iPhone 15 Pro Max OLED burn-in reports on the rise — what to do if yours is affected

They may be Apple’s best iPhones ever, but the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max launches haven’t been completely smooth sailing.

First, there were reports of the handsets overheating — an issue Apple addressed with an iOS 17 update — and now some iPhone 15 Pro Max users are reporting concerns of screen burn-in with Apple’s largest phone.

A number of owners on Reddit and Apple’s own community forums are sharing images of the handset with clear image retention, with elements of the user interface appearing as ghostly shadows when the screen is left to display solid, light-shaded colors.

Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro Max is reportedly experiencing screen burn-in issues, adding to a growing list of problems for the company this year.#iPhone15Series #iphone15pro #Apple pic.twitter.com/HDsQ0iccHwOctober 11, 2023

The images show remnants of Home Screen icons and keyboards, while one user even claimed to have seen a YouTube thumbnail partially retained. The iPhone 15 Pro Max makes use of an OLED display, a screen technology that has previously been prone to image burn-in, but advancements in the tech and safeguards to avoid the problem have seen it mostly eradicated in recent years in both phones and TVs. It’s been suggested that the high temperatures that some iPhone 15 Pro Max handsets experienced at launch before the iOS 17 fix may have exacerbated the problem.

What to do if you experience the problem

While the issue does not appear to be widespread, and reports of burn-in on the iPhone 15 Pro Max at this stage remain rare, there are some simple steps to take to get help if you do experience it.

Your first step is to contact the official Apple support page, or to make a booking at Apple’s in-store Genius Bar, where the company’s experts can troubleshoot the problem. If the issue is deemed to be a hardware fault, you’re well within the one-year limited warranty that Apple offers with its new devices in the US.

If there is an issue with Apple’s OLED displays, it’ll be a problem Apple will want to address as quickly as possible. It’s expected to be on the cusp of launching a whole new range of OLED-equipped iPads, and won’t want to see similar issues extend to other parts of its product range.