Is anybody else getting a yellowish hue on their new iPad?

Interestingly I've got the same model: 64GB WiFi+4G

Got my iPad delivered yesterday by Apples Online Store and compared the displays today @ my home Apple Store - none of the new iPads presented there had a color temperature (or "yellowish cast") close to the one I got. Actually, the staff was quite surprised to see such a great difference.

Just going to live with it a while and see what surfaces from the Apple camp, otherwise I will exchange it and try again. I still believe the color profile from the screen manufacture is very different that the ones made for iPad2, and i am only talking about the color matrix not the resolution.

I purchased two new iPad's yesterday. Both of them suffered from the yellow tint problem. I called Apple this morning and the support agent assured me this was a result of the glue for the screen not being dry yet. It's just a few hours later now and already the yellow tint is fading away nicely. So, if you are seeing this same issue, don't panic. It really is getting better for me on its own.

I first noticed the problem on the yellows in the Photos app icon. It was also easy to see when I opened iBooks - the color of the wood was all wrong. Sepia in iBooks looked off too. Now, all three of these things look great - and better than our iPad 2's!!

I compared some of my pics that I had edited on my MBP and synced to my new iPad between the color calibrated NEC display connected to my MBP and the same images on my new iPad. They looked close to me, probably closer than I would have guessed. So color is fine on my new iPad. It does seem to have some increased contrast I could have done without, but overall happy with my new iPad.

I recall an almost identical slew of complaints on essentially this same issue right after the iPad2 was released and that whole issue faded away pretty quickly as glues dried and systems normalized or whatever it was that was causing the (for many if not most) what turned out to be a transient condition. I suspect the same will happen here.

Dear folks,

I believe some folks here are getting het up over nothing. Some of what people are reporting as “defective” screens are not.

If you're seeing a truly pronounced or uneven yellow cast to the screen, then that's not right. If it doesn't go away in a reasonable period of time, go talk to Apple.

If all you're seeing is a modest difference between the iPad2 and the new iPad screen, that's normal. In fact, it's an improvement. The iPad2 screen was slightly bluish in color compared to professional graphics standards. It had a color temperature of about 7000 kelvins; standard is 6500 kelvins. That's really very good. But if you compared the iPad2 to a properly calibrated studio monitor, it would look slightly bluish and the colors would be moderately desaturated.

The new iPad is much closer in color rendition to a studio monitor. Also, the more accurate saturation further reduces the bluish cast.

As a result, if you put the old and new iPads next to each other, there is a distinct difference in the way they look… but it's not because the new one is more wrong. It's because the old one was!

Some of you may prefer the bluer rendition. You're entitled to your personal taste and I wouldn't argue with it, but you can't expect Apple to use that as a design goal.

A further confounding factor: when you view the iPad screens far off-axis, there is not only a brightness reduction that is pretty noticeable but there is also a slight color shift. The iPad2 shifted slightly further to the blue. Not enough to be a problem in use, but it's there. The new iPad shifts slightly to the yellow when tilted away from you and slightly towards the blue when tilted towards you. If you view both screens tilted away from you like in "Huskers 86"'s photograph, it will exaggerate the color difference between the screens. For most accurate color rendition with either of the iPads, you need to be looking at them head-on.

It's difficult to tell from looking at an uncalibrated photograph, but unless Huskers 86 is also seeing a marked unevenness in color when the iPad is viewed head-on, I don't think there's anything wrong with her new iPad.

pax \ Ctein

[ Please excuse any word-salad. MacSpeech in training! ]

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timmy.g wrote:

I purchased two new iPad's yesterday. Both of them suffered from the yellow tint problem. I called Apple this morning and the support agent assured me this was a result of the glue for the screen not being dry yet. It's just a few hours later now and already the yellow tint is fading away nicely. So, if you are seeing this same issue, don't panic. It really is getting better for me on its own.

Your experience was different from mine. My display is definitely not getting better. That doesn't mean it won't but I'm not willing to take a wait and see attitude on something I paid over $800 for. Also, I'm wondering if you happened to get an agent that wasn't familiar with the problem in the new iPad but was remembering the problems with the iPad 2...

I just spent an hour and a half on the phone with Apple. Most of it was waiting for a glitch in their computer systems to be resolved. I had chosen Express Replacement (see below). Instead of simply putting a hold on my card for the amount their system was insisting on charging me double immediately. Needless to say that wasn't a good thing. One thing I appreciated was that every 3-5 minutes the agent came back on line to let me know my call hadn't been dropped and that they were still working on the issue.

The salient points of my conversation--and I went up three levels of support-- were:

1. The problem I am experiencing, a diluted coffee stain color extending from the camera edge of the display down to about 1/3 of the way into the display, is definitely not normal and the agent recommended replacing the unit. They are aware of the 'coffee stain' issue but the reports are so small in number that Apple isn't close to 'flagging' the issue for further attention at this time.

