Mr. Cook (or to whomever this meets),
I purchased my first Apple product around two years ago. Admittedly, I was skeptical that the premium price of my new 15” Retina Macbook Pro was warranted. One can attain a functioning computer for much less, after all.
As I actually began to use the machine, my skepticism was immediately disbanded. My Macbook quickly established itself as the best computer I had ever owned. The stellar in-store experience, powerful unix-underpinned operating system, and overall attention to design was refreshing coming from a Windows world.
Now I am not one to get emotional about such things, but I felt good about the Apple brand. In fact, I genuinely believed that Apple would be the sole provider my of computing needs for some time to come.
After owning the machine for several months, a large cluster of dead pixels appeared in center of the display. A local certified technician acknowledged the problem immediately, said he could replace the display in two days, and — best of all — informed me that it was completely covered by Apple Care.
Sure enough, I had a shiny, half-new computer back into my hands in almost no time at all. I was extremely impressed by this experience. There were no visible scars left from the repair, and the work was completed so quickly I didn’t miss any schoolwork. In addition, my charging brick was replaced when I mentioned that it had started to fray. I couldn’t have dreamed of such great customer service.
Fast forward more than a year of happy ownership. I decided to take my machine to a (different) technician to tighten up the loosening display hinges; the computer was otherwise functioning perfectly. Surprisingly, I was informed that the entire clamshell assembly needed to be replaced a second time. Again, my machine was returned to me very quickly, and my experience with the technicians was fantastic.
When I opened the machine up, however, I noticed that display had a very noticeable yellow tint. At first, I dismissed this annoyance as a natural variation caused by the current state of LCD manufacturing technology. Everyone can't expect an absolutely perfect yield, after all.
The issue kept nagging me, so I took the machine to my summer workplace to compare with other 2012 and 2013 Retina Macbook Pros. Side by side, the difference in tint was garish. The distinction was so great, in fact, that I could no longer accept the issue as a natural variation. In addition, the difference could not be rectified as two ends on some spectrum of personal preference (be it "warm" or “cool”). The color reproduction on my display — no matter the calibration effort — was just not at good.
I concluded that I had received a fluke, and called Apple Tech Support to speak to someone about it. Again, I was treated exceptionally well on the phone, and in about about a week’s time my Macbook had received its third clamshell display via a mail-in repair request.
To my repeated dismay, this third (and current) display also exhibited the same yellow tint. As the odds of receiving two “flukes” in any large scale manufacturing process are small, I took the internet in search of others who had experienced a similar issue.
I was shocked by the amount of customers who had screens that looked the same as mine. This Apple Support Community thread, in particular, has nearly 1.4 million views and approximately 10,000 posts (several thousand are likely unique). Inside, individuals have reported image retention and yellow tint issues. The lack of quality control is so great that the process of swapping machines/displays in hopes to get a good one has been comically dubbed the “Display Lottery.” Even now, almost two years since the launch of the “retina" Macbook Pros, the issue still persists.
Superficially, I am frustrated because this yellow tinted display is not the display that I agreed to purchase on the display floor two years ago. The near perfect displays on the floor models, after all, were the main reason I purchased the machine over cheaper, non Apple options. In addition, the retina display is the focal point of Apple’s advertising campaign for the machine. From the product page:
The Retina display reduces glare while maintaining incredible color and quality. Its high contrast ratio results in blacker blacks and whiter whites. And everything in between is rich and vibrant. IPS technology gives you a wide, 178-degree view of everything on the screen, so you’ll see the difference at practically any angle. And you’re going to love what you see.
I understand that somewhat-hyperbolic, nebulous language is the nature of advertising, but I would expect to at least be happy with a display that is described in that manner. And I don’t think that expectation is unfair.
On a more personal level, I feel betrayed by the company. It is ludicrous to suggest that leadership isn't aware of these quality control issues. Apple, after all, has the market presence to hire only best and brightest in the industry to manage such things. Yet, as of the time of this writing, there has been no official statement from the company acknowledging anything. I could even be sympathetic to such manufacturing struggles were they admitted — the pixel density and relatively large size of these displays is most certainly pushing the current boundaries of LCD technology. My main issue is that these problems, it seems to me, are being hidden under that guise that all panels pass “Apple Specifications.”
There is a clear discrepancy between he marketed and actual quality of a significant portion of these displays, and it seems that complaints have thus far been met with hand-waiving and denial. I could continue to swap displays like others have done, but I simply don’t have the time to commit to ongoing repair requests. And more importantly, I shouldn’t even have to.
Perhaps the company might be able to do something for me, perhaps not. I still have some faith left in the industry-leading customer service that Apple provides. The principal purpose of this letter, however, is to better illuminate the frustration of other consumers in a similar situation as myself. I am certain that this issue will contract your customer base. Whether or not that contraction is significant enough to address is up to you.
No, it probably won’t affect the bottom line. But it does, to me and many others, erode the excellent reputation that Apple possess as the most valuable company in the world.
Regards,
Ben
mittense
Level 1
(1 points)
aut0maticdan
