There have been quite a few complaints from users of the new iPhone 3G since it was released on Friday. The new iPhone 3G users believe that their screens are defective as they have noticed a "yellowish" hue when compared with the original iPhone which had a cooler blue tint.
Apple’s senior director of iPhone product marketing, Bob Borchers has clarified that this is by design and not a display defect.
If you were oblivious of the issue, then you are not to blame as the yellowish hue is pretty minor. You will only notice the difference in color if you hold the two iPhones side by side as seen in the screenshot below of a first generation iPhone on the left and iPhone 3G on the right; the screen on the original iPhone is distinctly bluer.

Bob Borchers has clarified that this definitely isn’t a bug or a display defect and that the display on the iPhone 3G has a warmer look and that’s by design.
The good folks at Wireless Info tested the screens using a CS-200 chroma meter (which is a professional chroma meter that can analyze the brightness and color of a screen) and Erica Sadun's Light application (a native iPhone app that turns the screen brightness to full and shows a pure white screen that turns your iPhone into a flashlight).
They observed that the new iPhone’s color temperature is between 6800 and 7300 Kelvins, compared with a color temperature of about 8300K on the first-generation phone. The tests also confirmed that the new iPhone 3G screens are significantly brighter than the original iPhone.
As per Borchers, Apple engineers have moved the white point in order to make [the display feel] more natural, so that consumers can appreciate warmer images, especially when viewing photos.
You can change the color temperature on your computer, however its not customizable on the iPhone as of now. Borchers did suggest that Apple may make the adjustment available in a future software update if demand is high, although there are no plans to do so.
Apple seems to have done the right thing here, as experts believe that the yellowish hue gives more natural colors, but it might take iPhone owners some getting used to, especially those who have used the original iPhone and are accustomed to more bluish, glaring tones.
It will be great to know what you think?
[via Macworld & Wireless Info]
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hue wanna know something… I'd like to know where the extra battery life is…Am on the train right now using my Solio Classic Solar charger to juice up my iPhone which is a lemon… I really don't see a difference with 3G speed because I don't get it where I live…but I love the movie app n the live news video feeds….I lowered my brightness n turned off 3 G to conserve energy…I don't see hue problems right now…but will let hue know later…I have noticed some delay when returning to home screen..ocassional temp black screen with white dot in the middle…hue know what I mean…
It's definitely a warmer color than my 6/07 8gb iPhone, and a bit warmer than my 2/08 16gb iPhone, but after a couple of days, it doesn't seem as warm/yellow.
I've heard some say it's something to do with burning in or burning off something from the manufacturing process, but I suspect it's really just that you get used to it after a couple of days.
I'm doing the restore to a later build of the firmware thing mentioned on other sites right now, but not to address the screen; I am hoping it will stop some of this constant crashing App Store apps like AIM and Weatherbug are giving me.
This screen color bites it HARD!!!
Psssst…….all you highly educated apple people…
IF IT AIN'T BROKE DON'T FIX IT!!!
I thought I had malaria all weekend and my vision was turning vomit brown. Screw your "warm" we WANT OUR COOL BLUE!!!
Hey Jeesh,
This one is for you:
http://www.iphonehacks.com/2008/07/3g-yellow-scree.html
cheers!
The warmer color isn't much of a problem when viewing the main screens, pictures and apps, but there is a much noticeable difference when you are watching movies. The picture doesn't look near as crisp and the "warmer" color gives movies too dark of a tint. I watch a ton of movies on my iPhone while I travel and this is a major complaint of mine. I would sacrifice blue pictures for a better video viewing experience. Maybe it's just me?
To Bob Borcher:
(Anyone having the possibility to forward this to Bob should please do so!!!)
Me and millions of others rather prefer to have 8300 Kelvin color temperature on the iPhone 3G, because white is then white and gray is gray; at the moment, e.g. gray colors like a green-gray mold (würg).
So PLEASE deliver urgently an update/patch where I find an adequate menu entry under "Settings" to select color temperature manually between 6800K…8300K.
MANY THANKS!
I am really wondering, why things this is not already part of "Settings" menu.
Regards,
Roland
I'm a director of photography and I use my Iphone to show professional videos or pictures. Please mister Borcher, give us a setting possibility for the color temperature of the screen.
The yellowish screen is stupid!!!