iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) Apparent Spontaneous Screen Damage

I hesitated on labeling this “spontaneous” screen damage because so many claim that on physical cracks to screens that they swear spontaneously shattered/cracked. This is a bit different as there is

no physical damage to the glass and I was holding the iPad when this issue occurred so I can attest that no accidental drops or impacts occurred. I was reading an ebook when the screen suddenly went black. It was unresponsive to touch so I did the procedure to force restart it. When the Apple logo came up I could only see half of it while while the visible side was flickering and had the lines that remind me of a damaged flat screen tv. I did all of the normal things we suggest to users just in case although I felt strongly that this was a catastrophic screen issue that can’t be fixed but will require replacement. Ironically, the screen is responsive even on the side you can’t see…you just have to rotate the device to see what’s on the other side or if you need to type to enter info. So yes, I had no problem doing a full reset and restore…just had to rotate the screen when I needed to see something or perform an action like entering info. The closest Apple Store is over 2 hours away so I would have to go to the local Best Buy for authorized support…which of course they don’t have an open appointment until Monday.

I don’t expect anyone to theorize on what caused this to happen…I know it’s an oddity (and I hope it remains one…would hate to find out this is happening to others with the new M4 iPads) but curious if I am missing anything troubleshooting wise or if I am 1000% correct that this is a catastrophic screen damage case with unknown cause. Of course this happens after we are beyond the return/exchange period because otherwise I likely would return and wait before getting another one just to make sure others don’t start reporting a similar issue that truly isn’t related to a user accidentally dropping or having any other impact to their iPad screen regardless of how minor they thought it was. We will be returning the other M4 for now also (just got it so it is still in the return/exchange period. No issues as of yet but would rather wait things out for a bit).

Also curious if anyone has had to have their M4 exchanged for any reason after the return period has ended…did they receive a new unit since it’s still a bit early in the time since release or if the normal process of receiving a refurbished like new unit is already happening. Not a huge deal either way.