Apple Says Minor Screen Burn-In and Shifts in Color When Looking at iPhone X Off-Angle Are Normal

Apple this morning shared a new support document explaining how OLED displays work and that it is normal to see some screen burn-in over time and shifts in color when looking at the iPhone display from an off-angle.

According to Apple, when you look at an OLED display from a side angle, you may see shifts in color and hue, something that's a "characteristic of OLED" and "normal behavior."

iphonexretinadisplay
Apple says that with extended long-term use, OLED displays can show "slight visual changes," which is also considered normal. The iPhone X has been engineered to be the "best in industry" at reducing burn-in effects, but Apple's support document suggests burn-in is still a problem that some users could potentially see over time.

This is also expected behavior and can include "image persistence" or "burn-in," where the display shows a faint remnant of an image even after a new image appears on the screen. This can occur in more extreme cases such as when the same high contrast image is continuously displayed for prolonged periods of time. We've engineered the Super Retina display to be the best in the industry in reducing the effects of OLED "burn-in."

With Apple referring to burn-in as normal behavior, it's not clear how this issue will be treated should it occur in terms of the one-year iPhone X warranty or extended AppleCare+ coverage. Typically, issues that Apple considers normal are not covered.

Apple's wording suggests screen burn-in is going to be a rare occurrence, but Apple does suggest users avoid displaying static images at maximum brightness for long periods of time. If there's an app that keeps the display on when the iPhone X is not in active use, the brightness level should be temporarily reduced using Control Center.

Making sure the iPhone X's display is set to go to sleep after a short period of time will also help prevent any burn-in issues, as it generally happens when the same image is on the display for a long time. Apple recommends setting Auto Lock to "a shorter time."

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Production Will Reportedly Begin Ramping Up in October

Tuesday July 23, 2024 2:00 pm PDT by
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Kuo: Ultra-Thin iPhone 17 to Feature A19 Chip, Single Rear Camera, Semi-Titanium Frame, and More

Wednesday July 24, 2024 9:06 am PDT by
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
icloud private relay outage

iCloud Private Relay Experiencing Outage

Thursday July 25, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...

Top Rated Comments

johnyslats Avatar
88 months ago
Funny that they waited until after launch day sales were racked up before they tell us this
Score: 107 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cardfan Avatar
88 months ago
Guess apple care is in order. Burn in not covered? Just drop it. There, now it's covered.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TxExCxH Avatar
88 months ago
Hmmm.... Wonder why they didn't mention this earlier?
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
88 months ago
Now you have iPhone X early adopters that are analyzing every angle of their display for burn-in all weekend long and they can longer enjoy their phone because of what Apple said.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
88 months ago
Color shift and possible burn-in should not be a surprise. No need to hate on Apple for stating the obvious about OLED.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lone Deranger Avatar
88 months ago
Screen burn-in on a $1000+ toy. "Take my money!!"

/s
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)