iOS 17.1 Fixes iPhone Display Image Retention Issue

The iOS 17.1 update that Apple is set to release in the near future addresses an issue that "may cause display image persistence," according to Apple's feature notes for the software.

iphone 15 sizes
Since the launch of the iPhone 15 models, there have been sporadic reports of severe screen burn-in impacting the new devices. There was speculation that it might be a hardware issue with the OLED display, but based on the iOS 17.1 update, Apple has found and addressed a software problem that mimicked screen burn-in.

iphone 15 display burn in

Image via MacRumors reader Josh

While most of the reports of display problems were coming from ‌iPhone 15‌ users, there were also some users with iPhone 13 Pro and ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro devices that saw similar issues, which is likely why Apple's release notes do not mention the ‌iPhone 15‌ specifically.

Those who have noticed "burn-in" on their iPhones should update to iOS 17.1 to ensure that it solves the problem.

The iOS 17.1 update also addresses a number of other bugs. It fixes an issue that could cause the Significant Location privacy setting to reset when transferring or pairing an Apple Watch for the first time, plus it addresses a bug that could cause custom and purchased ringtones not to appear as options for a text tone.

There is a fix for an issue that could cause the ‌iPhone‌ keyboard to be less responsive, and Apple says that it has added crash detection optimizations for the ‌iPhone‌ 14 and ‌iPhone 15‌ models to further refine how the iPhones respond when a vehicle crash event is detected.

Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...

Top Rated Comments

Paradoxally Avatar
19 months ago
How do bugs like these even happen? I've been an engineer for almost two decades and I've never seen anything like this lol

I feel like Apple's QA department is in shambles.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NT1440 Avatar
19 months ago

Keep tryin to implement these fake bugs to force people to upgrade. Green hue, purple lines now this fake burn in screen.
How would a bug causing NEW iPhone models force people to upgrade to them?
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
falkon-engine Avatar
19 months ago
Excuse me? Software screen burn in? What kind of bug is that LMAO! Well hopefully for those with affected devices, this fixes the issue.

Edit: I can confirm. Faint Image retention that was present on the 15 pm on 17.0.3 is now gone in 17.1.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jarman92 Avatar
19 months ago
Weird, I was assured by so many on these forums that this was an existential problem for Apple that would prompt a massive global recall and be the end of the company.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JWort93 Avatar
19 months ago

you can't fix "burn in" with a software update lmao. it's obviously an issue with the graphics processor (if it's really been fixed).
It could very well be a software bug that is not related to the graphics processor. Modern OLED displays utilize software algorithms to mitigate screen burn by essentially keeping track of how long individual sub-pixels are lit, and at what intensity. This allows them to adjust nearby pixel luminance to account for the degradation that the pixels have encountered from normal use, and continue to produce a clean image on a display that would otherwise have screen burn. My guess is that there was a bug in the display driver firmware that caused these algorithms to overcompensate for the amount of usage that these screens were seeing, essentially causing it to over adjust the luminance of certain pixels resulting in what looked like real screen burn when these compensation values were utilized by the display driver.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GMShadow Avatar
19 months ago

How would a bug causing NEW iPhone models force people to upgrade to them?
Don't think, just angry post. Apple Bad!
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)