’s boxed up ready for the return to Apple. Really disappointed with this as I’ve been very happy with the pro in all other areas but the display in my opinion is just something that can’t be compromised on given how important it is, especially on a £1300 phone!

Guess the Xs max will have to see me through to next September now!
 

kre62

macrumors 68020
Jul 12, 2010
2,373
1,248
Well after a day of tinkering about with the pro and trying to tolerate the display I’ve decided that I’m just not happy with it. There’s just too much of a noticeable difference between the pro and my Xs max. To top it all off after the data transfer all apps are fine apart from the HSBC banking app which despite many reboots, downloads reinstalling of everything again and again just won’t function properly.

Out of curiosity I popped down to my local curry’s/PC World to check out the display models. These were also warmer/more yellow than my Xs max when comparing them. Not entirely sure if Apple are purposefully making the displays this way or whether it’s first batch models having poor QC at the factories.

So it’s boxed up ready for the return to Apple. Really disappointed with this as I’ve been very happy with the pro in all other areas but the display in my opinion is just something that can’t be compromised on given how important it is, especially on a £1300 phone!

Guess the Xs max will have to see me through to next September now!


It's poor QC. I can point you to threads that claim that every year Apple moved to "a more accurate display". You should see the thread from last year where the XS was supposedly "the one" that moved to 6500k. And yet, you are comparing your supposedly 6500k max to a pro and the pro is yellow. How is that possible if the max is already at 6500k?

The answer is there is massive variance, and the QC around launch is particularly bad. Glad you took it back. The good screens will return after 4-6 weeks, and in the meantime you will see those display phones swapped for premier samples within the next week. Just wait and see.
 
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est1738

macrumors regular
Sep 10, 2014
161
57
My only question is are the displays uniform? I can deal with yellow tint, but screen uniformity was terrible for me on the last round of iPhones.
 

kirk.vino

macrumors 6502a
Oct 27, 2017
662
991
My only question is are the displays uniform? I can deal with yellow tint, but screen uniformity was terrible for me on the last round of iPhones.
I would say yes. Definitely better than the first batches of the X two years ago.
 

Bossyman

macrumors member
Oct 18, 2011
98
4
POSSIBLE SOLUTION:

So here’s my story. I received the 256 iPhone 11 Pro Max yesterday. Before opening, I went to the Apple store in woodcliff lake, nj to see how I’d like it in case I wanted to return it.

Most iPhone 11 pro max phones had some yellowing. I looked closely at 5 of them. I compared them to each other and the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 pro (2 of each). I also, of course, compared them to my XS Max.

3 of the 5 iPhone 11 pro Max phones were excellent. Bright and white. The other two horrible.

I called a customer service guy over, Lucas, and showed him the difference. He had no idea what was up.

Here’s what might help everybody. I went home, opened mine, set it up - and it was HORRIBLE. Photos yellow, internet pages yellow, emails yellow...

Obviously a return. Until I did this...

Went to Accessabilites. Toggled Auto Brightness off and back on 4-5 times. Left it OFF.

Then, plugged phone in to charge to get battery to 100%. As it was charging, I went to TRU TONE and turned it OFF. Put phone down and walked away for around 20 minutes.

Came back to phone and turned AUTO BRIGHTNESS back ON.

Turned True Tone back on.

Left phone to get to 100% charge.

Unplugged phone, and BAM. Screen is beautiful. Now even whiter than my iPhone XS Max.

This is amazing. I’m now keeping the phone.

To be clear - I have been comparing to my old phone all night. It started off yellow and dingy. It is now perfect white wear it should be.

I don’t know how it happened. But I’m glad it did.
 

