IPhone 18 Pro displays show cooler colors, users complain

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max have been on shelves for about a month. Reviews have been positive, but some buyers say their screens look off. Some found the displays less warm than before, with magenta or green tinting and washed-out colors. Whether this is a manufacturing defect is not confirmed, and it is unclear how widespread the problem is.

Apple buys OLED panels from both Samsung Display and LG Display, but customers cannot choose between them. All panels go through the same calibration and quality checks, so buyers expect the same experience. The 18 Pro's ProMotion display refreshes up to 120 Hz, has a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and reaches 3,000 nits of outdoor peak brightness, the same as the 17 Pro.

User reports highlight panel differences

Redditor junglehypothesis described an iPhone 18 Pro Max with an LG GH3 panel that looked washed out, with a green tint and cartoonish colors. The user said the GH3 is the lowest acceptable grade of screen and may be more prone to visual defects. After returning the phone, they received a Samsung G9Q panel that showed normal colors and no tinting.

YouTuber Erica Griffin tested the new OLEDs and found the 18 Pro screens were significantly cooler than the D65 white reference Apple uses. She switched a calibration setting to OLED Judd Modified, which improved the measurements. The screens still looked cooler, but were within acceptable limits. Griffin also found the Samsung panel in the Pro Max did worse in her test than the LG screen in the 18 Pro, and suspects Apple has changed its color matching for newer OLEDs.

BGR suggests that buyers unhappy with their screens take the phone back to Apple and ask about possible fixes.