Q: MacBook Pro Retina display burn-in?

All: I agree it's a legit issue. We are not being OCd above what Apple should demand of itself: a premium price for a premium product. From what I could tell, retail at least is treating it as such without actually admitting it's an issue. In other words, they are quickly replacing machines without any trouble. I do agree that we shouldn't have to choose between a dim screen, a ghost screen or a creaky body. I am trying to keep in mind that forums always make things seem worse since only those that are motivated (by pain usually) post. But this does seem to be so prevalent.

I will get my money back and I plan to. I'm under my 14 days, but that is ont what I call a solution and I will still be out of a computer.

It seems to me image retention is the lesser of the two evils. Long live the LG then.

I'd like to believe that Apple will do the right thing. Once things get figured out they will offer existing rMBP owners, at their option, the ability to have their screen replaced with an improved version when it's ready.

If their only solution is to change the screen technology in a future revision and that the new one is not compatible with the previous one for some reason, I don't think they will replace million of MacBook Pro with newer ones. Just saying. Now the smart things to do would be to stop ordering screens to LG but it's the absolute contrary of what they are doing now. Even the iPad Mini have IR now thanks to them. As long as not enough people will complain they won't move a finger just like they haven't so far. That's why I'm going to use my connections here in France to go to the press, not the high tech online press which is completly bought by Apple but to the mainstream television one. I'm sure they are eager to find a good subject to bash Apple. I haven't nothing best to do and I'm really ****** off. They're messing with the wrong guy.

JoshD: I like the idea that retail is taking the issue seriously and trying to do right by customers (even though Apple hasn't officially addressed the topic). But how are they really treating the issue if they are replacing screens with others from the same batch/manufacturing line? Unless people are exaggerating, people are going back 4+ times and the each time the issue presents itself.

Colonel.Cool: Don't lose your cool. You'll drive yourself mad or have a heart attack or both. And it's not good to have a heart attack and not know it because you've been driven mad.

MacOSX10.6: I don't think there is any lesser evil. I think we all want a great screen with our macbook. We all chose a retina macbook pro am I not correct? Part of our purchase was the whole retina display being one of the best displays in the industry etc.

Whether it's image retention/ghosting/burn in or a yellowish tinge, I believe we all want a screen with a nice sharp neutral white color.

I don't know of any displays, Apple or other brand, where a yellowish color was part of the deal by specification, and certainly not image retention. IR is the enemy of any screen on any device, smartphone, TV, computer, etc.

And I would find it hard to believe if someone were to tell me that these are the screens Apple had intended to put on their macbook pro from the beginning.

Anyone who has been following this thread from the beginning, knows that it would be fair to say that getting "retail" to take this seriously is as much a lottery as getting a samsung or lg. There's countless stories from customers that have been sent on their way even within warranty. Sure if you're within 14 days they all of the sudden they have good vision and can see the IR that you see but once you're outside your 14 days, they run the bogus test if you're lucky, it fails and they'll replace the screen and you hope for the best, although most replacements as far as I can tell are Samsung, if it passes THEIR test then they say it's not a problem.

If you're going to get tired of waiting the be careful what you go with. I went with a windows 8 Samsung and it was horrible. Still, better than having to deal with IR or uneven tint but far from satisfying computer. Even at about $2000. Shop carefully.

on my 3rd rMBP in 7 days.  the 2nd one returned last night b/c of error code -5010D when doing internet recovery.  sad b/c it had a very nice display (samsung).  this 3rd one, has a very nice samsung display however the surface seems a bit off.  the first two had nice, smooth surfaces along the palm areas, whereas this one has a noticable difference - not as smooth.  For example, if i feel the top of the case, and bottom of the case, it's very smooth, however the surface (surrounding keyboard area & palm rests) are a bit rough.  There was a spec of dust in the right palm area that i had to 'scrub' out with a damp cloth.  I had a feeling this one was gonna be iffy b/c there was a hair underneath the shrink wrap, kinda like a beard hair cut w/ eletric clippers.

There was also a wire-like device, about sticking out from the vents b/w bottom and top case, above f9 key.  i thought i could blow it away but it didn't budget so i had to use tweezers to remove it.

