iLounge

1

So I just purchased an iPhone 3G and it’s activated with AT&T.  I plugged it in and swiped to turn enable the interface.  Then I noticed how ugly a yellow the screen appeared.  I compared it to my original iPhone and sure enough I wasn’t seeings things that don’t exist.  Then I researched and found this article.  I picked up the new iPhone and swiped but guess what?  It is now brighter and not yellow tinted!  How bizarre…

Posted by Stephen Stetler on July 11, 2008 at 11:58 AM (PDT)

2

Upping the brightness a tad (about 20% above normal) makes quite a difference to the yellowness.

To be honest, I always felt the original iPhone screen to be tad cold, now the 3G is a tad warm. I’m sure new users to the iPhone platform will find the screen more than adequate.

It my tests the colours are stronger, but there is slightly less detail in shadow areas.

Posted by James Burland on July 11, 2008 at 1:04 PM (PDT)

3

If I remember rightly Nintendo had a minor problem with Gameboy Advance SP’s when they were first released, a small number had faint to noticeable yellow tints, they were simply replaced at the point of sale… If its that bad then I’d get onto Apple! !

Posted by DiGi-C on July 11, 2008 at 1:54 PM (PDT)

4

There is a fix posted in the MacRumors forums, just use the restore feature in iTunes (make sure it is working and fully sync’d first) and it will reload the latest firmware (yours ends in a 5, the latest ends in a 7) and it should fix the yellow tint issue.

Posted by Dan G on July 11, 2008 at 3:28 PM (PDT)

5

Nice one Dan! I’m just trying it now…

Thanks for the heads-up!

Posted by James Burland on July 11, 2008 at 4:11 PM (PDT)

6

Dan, I just restored it like you said and i still have the “01.45.00” firmware. am i missing something?

Posted by matt on July 11, 2008 at 7:58 PM (PDT)

7

im confused isn’t the new firmware 2.0 not a 1.45…?

Posted by michael on July 11, 2008 at 8:04 PM (PDT)

8

no michael, new SOFTWARE is 2.0. FIRMWARE is “01.45.00” (at least in the packaged 3Gs like mine) but Dan is saying there is a “01.47.00” out that fixes the tint

Posted by matt on July 11, 2008 at 8:31 PM (PDT)

9

im going to try it now. Does it completely make it like the old iphone? and if it doesn’t can apple make a firmware that does? i dont think they will need to recall iphones like they did ipod touches, because isn’t this just a color balance not the screen.

Posted by Michael on July 11, 2008 at 9:04 PM (PDT)

10

I don’t think restoring the phone is going to fix the yellow screen problem. The is a SCREEN issue not a software issue.

Posted by Chris Boe on July 11, 2008 at 10:08 PM (PDT)

11

01.45.00 is the modem firmware, he’s talking about the software version.  The new 3G phones shipped with 5A345, but the ‘official’ 2.0 that Apple released yesterday is 5A347. 

Mine has tiny tiny tinge to it, but personally I think it makes the screen more vibrant.

Posted by Jay P on July 12, 2008 at 5:12 AM (PDT)

12

the restore worked for me

Posted by Joe on July 12, 2008 at 8:08 AM (PDT)

13

I did the restore, and while I do notice a difference, I would say that the 3G now seems brighter, and it is the first-gen that looks like its colors are off…

I am comparing them at full brightness, with Auto-Brightness turned off…

Posted by Christo on July 12, 2008 at 11:57 AM (PDT)

14

Just to clear some things up.

Re-Restoring the 3G iPhone 2.0 software has done nothing for me and many iPhone 3G users, the yellow tinted screen, remains.

It is unknown whether a future software update fix from Apple can correct this or it is an iPhone 3G screen imperfection that must be replaced by Apple.

Next to my original iPhone it is extremely yellow.

It may not bother some but it does bother me, yellow tinting on any new device display or LCD is not normal and just plain ugly.

Posted by macguitarman on July 12, 2008 at 3:10 PM (PDT)

15

Look at the Mac Rumor sites like appleinsider! The yellow tint is intended. An Apple spokesperson said, that the shift from the blue-biased LCD of the original iPhone to the yellow tint isn’t an accident and produces more accurate colors most of the time, registers deeper blacks, and makes the resulting image appear crisper.

Posted by mkoehler on July 12, 2008 at 3:41 PM (PDT)

16

I’d be interested to know who the people are who can tell a difference. If they are all owners of the 1st gen iPhone (or who at least had access to one for comparison), what’s to say that the “yellow-tinted” iPhone is a mistake? Maybe it’s actually a correction for the blue-tinted 1st gen iPhone. Perhaps it appears yellow-tinted because you got used to the blue tint of the first one, and what appears to be yellow-tinted is actually correct.

My iPhone out of the box (Version 5A345) looks great, but I don’t have a 1st gen iPhone around for comparison.

Posted by Jason on July 12, 2008 at 7:47 PM (PDT)

17

^I agree with u and who is to say a firmware can’t come and give us option to fix it

Posted by michael on July 13, 2008 at 8:02 AM (PDT)

18

It’s a different color temperature. For example, Macs use a warmer color temp than PCs. Macs use 6500Kelvins while PCs use 9500Kelvins. The warmer color temp is more photorealistic. I’m sure if people complain enough, Apple could create a toggle in the Prefs allowing people to switch between the warmer screen or the cooler one.

If you have adjusted a LCD monitor, or projector or HDTV, you’ll know exactly what is going on.

Posted by KenC on July 13, 2008 at 2:26 PM (PDT)

19

I have an iPod touch and just got an iPhone 3G. The 3G is indeed substantially warmer. But I think it’s much closer to neutral than the iPod touch screen.

I think the iPod touch and original iPhone were too cool, as are most computer monitors by default. If you use calibrated monitors all day and then use other people’s computers you feel like you’ve stumbled into a zone of blueness, and I feel the same way when using my iPod touch.

So live with the iPhone 3G for a few days and see if you still think it’s yellow, or if your original iPhone now seems blue.

Posted by dal20402 on July 13, 2008 at 3:42 PM (PDT)

20

Anyone an idea what type of components are used for the touchscreen? Is the touchscreeb still TPK/BALDA?

Posted by GEEK on July 14, 2008 at 1:41 AM (PDT)