2. I asked about the 'glue' problem and none of the agents knew of any glue issues with the new iPad. They said that doesn't mean they don't exist just that they weren't aware of any display issues in the new iPad that were glue related.

3. I was given 4 options:

1. Live with the issue--they recommended against this option 😀
2. Send my iPad back for replacement. Total turn around time 2-6 business days.
3. Take to my local Apple store for replacement. They could make an appointment for me at my 'local' Apple store where it would be replaced. I asked about the availability of an exchanged unit. They said based upon my Zip code they were 100% certain a replacement was in stock. My 'local' Apple store is 70 miles away so they did not recommend this option, either.
4. Express Replacement. They put a hold on my credit card for the full amount and then ship me a replacement using overnight shipping. When I receive the replacement I ship the defective one back to Apple. When they receive the defective unit they remove the hold on my card.

My recommendation to those experiencing the issue is to call Apple. Let them know exactly what is happening. If this is indeed an issue that should be elevated to 'flagged' status then more reports are better than fewer. Otherwise how will Apple be able to address the issue?

I took some more "head on" pics as you suggested. Again, I am comparing with my old iPad 2 ( right ).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76217456@N03/6844627898

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76217456@N03/6844629618

Dear Huskers,

Oh, those are much more helpful photographs. I found the same website and brought it up on my two iPads, and the differences I see on are very, very similar to what's in your photographs. So, unless your new iPad is showing a marked variation in color across the screen (“coffee staining” or whatever) I think you have a good unit.

Incidentally, there's something weird about that yellow-tan background color Mimi's uses. The online magazine I write for, The Online Photographer, uses similar colors in its background, and they never look the same on any two displays (or in any two browsers). I don't know what it is about that color (colors?) but it seems to drive the rendering engines fits. Just for funs, I brought up Mimi's webpage on five different screens in my office, two of them custom calibrated and profiled for accuracy and the other three not. All of them rendered that color very differently, although my custom-calibrated iMac was kinda close to the new iPad. But to look around my office right now, you'd think I wasn't running a calibrated set up at all. There's no consistency.

No doubt someone who is much more web-savvy than I can explain what's going on here. For me it's just another one of those mysteries of the inter-webs.

pax \ Ctein

[ Please excuse any word-salad. MacSpeech in training! ]

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OK! That's good to know. Do you mind to take a comparison side by side shot and post it? Thanks in advance.

Dear Huskers,

If you mean of all my monitors, they're scattered all around me-- no way to get them in one photo.

If you mean of my two iPads, well you did a great job already. My photo wouldn't look much different. No need for redundancy.

pax / Ctein

RockyMtnSky wrote:

Thank you for your detailed color analysis! I found it very imformative and helpful. My husband and I will likely be getting new iPads this summer and the yellow remarks were making me a bit nervous. I have heard in other places that displays are turned too bright, but your post is the most helpful I've read on it. I especially like the color matching you did. I am looking forward to getting my first Apple product ever.

Don't let it worry you. Trying to determine whether Apple products are worth getting by visiting support forums is like trying to see if there are any healthy people by visiting a hospital. If you did that, you'd think there were absolutely NO healthy people anywhere in the world.

People come to support forums like these when they have issues, but they are by far in the extreme minority. With tens of thousands of iPads (and many more tens of thousands of iPhones, iPods and Macs) Apple products have an extremely good record. And this is coming from someone who is essentially a PC person (although lately I've been seduced by Apple portable products to the extent I even bought a Macbook Air).

You will LOVE the iPad -- I tried the iPad 2 on a whim (couldn't even see a real need for it) and found I couldn't live without it. I'd give up my computer and phone before I'd give up my iPad now. And I bought the new iPad even though I only had the old one for five months -- it's just that addictive.

As many have pointed out in these threads, the warranty will protect you for at least a year, and you can (and probably should, as a portable device) get AppleCare for an additional year. You will be happy -- I have never been surer of that in my life.

I was hoping someone could post a picture with 2 ipads side by side, so I can compare them with mine.

Loving the iPads resolution, but mine has a almost bluish tint to the tip right. Only really obvious when full page white is beng viewed, but it affects the hue ever so slightly of everything... Most noticeable on the bright keyboard buttons when in landscape. It is almost as if it is slightly darker. I can't stop noticing it, so they are going to rng me on Monday..

I adore it otherwise.

Ctein,

Almost couldn't agree more. I posted a few pages back about mine having a yellowish hue. It's now 24 hours later and it appears to have settled down nicely. Now, next to the iPad 2 it looks white not yellow, with the iPad 2 looking definitely blueish. There is almost no yellow tinge at all tonight except at extreme angles.

I reckon a lot of people's will be fine after a bit of running in.

As an aside, the text on these support pages is horrible and unreadable now on the 2 after using this new display. I always thought the 2 was a lovely display. Not so much now.