iPhone 15 Pro Max users report seeing ghostly OLED apparitions
- Reference: 1697539514
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/10/17/iphone_15_pro_max_users/
- Source link:
Grumblings around social media have become difficult to ignore as the purchasers of the device, which starts at $1,199.00 in the US (€1,199 in Europe/ £1,199 in the UK), claim to have found ghostly images showing up on the phone's display after a few short weeks of use.
One image from a posting on an [1]Apple community forum shows what appears to be a faint, omnipresent keyboard. Another post in the same thread shows what seem to be phantom icons.
[2]
Users on [3]Reddit , X, and other social media platforms have similarly joined in and shared images that do indeed look like some form of burn-in.
[4]
[5]
The launch of Apple's new phones has not gone off without a hitch. The same Apple forums (and elsewhere) also feature users [6]complaining about the heat given off by the hardware. To them, we'd say, [7]"You're holding it wrong."
Next time, maybe use some tongs. The sort an elderly relation would use to burn chicken on the barbecue.
[8]
As for the latest issue to bedevil Apple's lates handset, it's difficult to say if the cause is OLED burn-in or a manufacturing defect in a few screens.
OLED burn-in itself is relatively unusual but not unheard of – OLED TVs occasionally suffer from the problem after prolonged exposure to a static image. It is also not to be confused with LCD image retention, which usually disappears after a while. With OLED, the burn tends to be permanent. However, the issue is rare, and many manufacturers have devised ways to mitigate it over the years.
[9]California's Governor Newsom signs laws on right to repair and data deletion
[10]Your phone's cracked screen may one day heal itself, but try not to drop it for now
[11]Google pays Apple $18B to $20B a year to keep its search in iPhone
[12]Apple blames iOS 17 bug for overheating iPhone 15 woes
Apple is no stranger to display issues with its devices. Even its MacBook Pro has suffered from problems, including delaminating displays and [13]problems with backlights . Apple's [14]history with faulty screens goes back more than a decade.
The Register contacted Apple to see if the company was aware of the issue and could advise on the cause..
In the meantime, if you've dropped the requisite funds on a new iPhone 15 Pro Max and found something ghostly hanging around on the screen, we'd suggest contacting the company and asking about a replacement. ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255187759
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZS6vpxKgKzxzI0iR0am-5AAAAE4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/177mnwq/adding_mine_to_the_list_15_pro_max_with_serious/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZS6vpxKgKzxzI0iR0am-5AAAAE4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZS6vpxKgKzxzI0iR0am-5AAAAE4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255169143
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2010/06/25/iphone4_antenna/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZS6vpxKgKzxzI0iR0am-5AAAAE4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/11/newsom_repair_delete_laws/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/11/selfhealing_smartphone_screens/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/10/google_pays_apple_18_20_claims_bernstein/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/03/apple_ios_17_overheating_fix/
[13] https://support.apple.com/en-gb/13-inch-macbook-pro-display-backlight-service
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2010/02/05/imac_refunds/
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: the iDud ?
Apple need to stop creating iPhones that have such good build quality. Just sold my iPhone 13 pro to a friend and there wasn;t a scratch on it after 2 years
There's a bit of a difference in price between a pixel 8 and iphone 15, though, but good insight nonetheless
Re: the iDud ?
I'm considering buying a 13 to upgrade my current daily driver... it would displace an 8 from the youngest offspring.
The 8 has now dropped from "latest" OS to security updates only, the previous gen got their last updates in July, so I've got some months to consider the upgrade.
The bigger issue is that the 13/14 are basically the same phone - satellite SOS and crash detection aren't exactly deal breakers for many - that one additional GPU and "photonic engine" don't really feel like significant upgrades either. Oh, I just spotted the bluetooth upgrade from 5 to 5.3... be still my beating heart.
Going to the 15 we then have... one generation newer chip, updated cameras, and a (noticeably) brighter screen - more reasonable upgrades, but a 33% increase in base cost (over the 13).
