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Colourwrks
Colourwrks
Known Participant
February 19, 2024
Answered

Colour of Image changing during AirDrop from Macbook to Iphone Pro (Tint Shift)

  • February 19, 2024
  • 9 replies
  • 4138 views

Hello,

 

I am experiencing a very annoying colour shift in my photos after Airdropping them from my Apple Macbook (Air 2023) to my Apple Iphone 14 Pro.

 

After playing around it seems there is a colour tint shift towards a green tint. Adding some Magenta back into the image using the in-Iphone Image Editor brings it someway back but its still not perfect. There could be slight shift in White Balance too.

 

To be specific I am working with 16-Bit files in Photoshop on Macbook Air with colour profile: LCD. I am exporting at PNG24 or JPEG 100% (Tried both) with both colour space settings "Convert to SRGB" and "Embed Colour Profile" ticked. Airdropping to Iphone 14 Pro.

 

On both Mac and Iphone I have True Tone and Auto-Brightness turned off.

 

Thinking its an export or colour space issue i tried searching online and found to my amazement this topic has been raised hundreds of times across various platforms (Apple Community, Adobe Community, Photoshop Community) yet no community specialist has provided an answer or solution to the problem.

 

In most cases the question is left ignored and unanswered.

 

Examples:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255074722?sortBy=best

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253704147?login=true&sortBy=best

https://www.reddit.com/r/videography/comments/15g5zr3/davinci_resolve_color_shift_when_airdropped_to/

 

Its incredibly frustrating as ultimately the image I post online is not an accurate reflection of the image I am working with in Photoshop. I just cannot accept this huge shift in colour.

 

Hoping I can find answers to my questions here? 

 

Thank You.
Tom

    Correct answer DaveWSPhotography
    Feeling quite stupid after doing some research and realising I had ‘True Tone’ activated on my iPhone which alters the colour of images depending on the ambient lighting in the room…

    Problem solved.

    Thanks for your help though, I had considered that process.

    Dave

    9 replies

    R
    reid_3125
    Known Participant
    October 23, 2025

    I am having the same problem right now. Please let me know if there are any answers.

    D
    DaveWSPhotography
    Participating Frequently
    October 23, 2025

    Like I mentioned previously check your 'True Tone' setting.

     
    Can also try to manually go into your phone colour settings and change the tone to make it look right. As on my partners phone viewing the image appeared correct. It’s a setting in the Accessibility menu if I remember correct, google it.
     
    Hope that helps. 
     
     
    T
    tina.ma.z
    Participant
    March 24, 2025

    I've spent about 10+ hours with Apple and finally got someone to see what I saw and they basically said they have no idea how to fix it. He was able to remote in on my iPhone and Mac and can see my images desaturated when I airdrop. It's not a colorspace issue, True Tone, night shift, file size or any other reason mentioned above. When I airdrop the image back to my Mac the colors are correct again. He said unfortunately he thinks my fix might not be until the next iOS update which is in April. I turned off auto update on all devices. It appears to be Apple display issue imo. 

    NB, colourmanagement
    Community Expert
    NB, colourmanagementCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    March 24, 2025

    @tina.ma.z "it's not a colorspace issue"

    you'd not believe the number if times I've heard that said or seen it written.

    did you try the tests we suggested? 

     

    I hope this helps

    neil barstow colourmanagement - adobe forum volunteer,

    colourmanagement consultant & co-author of 'getting colour right'

    See my free articles on colourmanagement online

    Help others by clicking "Correct Answer" if the question is answered.

    Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here. "Upvote" is for useful posts

     

     

     

    T
    tina.ma.z
    Participant
    March 25, 2025

    Yes I know how to correctly save and check my images they are all correct, I can see you want to have a fix but repeating the same information isn't it. 

    T
    tina.ma.z
    Participant
    March 19, 2025

    Did you ever find an answer? I'm having this issue, never had it before and I just spent an hour on chat with Apple - no resolution yet. I regret updating my mac. 

    D
    DaveWSPhotography
    Participating Frequently
    March 24, 2025

    Hi, try looking at your phone to see if you have 'Truetone' or similar activated on your device. This feature alters the temperature appearance of your phone screen depending on the light conditions you are in. 

    I was able to edit this feature on my phone to replicate the same colours I was seeing on my MacBook and stop it from changing. This solved my issues.

     

    since then I have upgraded to a new MacBook and iPhone, and not had the same issue since, without having to change anything. 

    Hope this helps!

    Stephen Marsh
    Community Expert
    Stephen MarshCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 20, 2024

    So not a Photoshop issue.

     

    Use an action to place one or more colour samplers at specific co-ordinates.

     

    Make note of the RGB values for each sampler.

     

    Air drop to the phone.

     

    Air drop back to the Mac.

     

    Open in Photoshop, use the action to re-add the samplers (which may or may not be lost), compare the colour values to the original values noted.

     

    Have the RGB values changed, or is this just a display issue?

     

    D
    DaveWSPhotographyCorrect answer
    Participating Frequently
    July 21, 2024
    Feeling quite stupid after doing some research and realising I had ‘True Tone’ activated on my iPhone which alters the colour of images depending on the ambient lighting in the room…

    Problem solved.

    Thanks for your help though, I had considered that process.

    Dave
      Stephen Marsh
      Community Expert
      Stephen MarshCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      July 21, 2024

      Glad you sorted it out @DaveWSPhotography - I have marked your reply as a correct answer.

      D
      DaveWSPhotography
      Participating Frequently
      July 20, 2024

      I am getting the exact same issue! To my Iphone 11, but literally exactly the same. And its not something that has happened before? Did you manage to find a explanation? 

      Colourwrks
      ColourwrksAuthor
      Known Participant
      February 19, 2024

      The problem for me is airdropping from Macbook to Iphone. The file wont be impacted during the Airdrop (I assume) so it seem the tint shift happens when viewing on an iphone.

      Does anyone know the colour space or colour management settings for the Iphone? My answer is probably there.

      Colourwrks
      ColourwrksAuthor
      Known Participant
      February 19, 2024

      This is the same image after airdropping to Iphone 14 Pro

       

      Colourwrks
      ColourwrksAuthor
      Known Participant
      February 19, 2024

      This is the image on my Macbook using Image Preview.

       

      Colourwrks
      ColourwrksAuthor
      Known Participant
      February 19, 2024

      It seems adding around +30/35 Tint (towards Magenta) and -10/15 White Balance (towards Blue) using the inbuilt image editor in the Iphone Photo App brings the image back closer to the image displayed in both Photoshop and on my Macbook screen after exporting.

      So the colour shift is happening during the Airdrop.  Any thoughts?

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