iPhone 11 users are being taunted by green screen tint

iPhone 11 Pro
(Image credit: Future)

Does your iPhone 11 screen seem a bit greener than usual? A strange new bug has been reported on Reddit and in internet forums which suggests Apple may have accidentally introduced a new problem in a recent software update.

Owners of recent iPhones — predominantly the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro handsets, but with isolated reports of X and Xs models too —  have been dealing with a brief flash of green tint across their displays, typically after unlocking following a period where the phone has been left idling. 

Unlike a similar scenario with OnePlus 8 handsets, the problem fixes itself almost immediately, but understandably owners are concerned that this might be an early warning sign of a display on its last legs. 

Given the sheer number of people chiming in, it sounds likely that the cause is less severe than that, especially as it seems screen-type agnostic, affecting both OLED and LCD displays equally. Tellingly, the problem only appears to have reared its ugly, green head since the introduction of iOS 13.4.1 which makes it almost certainly a software issue.

The move to 13.5 has been a mixed blessing for sufferers, with some claiming that updating to 13.5.1 “helped a tiny bit”, while others believe it to have become more prominent with the patch. “On 13.5 it feels like it stays there for a longer period, so that’s maybe why more people noticed it,” one affected user said, noting that it used to vanish in half a second, but now takes ten times that to disappear.

Hopefully that means that the bug is something which Apple can easily patch in a software update, but given iOS version 13.5.5 is being tested right now, you wouldn’t bank on it being included, unless the company was previously aware of the bug. 

Given the widespread recognition of the problem on Reddit and elsewhere, you would hope Apple is aware of it now, even if it wasn’t before. 

Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.