What is True Tone?
Modern MacBooks and iMacs feature a technology called “True Tone.” This system utilizes advanced ambient light sensors built into the bezel of your screen. Instead of just measuring how bright the room is, True Tone measures the color temperature of the ambient light. It then automatically adjusts the color profile of your display on the fly to match the room.
If you are sitting under harsh, blue fluorescent office lights, the screen will shift cooler. If you are sitting by a warm, orange fireplace, the screen will shift warmer. While this reduces eye strain for reading text, it is completely unacceptable for professionals who require strict color accuracy, such as photographers, graphic designers, or video editors. If you are color grading, the screen constantly changing its white balance ruins your work. You must disable this feature to ensure a static, accurate color profile.
How to Disable True Tone on a Mac
You can turn off the True Tone sensors in the Displays settings.
- Click the Apple Logo in the top-left corner of your Mac’s screen.
- Select System Settings… (or System Preferences on older versions of macOS).
- In the left-hand sidebar, scroll down and click on Displays.
- In the main window, look for the section labelled “Brightness.”
- You will see a toggle switch (or a checkbox) labelled True Tone.
- Toggle the switch to the Off position.
As soon as you disable this feature, you will instantly see your screen snap back to its true, calibrated, static color profile. It will no longer shift its color temperature regardless of the lighting environment you are working in.