Early iPhone 18 Pro owners report green and red display lines
Scattered launch-week posts show vertical lines on new screens, with at least two owners saying their phones were replaced.
By Ryan Merket · Published
Primary source: X
Why it matters
The reports surfaced within three days of a global launch. Buyers have warranty and return options, while the available cases remain too limited to show a systemic defect.
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro reached stores on September 18th. Three days later, early owners are posting videos of new phones with bright vertical lines running through their displays.
https://x.com/kenw_2/status/2101966093145260369
Ken W (@kenw_2) collected several of the reports in a thread on X on September 21st. The footage shows a full-height pink or red line on one powered-on iPhone and references other cases involving green lines. Ken W said reports had surfaced in China and overseas, and that the owner in the first case contacted Apple support and secured a replacement.
The posts establish that multiple buyers have complained about similar symptoms during the first weekend of sales. They do not establish a common cause, the number of affected phones or a defect rate across Apple's shipments. The available footage also cannot determine whether each case stems from the OLED panel, another display component or software.
That distinction matters this early in a hardware launch. A few faulty units can circulate widely online without indicating a production-wide failure, particularly for a device released across dozens of markets on the same day. Apple said the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max became available on September 18th in more than 65 countries and regions, including the US, China and India.
Similar complaints are appearing elsewhere
An India-focused forum post published on launch day showed an iPhone 18 Pro with a green display problem. The poster later said the store initially directed the owner to a service center before replacing the device. The account came through an acquaintance and has not been independently diagnosed in public.
Another owner posted an image of a vertical green line that they said appeared while scrolling. Commenters challenged the image because parts of the line appeared faint around white interface elements. The owner maintained that an Apple technician examined the phone, identified a hardware issue and provided a replacement under the standard warranty. The owner also posted what appeared to be an updated Apple Store order after the exchange.
Those accounts offer corroboration for the symptom and for Apple's replacement process. They still amount to individual customer reports rather than evidence that the iPhone 18 Pro display has a systemic quality-control problem. No public data in the posts identifies production batches, serial-number ranges, factories or display suppliers shared by the affected devices.
Ken W's use of the broader "iPhone 18 series" label also deserves precision. Apple's September release covers the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the phones visible in the collected material appear to belong to that Pro lineup. The reports do not provide evidence covering an additional base iPhone 18 model.
The standard warranty should cover manufacturing faults
Buyers do not need a paid AppleCare+ plan for a confirmed manufacturing defect. Apple's iPhone repair guidance says its limited warranty covers manufacturing issues for one year from the purchase date, while excluding accidental damage and normal battery wear. The final service decision depends on Apple's inspection and local consumer law.
US customers who bought directly from Apple also have a separate 14-calendar-day return window beginning when the device was received. Phones bought from carriers or other retailers are governed by those sellers' return policies. Apple says exchanges at its US stores depend on local inventory.
That makes documentation important for anyone who encounters the symptom. A photo or video taken with another device can preserve the visible line, while a screenshot may only capture what the operating system rendered rather than a physical display failure. Buyers should also retain the receipt and avoid third-party repair work before Apple or the original retailer inspects a launch-week device.
The timing gives affected owners a relatively direct route to an exchange. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 in the US, and the Pro Max starts at $1,299. At those prices, Apple's first obligation is straightforward: determine whether each display failed in normal use and replace confirmed defective units. The wider quality question requires evidence that the first weekend's social posts do not yet provide.