iPhone 11 Pro Max and Galaxy S20 Ultra share the same flaw

The green screen coloration is a defect that first appeared in the Pixel 4XL series, followed by the Galaxy S20 Ultra and some OnePlus 8 Pro specimens, and was finally confirmed in the iPhone 11 Pro Max phones.

Apparently, smartphone manufacturers are not very well accustomed to the new generations of high-performance screens, capable of using depths of up to 10 bits per color channel and variable refresh rates. This is how the OnePlus 8 Pro model has problems somewhat similar to the top of the range Samsung, the screen with QHD + resolution and refresh rate at 120Hz giving “misses” in certain situations. In the case of the Samsung model, the strange symptoms appeared after the application of the last Android security patch, distributed at the beginning of April.

In a strange coincidence, the same “defect” appeared on the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max phones, the symptoms appearing immediately after unlocking the screen. Described as a “uniform green tint”, the problem occurs after applying the iOS 13.4 update and persists even after installing the patch for version 13.5.1. Even the iOS 13.5.5 beta build fails to remove this bug.

Investigations so far link the issue to Samsung, the supplier of AMOLED screens for all the above-mentioned smartphone brands. In addition, the LCD screen on the iPhone is not affected.

Rather indicating a software issue, the green screen only appears if the Dark display mode is checked, along with the True Tone and Night Shift settings. The first adjusts the display according to ambient light to maintain color fidelity, and the second ensures automatic color temperature adjustment for a more comfortable experience at night. Most users notice the appearance of green when the screen brightness is set to a very low level.

It is noteworthy that this is not the first time that iPhone users have complained about the inexplicable coloring of the screen, a similar problem appeared 10 years ago, in the iPhone 4. At that time, the problem was attributed to the incorrect use of an adhesive during the phone’s manufacturing process.

As for the current incident, Apple does not offer an official explanation, but there is a good chance that both the problem and the solution will originate from the supplier of AMOLED screens, Samsung Display.