Significant light leakage, few light botches on sides/corners - defective?

Only took them 5 months -- and then there's still the fact that when you buy an iPad 2 (to this day), you have no idea what kind of display you're going to get -- a "bad" LG display with bleeding, a good LG display, or a lesser quality Samsung display.

Having multiple vendors to deal with supply problems is a great policy -- but the components must be of equal quality...they are not in this case, and it's the same thing with the 2011 MacBook AIR SSDs -- if you get the Samsung made SSD, it's nearly 100 MB/s faster than the Toshiba SSD -- and once again, before you buy it, you have absolutely no way to know which one you're going to get...unless they let you open the box and look at the system profiler (lol).

I see a horrible trend here, and if it continues...

i agree somewhat. like i would prefer a WD black drive to the Seagate in my iMac. i will take a Samsung screen over LG any day though. Samsung makes the best LCDs IMO, LG is bargain brand crap. there is nothing wrong with the Samsung screens in the iPads. LG is the one with the bleed problems. side by side i don't believe the Samsungs would look "worse". maybe the LG has a higher default brightness and for some people that may mean more "vibrant"

True -- I'm only going on word of mouth and from the pictures I've seen side by side on the net (confirmed ipad 2 with LG display side by side with a confirmed ipad 2 with Samsung display).

The "concensus" seems to be that the LG displays without the bleed are higher quality than the samsung displays -- BUT, I would really like to see the full spec sheet on both...I'm sure someone has dug them up and has done a good comparison -- I'll see if I can find any more info.

DigiTimes reports that Apple has been forced to shift some of its orders for iPad 2 display panels from LG Display to Samsung and Chimei Innolux after quality issues at LG resulted in unacceptable yields with the panels failing to pass drop tests. Apple has reportedly suspended new display orders with LG, which had been the largest panel supplier for the iPad 2, until the issues can be addressed.

LGD's 9.7-inch panels for the iPad 2 reportedly failed to pass drop tests, during which their backlight units (BLUs) failed, the sources said, adding the panels' yield rates were unable to meet Apple's requirements.

While LGD is working on solutions, the maker's monthly shipment goal of four million units has become unlikely. July shipments of the 9.7-inch panels reached only 2.5-2.6 million units, the sources said.

Much of the slack appears to have been taken up by Samsung, which reportedly produced nearly two million iPad 2 display panels during the month of July, significantly higher than its usual monthly output of slightly over one million panels.

Problems at LG and competitive issues with Samsung could serve to benefit Chimei Innolux, which is attempting to increase its share of display production for the iPad 2. The company's close relationship with iPad manufacturing firm Foxconn could also drive more production to Chimei Innolux going forward.

Apple initially struggled to meet strong demand for the iPad 2, with production constraints resulting in lower than expected sales during the device's launch quarter. But shipments grew last quarter to over 9 million units as Apple's production finally ramped up to meet the demand, and just last week the company dropped shipping estimates to 24 hours.

Why can't an American company make these panes, lets look at this as an opportunity to start this type of business here in the USA

I am sure we have some people here that could.

BRING THE JOBS HOME PLEASE APPLE

You're joking, right?

If an american company made the displays, the iPad 2 would probably be 200$ more than it is now due to Company X who makes the displays getting TAXED to death by our government who then wastes the money on crap we don't need, who then passes the costs on to Apple.

But regardless; there's only like 3-5 companies in the world that have the patents \ intellectual property \ mfg. technolgoy to make IPS displays...Samsung, LG, and maybe Sony? Not sure about Sony...

But anyways, they're made in Asia for a reason 🙂

Hi

I reported a 'backlight bleed' on my four month of iPad 2 and was directed to this thread and I have still to read all 71 reply's but I've gone right to the most recent response to see what the outcome has been and, appears that Apple agree that there is, and has been, a quality control issue.

With that in mind, I first noticed the light bleed after a few weeks but thought it would sort itself out but, it's still there. As it is around 4 months old, I would not be happy with a repair or 'brown box' replacement so, should I expect a 'new' replacement?

