iPhone 3G Display Color Warmer by Design
To set the record straight, I talked to Apple’s senior director of iPhone product marketing, Bob Borchers. Borchers indicated that this definitely isn’t a bug or a display defect. Yes, the display on the iPhone 3G has a warmer look—and that’s by design. The previous iPhone’s white was more of a cool blue (Borchers likened it to harsh fluorescent lighting), while this one’s is warmer and more of a sunny yellow.
I like the old color better. It’s true that it’s “more blue,” but I don’t think it really looks bluish. To my eyes, the whites look white, whereas the iPhone 3G looks like a dirty yellow. The original iPhone screen looks very good, even at low brightness levels.
AppleInsider has more photos.
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Clint: Thanks for the link. Have you compared the 5A347 to the original iPhones? I wonder whether Borchers is wrong, or whether Apple intended to make a much more subtle change.
Unfortunately I don't have access to any iPhones running the 1.0 firmware :( I'm hoping that one of our readers will be able to compare for us.
John Gruber says, “Whatever is causing this variation — my guess is slightly different screen components — isn’t related to versions 5A345 and 5A347 of the OS.”
It's really weird though. Only the shipping firmware (5A345) has the yellow tinge. If you "restore" your iPhone through iTunes, you get a new firmware 5A347 with less yellow. It's real weird. Check out my post on Ars Technica about this story:
http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/07/13/tip-updating-iphone-to-3a347-reduces-yellow-tinge