Mattym62

macrumors regular
Nov 27, 2003
237
74
Palm Beach, FL
I went back to the Apple store and compared my phone to all the Pro Max’s that they had on display next to both my Pro Max and XS Max. Almost every single one was the same warm color. So I’m assuming that they went this direction with their display or they just all suck.. 🤷🏻‍♂️
 

kre62

macrumors 68020
Jul 12, 2010
2,373
1,248
I went back to the Apple store and compared my phone to all the Pro Max’s that they had on display next to both my Pro Max and XS Max. Almost every single one was the same warm color. So I’m assuming that they went this direction with their display or they just all suck.. 🤷🏻‍♂️

its the second one. Happens every year. Happened with the XS. And the X and the 8 and the...11years straight now
 
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MacGod

macrumors regular
Jul 2, 2008
178
282
Just set up my new 11 pro max and straight away it seemed quite ‘yellow’. To make sure I wasn’t just imagining it I have placed it alongside my Xs max, same display settings, TT off and it’s definitely dimmer/warmer than the Xs. The Xs has a more brighter and crisp display and I know this will bug me with the 11 pro. I know there’s always variations between all displays but this is quite obvious.

Now I have to decide whether to return it or not. If I do it won’t be for another unit as I can’t be bothered with all the hassle. Other than that the phone is very nice.

Exactly my issue, too!
 

dhill7

macrumors member
Sep 15, 2016
95
92
Houston
POSSIBLE SOLUTION:

So here’s my story. I received the 256 iPhone 11 Pro Max yesterday. Before opening, I went to the Apple store in woodcliff lake, nj to see how I’d like it in case I wanted to return it.

Most iPhone 11 pro max phones had some yellowing. I looked closely at 5 of them. I compared them to each other and the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 pro (2 of each). I also, of course, compared them to my XS Max.

3 of the 5 iPhone 11 pro Max phones were excellent. Bright and white. The other two horrible.

I called a customer service guy over, Lucas, and showed him the difference. He had no idea what was up.

Here’s what might help everybody. I went home, opened mine, set it up - and it was HORRIBLE. Photos yellow, internet pages yellow, emails yellow...

Obviously a return. Until I did this...

Went to Accessabilites. Toggled Auto Brightness off and back on 4-5 times. Left it OFF.

Then, plugged phone in to charge to get battery to 100%. As it was charging, I went to TRU TONE and turned it OFF. Put phone down and walked away for around 20 minutes.

Came back to phone and turned AUTO BRIGHTNESS back ON.

Turned True Tone back on.

Left phone to get to 100% charge.

Unplugged phone, and BAM. Screen is beautiful. Now even whiter than my iPhone XS Max.

This is amazing. I’m now keeping the phone.

To be clear - I have been comparing to my old phone all night. It started off yellow and dingy. It is now perfect white wear it should be.

I don’t know how it happened. But I’m glad it did.
Good solution. I will try this! Because the yellow tint on the Pro Max is distracting
 
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UKapple

macrumors regular
Nov 9, 2012
163
75
I think there may also be some truth in waiting for later batch models. My Xs max was bought in February this year, so it was quite a while since the first launch models and the screen is perfect. A few years ago I was the first to purchase the S8 and it took 3 exchanges to get a screen that didn’t have the red hue problem that was widely reported amongst those first batch models.

Might give it a couple of months and then consider a re purchase as at the minute it seems a bit of a lottery.
 

UKapple

macrumors regular
Nov 9, 2012
163
75
Good solution. I will try this! Because the yellow tint on the Pro Max is distracting

Not sure if this workaround will work with my pro as I’ve boxed it all up ready for its return. If your having to do this work around my concern would be if it ever returned back to its yellow tint, particularly outside of the return period where you will then be stuck with it.

Hopefully this won’t happen though.
 

Robertjan88

macrumors regular
Oct 30, 2018
171
27
You’re going to have to explain the four different Xs Max phones...that seems a bit much. The screen temperatures are calibrated yes, but a warmer display could be the norm this year. Who knows.
I’m eager to hear about the screens, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some are warm, and some are cool.


I would recommend to wait for reviews. Notebookcheck.com tends to do detailed measurements of every iPhone joining the market.

