Is The Retina Screen Ghosting That Prolific?

No, you should assume that you should've searched. If you did and found the right threads, you should've asked there. Don't get me wrong but there are TONS of different threads about this issue.

Anyway, this should help.. I got mine on the first days of July, LG screen, noticed IR in November, sent it for repair, got it back with a Samsung screen and no IR 20 days later. And no, people are not blowing this out of proportion. It's a serious issue but Apple does replace the screens.

I have an LG screen rMBP. I checked mine the day I received it based on the early responses here and the concern over the screens. I have read every post when this began to look like it was a pervasive issue.

Now for my take on it. I have not had any issues with mine, as others have reported it seems to be some LG screens. I don't go looking for problems either, I simply use the machine as I would use it normally. Design, production, static, non-static screens, you name it (12-14 hours a day). I haven't seen any anomalies or issues.

I haven't bothered to check it after all this time since I don't bother letting it take up space in my head. I also don't run my truck into the wall over and over to see if it leaves dents either.

If it happens to show up someday I will simply have Apple fix it, as dastinger has mentioned. That is what they guarantee and have never let me down in the 20 years I have used their products.

This thread should help you:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1422669/

It contains an MR poll with about 500 responses. It's not enough data to give you a definitive answer, but it certainly will give you a little idea.

I have a samsung display, no IR no matter how long I leave the screen stays on. My previous 13" rmbp has IR after 7-10 mins. My friend has a LG display and he says 3-5 minutes and he gets bad IR.

I think it varies, some worst than others.

I have both the 13" and the 15" rMBPs. I'm on my second 13" as the first had very bad IR. This second one has it too but it's not very bad at all. My 15" has none at all. The 15" is a Samsung screen, the 13" is an LG screen. I may keep it anyway and just get the screen replaced if it worsens. I'm not sure if the 13" rMBPs even have a Samsung screen option. Probably, but I'm not sure I want to keep taking it back until I get lucky.

Ive had a week 49 LG for over 3 weeks now and no hint of ghosting/pixel issues. I havent specifically created a test to do this either. If it doesnt show in my normal usage I wont be concerned. So far, so good.

My screen is 100% perfect. No light leaks, no yellow tints, no dead pixels and no IR.(I haven't forced IR like some of the not so smart people out there) I am in love with my screen. Don't second guess it.

i just got my 13 inch retina and it does have the ghosting when i try the "checkerboard" test

what irritates me is that it was apparently manufactured last november

also cant check what manufacturer i got bc the terminal command doesnt work on the 13 inch

bushido said:

i just got my 13 inch retina and it does have the ghosting when i try the "checkerboard" test

what irritates me is that it was apparently manufactured last november

also cant check what manufacturer i got bc the terminal command doesnt work on the 13 inch

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How about you don't force the IR to appear and use it like a normal person? Problem solved? You won't notice it in every day use.

lightz39 said:

How about you don't force the IR to appear and use it like a normal person? Problem solved? You won't notice it in every day use.

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its just a principal. i feel like apple "owes" me a perfect machine if i fork out 1.500€ for it especially since the same thing doesnt occur on my 3,5 year old mbp

lightz39 said:

How about you don't force the IR to appear and use it like a normal person? Problem solved? You won't notice it in every day use.

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Unless you fire up iPhoto or Lightroom or Aperture or iMovie... which I'd assume any photographer, amateur or professional, would do at least once a day. And I'd think a lot of people who got the Retina MacBook got it for their photography use.

bushido said:

its just a principal. i feel like apple "owes" me a perfect machine if i fork out 1.500€ for it especially since the same thing doesnt occur on my 3,5 year old mbp

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Apple owes you nothing. You're more than welcome to return the machine for a full refund within the first 30 days if you're not happy with it. That's as far as their "owing" goes.

Image persistence is a known problem with SOME IPS displays, as has been argued to death in about a million threads on this board alone. Use some common sense with it - use the machine as you would. If you notice the IR, return it. If you don't - brilliant.

Unless you bought €1500 machine just to stare at a checkerboard all day that is.

bill-p said:

Unless you fire up iPhoto or Lightroom or Aperture or iMovie... which I'd assume any photographer, amateur or professional, would do at least once a day. And I'd think a lot of people who got the Retina MacBook got it for their photography use.

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Neither iPhoto or Aperture have a white checkerboard on the screen for 20 minutes. Unless you happen to be editing a checkerboard, that is.

bma said:

Neither iPhoto or Aperture have a white checkerboard on the screen for 20 minutes. Unless you happen to be editing a checkerboard, that is.

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No... but if you had an open window that had a white background... for instance, Safari visiting this very website, and at some point, you decide to open up either iPhoto, Aperture, Lightroom, or iMovie, then you'll see at least the white background from that window imprinted on the screen. That's because all of those apps have very dark grey interface. Some of their interface elements are even darker than the grey wallpaper background.

When it gets bad enough, the address bar will be imprinted, and then the buttons, and before long, you'd be able to see that whole window left behind, plus everything else that was next to it.

I know because I have seen it happen on my rMBP when I still had the LG screen.

bma said:

Apple owes you nothing. You're more than welcome to return the machine for a full refund within the first 30 days if you're not happy with it. That's as far as their "owing" goes.

Image persistence is a known problem with SOME IPS displays, as has been argued to death in about a million threads on this board alone. Use some common sense with it - use the machine as you would. If you notice the IR, return it. If you don't - brilliant.

