Skip to main content
To see the picture the way it was graded, your screen has to show it neutrally. iPhone, iPad and Mac adjust colour and brightness on their own out of the box: True Tone shifts the colour temperature to match the room light, Night Shift warms the picture, and auto-brightness keeps adjusting. That is pleasant for everyday use. In a colour review it means you see a different picture than we do. You change this once, in a few minutes. After the review you can turn everything back on.
Turn off everything that adjusts colour or brightness automatically while you review.

​
Set up your device

The numbers in the pictures match the steps below them.
1

Turn off True Tone and Night Shift

Open Settings › Display & Brightness. Turn off True Tone (1). Tap Night Shift and turn off Scheduled there (2). Set a comfortable brightness and leave it there for the whole review.
Illustration: Display & Brightness with True Tone turned off and Night Shift set to Off
2

Turn off colour filters and auto-brightness

Open Settings › Accessibility › Display & Text Size. Check that Color Filters are off (1) and Reduce White Point is off (2). Turn off Auto-Brightness (3).
Illustration: Display & Text Size with Color Filters, Reduce White Point and Auto-Brightness off
3

iPad Pro: turn on Reference Mode

The iPad Pro with M4 and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (5th and 6th generation) have a Reference Mode. Open Settings › Display & Brightness › Advanced and turn on Reference Mode (1). It targets a D65 white point and turns off True Tone, Night Shift and auto-brightness for you.
Illustration: the iPad Advanced display setting with Reference Mode turned on
Turn on Do Not Disturb so no notifications land on the picture, and plug the device in. Low Power Mode dims the display.

​
Set up your room

Your eyes keep adapting to what surrounds them. A colourful wall, warm lamp light or a bright window is enough to make colours look different.
Illustration: a screen with a bias light in front of a neutral wall, dim room light and a viewer looking straight at it at eye level
  1. A neutral white bias light behind the screen, about 6500 K (D65), rests your eyes and keeps your sense of colour steady.
  2. Keep your field of view neutral: matte grey or white surfaces, no strong colours on walls or clothing, no reflections.
  3. Keep the light dim and steady. Direct sun or a window behind you changes over the day.
  4. Look straight at the display, at eye level. On iPhone and iPad, colours shift as soon as you look at the screen at a slight angle.

​
Quick check before every review

  • True Tone off, on iPhone, iPad and Mac
  • Night Shift off, including its schedule
  • Auto-brightness off, brightness steady
  • Color Filters and Reduce White Point off (iPhone and iPad)
  • iPad Pro in Reference Mode, Mac with XDR display on a reference preset
  • Do Not Disturb on, device plugged in
  • Picture in full screen
  • Room dim and neutral, looking straight at the screen

This guide as a PDF

To print or forward to everyone who reviews with you.