In my opinion, a screen should be neutral and color accurate by default. If you like a yellow tint, one should just enable "blue light filter". Or Apple should allow screen profiles, like Android.
 

iSunrise

macrumors 6502
May 11, 2012
382
118
I have read reports that seem to suggest that a tint can disappear when you are actually using the phone instead of just jumping to conclusions and returning it right away. I personally think that yellow is not an issue if it's not like a variance of >200K less in color temperature (which would make the display warmer). And with usage that could also change.

Since the 11 Pro is using the Note 10+ OLED (which seems to be perfect apart from Samsung's decision to go with 6600K instead of 6500K) and Apple is pretty good at calibrating, the variance should not be there in the first place or Apple is not doing it right (cost saving measure).

At least all the reviewers and some really trustworthy ones did not mention it (e.x. iPhonedo and EverythingApplePro who even bought his phones from the store, so no pre-selected ones).

Of course, if it's just too much different than other iPhones of the same make, I would return it, but then again some of these "defects" are expected, since Apple probably needs all the output the can get the first month they go on sale.

Also, do not forget that a warmer screen (if done correctly), is better for your eyes and do not so much interrupt with human vision and sleep, so cold ones' are hopefully a thing of the past.
 
Last edited:

tbuzleski

macrumors member
Oct 23, 2013
34
47
Curious as to those of you who have received your iPhone 11 Pro Max if the screen is warm or cool? With True Tone turned off of course.

I had 4 different XS Max phones (various reasons, including warranty replacements) and the screen color temperature/quality was all over the place. I had two crisp white displays and two dingey yellow displays. The color filter in display accommodations is not a replacement for letting us set the white point.

Hoping the 11 Pro Max will be better.

Bought an 11 Pro Friday. Have to say compared to my XR the display doesn’t seem as bright and is much more yellow. Not sure if I like it or not. Will probably head back to the Apple store to compare today.
 
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bsmr

macrumors 65816
Oct 4, 2005
1,050
274
Germany
Will probably head back to the Apple store to compare today.
You should. The 11 LCD is a good display. And we already saw, that there is much variance in OLED displays... So you could a good one or not... Go to the store and doublecheck!
 

Shadowbech

macrumors G3
Oct 18, 2011
9,038
5,894
Not to hijack the thread but anybody else have any other QC issues?

I’ve had the screen issues every year; got lucky this time. The only defect is a minor edge blemish on the PVD coating - like the size of a pin head ... can only see it if it catches the light.

So many many things can be worse if you do the iPhone swap lottery ?
I would say if you have won the screen lottery then I'd just keep that. I've had minor blemish on the PVD last year but I didn't care much because mines always in my case. I feel like when you do return/exchange, you could potentially get one with a different issue. Just a waste of time.
 
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radiologyman

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2011
755
271
While there is definitely variance in OLED panels, there may be autocalibration of sorts that some people in this thread triggered by toggling display settings...
 

iamdman

macrumors newbie
Oct 14, 2018
25
6
My display is way too yellow. I don’t think I’ll be able to get used to this.

My display also appears dimmer than my iPhone XS.

did you try disabling auto brightness and compare both ? I noticed similar fullness but once I disabled auto brightness it really popped out for same level of brightness with True Tone on!
Also I noticed that the depending on ambience light my display shows little warmer and in bright outdoor it’s less warmer.
 

Mattym62

macrumors regular
Nov 27, 2003
237
74
Palm Beach, FL
I’ve done everything from changing the color profile, to adjusting auto brightness and also turning off True Tone. This display is just too yellow for my liking. I’m going to just stick with my XS Max and wait a few months and then try again. If it’s the same I’ll wait until next release to see what happens. Only negative of returning this is that I love the camera but oh well.
 
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markyr17

macrumors 65816
Apr 8, 2010
1,186
92
I must say I’m not super happy with the display on my 11 Pro Max. Yellow and dingy. I’ve tried to get used to it, but it doesn’t feel right for such an expensive device.

Why does it look great with True Tone disabled? Chance this could be fixed via software?
 
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