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

Top Rated Comments

johnyslats Avatar
80 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
80 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
80 months ago
Hmmm.... Wonder why they didn't mention this earlier?
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
80 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
80 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
80 months ago
Screen burn-in on a $1000+ toy. "Take my money!!"

/s
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
anker new xmas 1

Anker's Cyber Week Sale Enters Final Days With Up to 60% Off Sitewide

Friday December 1, 2023 12:05 pm PST by
Anker's Black Friday/Cyber Week event is entering its final days this weekend, and it's still offering up to 60 percent off sitewide. There are also a few "mystery boxes" that can include hundreds of dollars in savings, if you're willing to risk not knowing what you're buying ahead of time. All of these sales will end on December 3. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Anker. When you...
General Apps Messages

Green Bubbles on iPhone to Gain These 7 New Features Next Year

Thursday November 30, 2023 9:00 am PST by
Earlier this month, Apple announced that it will finally support RCS in the Messages app on the iPhone starting later next year. This change will result in several improvements to the messaging experience between iPhones and Android devices. RCS will become the new default standard for messaging between iPhones and Android devices, but these conversations will still have green bubbles like...
top stories 2dec2023

Top Stories: iOS 17.1.2 Released, NameDrop Misinformation, and More

Saturday December 2, 2023 6:00 am PST by
Apple employees are back to work following a Thanksgiving break, and that means this week saw a number of new operating system updates for both public release and beta testing. This week also saw some misinformation about Apple's new NameDrop feature making the rounds, while Apple and Goldman Sachs appear to be on the verge of a break-up in their Apple Card and savings account partnership,...
instagram messenger

Instagram and Facebook Messenger Chats to Disconnect This Month

Tuesday December 5, 2023 1:57 am PST by
Meta has revealed plans to end Instagram users' ability to chat with Facebook accounts later this month, rolling back a feature that it introduced over three years ago. In September 2020, Meta (then Facebook) announced it was merging its Facebook Messenger service with Instagram direct messaging, allowing Instagram users to chat with Facebook users and vice versa using the same platform....
iphone 5g mmwave

Apple's Work on 6G Connectivity Already Expanding

Monday December 4, 2023 7:00 am PST by
Apple's work on implementing 6G cellular connectivity on its devices appears to be ramping up, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Apple is increasingly turning its attention to 6G, even amid its widely reported difficulties developing a custom 5G cellular modem. In 2021, the first highly specific Apple job...