Recommend calling it now, while it is under warranty. It probably wont be a brand new unit though ... well other than cosmetically as I am sure it will look like new. The one I got was new, as the iPad2 had just launched. I dont think Apple will let you down - at least they didnt in my case. The new one they gave me was perfect.

here it is almost 9 months later. thought i'd post a new pic of the original ipad 2 i purchased when it came out - proves it can't be a "glue drying" issue. and as you can see, it's in normal day-time light in my house.

Crazy stuff man -- and I've been reading reports of the same exact problem with the iPhone 4S screens.

One of the editors on engadget returned his 4S and went with an Android phone due to it.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/23/irl-google-voice-fastmacs-u-socket-and-return ing-the-iphone-4/

What really stinks is that we'll most likely never know the real truth about what exactly is causing this and why Apple continues to release known bad devices to retail channels after this has been going on for almost one year now...

However, there are only a handful of companies in the world who can manufacture IPS screens -- and I believe only two of them can manufacture them for the i*Devices (Samsung and LG) -- so I guess Apple has no choice but to do this.

It took me 7 tries before I found an iPad 2 that was acceptable. Mine has a couple of very very minor light bleed spots at the bottom by the home button, but it is more than acceptable. My biggest problem with the light bleed, outside of watching movies, is I believe that it caused uneven white balance. I have no proof of this other than my own experience.

When I receiced my last replacement the Apple Genius was very nice and didn't hide the fact that most all iPad 2s have this issue. He even admitted that they lined up 10 iPads on the counter at the store and they all had it, some to a lesser degree and some to a greater degree. It truly is luck of the draw. There are perfect screens out there, but it's like finding a four leafed clover.

Hopefully, Apple will have figured out the production issues with building such thin devices by March and the iPad 3.

As some of you know, due to its thin screen more of imperfection screen issue is found on iPad2. From what I found out, same goes true for the MacBook Air laptops. They've got poor screen quality and some bleeding issues.

As for the iPad2, if Apple can't make a properly working display, might as well make the pad a couple of inches thick. That should be enough room for the hardware to fit and insure good display quality.

But to me, sticking with LCD tech is really old... Apple needs to get out of the LCD world. You need something like Super AMOLED Plus screen tech. It will perform like the planet class performer, Plasma.

But you ask me, why don't I go with Samsung then? Answer: Well, I don't think their (or any other brands other than Apple) displays come with pro calibration from the manufacturer. Apple does have better whites on the screen.

You see, this is why I will just hold off on buying any electronic pads for the next several years..... the tech hasn't caught up yet. it's decades behind.

I see the trend...

No display issues (i.e.. light bleeding and uneven whites)) with iPad 1 and MacBook Pro.

Display issues with iPad 2 and MacBook Air.

If you haven't noticed, both iPad 2 and MacBook Air are thin, and iPad 1 and MacBook Pro are nice n thick.

For build quality perfection and *proper* functionality, get iPad 1 or MacBook Pro.

I'm gonna go pickup a MacBook Pro in a few months. No more gambling with light bleeds... he he.

My suggestion to you is, actually, Rule # 1 is, don't buy iPad 2 period. Stay away from it. Get MacBook Pro or go get a plasma screen.

Case closed.

Thank you,

wow, I didn't know about this problem on iPad until i bought 1, new iPad (3rd gen), I got 3 spots on left edge, and hesitating to exchange it ... it's a gamble ... as I understand it.

Please don't let this sway you from having your iPad 3rd gen, if you have an Apple authorized seller, take it there to exchange and have them open the packages until you find one that you see is a good one. If you have no apple store or apple authorized dealer, then exchange it the apple online store. Keep trying! It will be worth it. I got an iPad 2 that after a month the speaker stopped working during FaceTime. Apple exchanged it immediately without shipping costs. This new one had no light leaking at all as was my first one.