So... the 15 will sell, but it will sell more when it's no longer the flagship, with pricing to hurt match.
Re: the iDud ?
I just got the 15 to replace my 12. The 13 and 14 didn't really offer that much over the 12 that I felt like it was worth the bother. But the A17 in the 15 Pro with the 3nm design, along with some improved optical zoom on the camera made for a different story. But, we have probably hit peak iPhone, where the differences between any given generation are pretty minor. Not like the early days when there were big leaps between say the iPhone 3 and 4. Probably won't upgrade again until at least the 17.
FTFY
"if you've dropped the requisite funds on a new iPhone 15 Pro Max and found something ghostly hanging around on the screen, we 'd suggest contacting the company and asking about a replacement think you'd better call... GHOSTBUSTERS!"
Re: FTFY
Careful - if Ghostbusters use their proton pack on it that might invalidate the warranty!
Always On
The default Always On display is where I'd think to point the finger first. Sure, it lowers the brightness considerably, but there's still some kind of static image there which is where you tend to find OLED burn-in happening. That said, having it happen this soon after launch seems strange. When RTINGS did their initial OLED burn-in test, they really had to abuse the TVs used for their testing by doing things like turning the brightness up all the way and put it on some cable news network where you have that ever-present chyron. Even then it took a few months for the burn-in to start to become noticeable.
So, I'd probably call this one a combo of some displays that are just more prone to burn-in than most because of differences in quality, coupled with the decision to default the display to always being on. It might be made worse if people go in and crank the brightness up all the way. It should be considered a manufacturing defect under the warranty, though knowing Apple, they'll blame it on the user until someone files a class action lawsuit over it. Then they'll probably quietly settle and set up a repair program that will cover it even for devices that may be out of warranty. At least for a time.
Bootnote: I lost count of how many of the old white plastic Macbooks I replaced the display panel on when I worked as an Apple hardware repair tech. They had a repair program because the displays would occasionally fade to white and become unresponsive until you rebooted the computer. One time it gave me an excuse to sit and watch an entire movie, because a customer sent in a unit complaining about that issue, but damned if I could replicate it. Usually stressing things with the diagnostics would be enough, but that one just refused to cooperate, even though I knew exactly what the owner was complaining about because I'd seen it so many times before. Might be that they were just aware of the issue and wanted to get their display replaced, hoping I wouldn't check it.
But it's made with Titanium!
I'm waiting for the one made with Adamantite before I take the plunge.
Re: But it's made with Titanium!
Everyone knows that Mythril is the superior metal. Even Orichalcum is better than Adamantite!
RE. Re. But it's made with Titanium!
Judging by how expensive the iPhone 15 is, I am absolutely sure that they contacted Asgard Supreme Commander, Thor, and had alien metals included in the design.
Latest science news, it seems that 33 Polyhymnia may contain elements that up until now have only existed in science fiction with a Z of 164 or higher.
Someone's almost certainly getting the Nobel Prize if the existence of these elements is actually discovered in meteorites, though it would be exceedingly unlikely
they may exist near the surface of the Moon, just under the surface where mass concentrations (mascons) exist.
I have a standing bet with some physicists that at least one ultra-superheavy element may be superconductive at or near room temperature, in combination with more
ordinary elements.
Because if you're going to travel to the stars, having abundant high Tc and high Jc materials is a good starting point to build a drive with.
More down to earth it seems, deuterium is the magic sauce in at least one prototype OLED display as it emits brighter light without degrading as quickly due to that
extra neutron improving the quantum transition that makes OLEDs emit light. Google "spin triplets" ...
I still say that if Atlantis rises from the waves in peacetime, we should call the first such element "Naquadah" or "Laforgium" or something similar.
the iDud ?
We flog mobile phone accessories, and to say the iPhone 15 launch has been a damp squib would be a disservice to damp squibs everywhere. The graphs tell the story. Similar really to the S23 offering.
Now the Pixel 8 on the other hand ....