Battery life on this new one is not as good either. A full charge shows 5hrs remaining, whereas the first two had 8+ hrs remaining.  This one, when unplugged, shows Mail using significant energy, whereas the first two didn't show that with Mail open.

i guess my biggest disappointment with this 3rd one, and i know it's very subjective, is that this one doesn't have that 'new' smell.  You know what I mean?  As if this one was returned and re-shrinkwrapped.  Every mac I've bought over the past 10 years has that new smell but this was plain.  Also, it looked like the case for the charger had been used, though the charger itself looked new.

This is only 1 day old and so will most likely be exchanging it (again) for a 4th one.

7 day summary:

- 1st rMBP - creaking sound & dim screen (LG)

-2nd rMBP - OS or HD failure (-5010D error code)

-3rd rMBP - relatively weak battery life, appears used, hair in shrink-wrap, wire-like object sticking out of vent, not smooth palm rest surface, speck of dust on right palm rest removed with damp cloth

UPDATE AFTER REAL WORLD COMPARISON (test performed 10-15 mins before this discussion post)

I took a family member's late 2011 macbook pro (not sure what type of screen) to compare with my late 2013 rMBP (Samsung A01 screen) for screen comparison. This was a real world test, no scientific equipment, calibrations, etc. Here are my findings.

Testing environment: Room with all sources of light off.

                                   Brightness on both machines cranked up to 100%.

- late 2011 macbook pro screen is a more cold white (tinge of blue) vs. late 2013 rMBP which is a more warm white (tinge of yellow). Best way to describe it is an incandescent light (warm light) vs. fluorescent light tube (cold light).

     *Before the comparison I thought the lower left of the screen had a yellow tinge on my late 2013 rMBP. After comparison I can clearly see that the entire screen is evenly more warm. Good that it is actually even, not sure if it is good that is a warm white.

- With solid black background on both machines: late 2011 MBP has a "flat" black color vs. late 2013 rMBP exhbiting a black with BACKLIGHT GLOW (again, evenly throughout screen).

- No image retention/ghosting/burn in exhibited on either screen

- Apple logo that lights up: Late 2011 MBP exhibits a warm dull yellowish white light (think of a slightly yellowed dull tooth!) Late 2013 rMBP exhibits a brighter white with a slight tinge of pink (at least to my eyes).

There you have it folks. My late 2013 rMBP screen seems pretty even BUT I can now myself definitely confirm that it is a screen that has a warm white light. Some call it yellowish, some call it dull white, either way the above findings are the honest truth.

Hi everyone, first time poster here : )

I'll be buying a new laptop in the coming days and was considering a rMBP 13" over a MBA 13", mainly because of the retina display, but it seems that IR is a very real problem with the 13". Reading the comments in this thread I get the impression that *all* 13" rMBP have/will have IR problems, but in other forums you can find people that are perfectly ok with their 13" rMBP. I'm aware that those people may not percieve/recognize the IR problem, but there is no way to know for sure.

Since this is the official forum and a lot of users are participating in the discussion, I have a simple question:

Is it possible to be lucky and to recieve a rMBP 13" without IR problems? Or is it a fundamental problem present in each and everyone sold?

Thanks in advance to anyone taking the time to answer my question!

 

 

Is it possible to be lucky and to recieve a rMBP 13" without IR problems?

Yes.

Or is it a fundamental problem present in each and everyone sold?

No.

Is it possible to be lucky and to recieve a rMBP 13" without IR problems?

Yes.

The truth is, you don't know

Or is it a fundamental problem present in each and everyone sold?

No.

The truth is, you don't know.

No they all have the IR problem. Anyone who says differently just haven't seen it yet but they will. Just a matter of time.

For those of you that have the Samsung A01/A22 display and don't have access to color callibration, this may be helpful to you. I've been able to get much better results after callibration and it's a bit shocking, actually, to see how yellow/green the natural cast is when comparing to the after callibration look of the screen.

This profile was created using my Spyder4 calibrator. Note that every screen is different. But this may work for you:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2ddj3j8r9xd547p/Spyder4_Samsung_A01_Calibrated.icc.zip