The demand for Apple’s iPhone 4S has been extremely strong, with Apple reporting that it has sold 4 million of the phones so far. But it hasn’t been an entirely smooth launch.
Some users are reporting that they’re seeing a troublesome issue with the screen of the iPhone 4S: a pervading yellow tint. Not every user is seeing the issue – it’s not as prevalent as the antenna issue that marred the launch of the iPhone 4 – but it has been fairly widely reported among customers.
Cult of Mac has some photos that show off the differences in screen color between the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S, which demonstrate the issue pretty well. The yellow banding appears intermittently or throughout the whole screen, and while it seems like a manufacturing defect, it might not be all that bad.
Remember the launch of the white iPhone 4? When that phone hit the market, there were reports of a similar yellow screen issue with that device as well. It didn’t turn into a disaster then, and that might be because the issue will solve itself after a few days.
According to the SlashGear story from June, it’s possible that that yellow discoloration will just go away on its own. It might be that the adhesive used to put together the touchscreen that users are seeing. Here’s a quote from the SlashGear story:
That’s one suggestion today; buried in the discussion over at Apple Insider, one source claims the discoloration is down to the adhesive used to bond the layers of glass in the screen together. That adhesive – Organofunctional Silane Z-6011 – requires a period of drying time post-application; the source suggests that Apple – or their manufacturing partners – rushed through that process and that the blotches should disappear after a few days of use.
It seems pretty likely that the color tone difference between the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 4 could be the result of manufacturers rushing to ship the phones to meet high demand. We’ve already heard rumors that Apple is upping its orders of iPhone 4S units because they’re selling so fast, with the first million units going out within 24 hours of their being available for pre-order.
If the trouble is the adhesive, it should just evaporate off and the tinting issue will go away on its own. It’s probably advisable that you still contact Apple support with your issue just to be on the safe side, but especially with the screen running, the iPhone 4S may clear up on its own within a few days. If it doesn’t, though, it’s possible Apple could have another big iPhone “scandal” on its hands.