Unless you bought €1500 machine just to stare at a checkerboard all day that is.



Neither iPhoto or Aperture have a white checkerboard on the screen for 20 minutes. Unless you happen to be editing a checkerboard, that is.

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with that attitude, no wonder those coops get away with everything ... its not even just about the "checkerboard" ... leave safari open for a bit and u get the same effect but whatever

bill-p said:

Unless you fire up iPhoto or Lightroom or Aperture or iMovie... which I'd assume any photographer, amateur or professional, would do at least once a day. And I'd think a lot of people who got the Retina MacBook got it for their photography use.

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Yup, like me.

Away from home I could spend hours on Photoshop, Lightroom at a time. Switching windows would become annoying if there is IR. Good thing mine is IR free, I have a samsung display

anyone know how u can tell what manufacturer u got on your 13 inch? that terminal command doesnt seem to work

bushido said:

with that attitude, no wonder those coops get away with everything ... its not even just about the "checkerboard" ... leave safari open for a bit and u get the same effect but whatever

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Well what do they owe him then?

You have 30 days to change your mind on the purchase. That pretty much covers any base doesn't it?

I have the LG screen and unless i am trying hard to recreate IR then i can't see it.

I have an LG screen as well the laptop is a week old. The closest real world use to the checkerboard test is to play chess that comes with the OS.

Tried it with Marble Board and Metal pieces and played a game for 30 mins. No retention.

I made the tests on my LG screen and didn't notice a thing. One day, months after it, I was changing my wallpaper after browsing the net for some time and I noticed that, with a grey-ish wallpaper, the URL bar appeared. I could even read what was there. Obviously that got to a point where I could do nothing but have it replaced. It's not only the checkboard for 20 minutes that gives you IR. If you notice IR after doing the checkboard test and not doing anything else then don't bother.. unless it's a progressive issue which I don't know if it is. I suppose it is since I tested my old screen and got nothing but months later got IR by simply having Chrome open for some time. After that I got it tested again and 5 minutes were enough to leave marks on the screen.

This is my experience with the rMBP and IR. I'm no expert at it neither I read too much about it. I just knew it was a known issue. When it happened, I knew what was wrong and that's it.

Got my retina 15" today. Ran the test and, though I have an LG panel, I have no retention that I have noticed. If I notice anything, I'll get it fixed when I see it. As of now, it's a beautiful display and I'm going to enjoy it when or if it becomes an issue in the future.

lightz39 said:

My screen is 100% perfect. No light leaks, no yellow tints, no dead pixels and no IR.(I haven't forced IR like some of the not so smart people out there) I am in love with my screen. Don't second guess it.

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I had to laugh when I read this. Are you the type of person, lightz39, that, when your doctor tells you he'd like to test for diabetes says, "No thanks, doc. I haven't had any problems in daily life. Let's just wait until one of my feet turns gangrenous, and then we can do something about it." I doubt it. I think you're probably 'smart' enough to know that, when it comes to your health, sticking your head in the sand and hoping there's nothing wrong is a terrible idea. So why should it be any different with a two or three thousand dollar machine? I think a 'smart' person would look for any possible problems before his or her two week exchange period expired.

lightz39 said:

How about you don't force the IR to appear and use it like a normal person? Problem solved? You won't notice it in every day use.

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How about you realize that some people's normal use is different from your own. For instance, some people's normal use involves editing images in Photoshop, and panning their image leaves ghosted remnants of it which must then clear before editing can continue. That's a lot of downtime waiting for a problem to resolve itself that shouldn't even be there to begin with.

bushido said:

its just a principal. i feel like apple "owes" me a perfect machine if i fork out 1.500€ for it especially since the same thing doesnt occur on my 3,5 year old mbp

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Principal? Apple "owes" you something? So that's what naivety is called these days...

Not to bash on you, but: I also have a 13" rMBP ( it's my primary machine ) and if I want to force it, I can get it to ghost ( I actually did this the first day I got it, just for fun ). That being said, I've almost had it for 3 months now and ghosting has not appeared under "normal use", not even once ( I'm mainly doing programming: having the same editor open for hours each day + other stuff going on ). Sure, it might start happening soon, it's something I'm aware of, but bothered? That's what warranty is for...

Also: High price doesn't mean or guarantee "perfect product". You think that each Ferrari or Lamborghini is perfect because of their price tag? You've paid the price of the brand and the possible support that comes along... that's it. If you see it differently, then maybe you shouldn't have gotten that product in the first place ( and the "naivety" part still applies too ).

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bgiaach said:

I'm going to assume that 0 replies and around 80 views means no one is experiencing these issues?

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Ghosting was reported by some users, but considering that the refurbished store is not loaded with retina products, I'll adventure assuming that the models with ghosting problems make up a relatively small % of total sold units and that users facing such issues also got the problem solved ( they either had the screen replaced or were given a new machine OR they are not "hunting" for issues and just simply enjoy their notebook ). Otherwise, I'd really expect the refurbished store to be loaded with retina models...

Then again... if having to maybe take your machine in for a screen replacement / repair is too HUGE of a risk for you, then you're maybe right by not getting one. Otherwise, warranty was invented for a reason... If it's broken ( and you didn't break it ), then they'll fix it ( or at least try to fix it / replace it ).

Not to mentioned that you have a 14 days return period... no questions asked and you get your money back. How many other companies do that? Right...