PSA: The iPhone 12 line has been out for a few weeks now, which means it's time for the bugs to start popping up. Among the first complaints is something that is being referred to as a "screen defect." However, it may be a fixable software glitch, so don't ask for a refund just yet.
Some iPhone 12 users on Apple's support forums have complained of a gray or greenish hue on their screens under certain lighting conditions. The problem appears to occur when the display's brightness is under 90 percent. At these lower settings, dark screens take on a gray/green glow instead of being pitch black (below).
Some users have been returning and exchanging their brand new phones only to find that the replacement has the same issue. This behavior led some to believe that it may be a device-wide display failure. However, MacRumors obtained an internal memo indicating that Apple doesn't think it is hardware related at all.
Startup screen fully green (left), app screen at low brightness (middle), same app with high brightness (right).
According to the document issued to all Apple Authorized Service Providers, Cupertino said it was well aware of the problem and was working on a fix. The company advised techs not to conduct device exchanges over the issue. Instead, they are told to inform the customer to make sure iOS is always up-to-date.
Apple did not explicitly state that it was a software problem, but its advice indicates that it is iOS related. Indeed, the iPhone 11 suffered from a similar issue back in June, which Apple fixed with a patch in iOS version 13.6.1.
So if your iPhone 12 is hulking out on you, be patient and make sure you keep iOS updated, and the problem will likely go away soon.