Retina MacBook Pro Users Still Complaining of Image Persistence

[MacRumors]

Back in late June, we reported that some early purchasers of Apple's Retina MacBook Pro were experiencing image persistence or "ghosting" issues in which remnants of previously-displayed windows remain visible on the screen for sometime afterward.

Apple was reportedly replacing the affected machines and DisplayMate's Ray Soneira had indicated that it was likely to be an early production issue, but three months later users are still complaining about the issue. Extensive threads in the MacRumors forums and at Apple Support Communities have been tracking the issue, which preferentially affects displays manufactured by LG. Displays manufactured by Samsung do not generally appear to be suffering from the problem.

Example of image persistence after just 10 minutes on screen

Several of the affected users report being on their third or fourth machine and still receiving units that are affected by the issue. But even as Apple is replacing machines showing image persistence, the company has posted a new support document stating that the phenomenon is normal on the in-plane switching (IPS) displays used in the Retina MacBook Pro and other products.

On an IPS display, when an image such as a login window is left on screen for a long period of time, you may temporarily see a faint remnant of the image even after a new image replaces it. This is referred to as "persistence," "image retention," or "ghosting." This is normal behavior for an IPS display, and the faint image will disappear over time.

You can prevent image persistence by using the display sleep feature to turn off the display when it is not in use. You can also use a screen saver to make sure that a static image isn't on the display for long periods of time. Both of these features are on by default in Mac OS X, but you can adjust the settings as needed.

As noted in our forum thread users can paste the following command into Terminal in order to determine the manufacturer of their displays:

ioreg -lw0 | grep \"EDID\" | sed "/[^<]*</s///" | xxd -p -r | strings -6

Model numbers beginning with "LP" indicate an LG display while model number beginning with "LSN" correspond to Samsung displays. A number of those affected by the issue indicate that it was not necessarily noticeable at first but has seemed to worsen over time, and a checkerboard image posted to our forums can be used to help assess the severity of the problem. Users with significant issues should, however, be able to easily see the image persistence when moving any window away from a contrasting background after even just a few minutes on the screen.

Article Link: Retina MacBook Pro Users Still Complaining of Image Persistence

[swb1192]

I have an LG screen, but haven't noticed any ghosting.

[PurrBall]

Oh please, this is nothing new. My 24" iMac from 2009 does the exact same thing.

[runeapple]

I have an LG one unfortunately, however I have no ghosting.
I have however noticed my LG one is no where near as bright as the Samsung ones which is upsetting.

But no point in getting a replacement as my nearest store is miles away plus I have so much stuff on it already!

[Radio]

TheY should just ask for a full refund.

Five machines?! Move on you perfectionist ..

[deadlystriker]

If ghosting is "normal" then why are they replacing machines?

[mdelvecchio]

i get this on my iPad; tho now i dont remember which generation since i have 2 and 3 sitting around.

id figured it was normal since my plasma does it as well, despite different technologies.

anybody know if its normal or not normal on ipads?

[aristotle]

No problems here. I picked mine up at the Apple retail store in Metrotown.

Mine has a Samsung panel.

[rmwebs]

Originally Posted by PurrBall

Oh please, this is nothing new. My 24" iMac from 2009 does the exact same thing.

My 24" iMac from 2007 used to do it as well - pretty badly in fact, to the point where you could read the entire document I had opened for around 5 minutes.

[Primus84]

And this is why you don't buy Rev. A Apple products.

[edry.hilario]

people waiting for the new imacs still complaining that mac rumors havent moved on from the the macbook pros and the iphones. WHERE ARE THE IMAC NEWS!!!!!

[vmachiel]

The downside of being an early adopter

[jeremy h]

You now actually need to use screen savers again? Who-hoo - back to the 90's... Now, where did I put that floppy disc with the flying toasters on again?

[camnchar]

No ghosting here, Samsung display.

Go ... Samsung?

[asmodeo]

Originally Posted by rmwebs

My 24" iMac from 2007 used to do it as well - pretty badly in fact, to the point where you could read the entire document I had opened for around 5 minutes.

It was a feature when you close the document without save the changes; iGhost they called

[ipoppy]

I never EVER buy any first generation of iProduct. I don't like to be guinea pig and pay like $2000 for it.

[Laird Knox]

Originally Posted by edry.hilario

people waiting for the new imacs still complaining that mac rumors havent moved on from the the macbook pros and the iphones. WHERE ARE THE IMAC NEWS!!!!!

Obviously MR is holding back on the supply of rumors to inflate demand. They will announce they are "blown away" by the demand for the new rumors.

[WildCowboy]

As another example, here's what a dark gray background looks like on my machine after just 2-3 minutes of having a window onscreen:

[Codyak]

No ghosting here, LG display.

[Schizoid]

yep, mine did this... two and a half grand spent...#$#$% screen, was not happy!

[striker33]

I'm having my 5th rMBP delivered tomorrow.

Strangely enough, none of my previous machines had image retention issues. My last 2 have had horrible yellow tinting to either the right hand side or bottom of the screen. My first had dead pixels but was otherwise perfect in every way, and my 2nd was similar only it had a bent hinge, meaning the lid didnt close properly (left a big gap, not exactly ideal).

Basically I'm more worried about the yellow tint issues than anything else, especially given that the iPad 3rd gens are plagued with them. Given that my original iPad has the issue, and half of my iPhones have had it, I'd say its an issue with the glass used in the IPS panels.

I have plenty of IPS monitors with great screen uniformity, all without any fancy glass cover on the front. Yet all my iMacs and Cinema Displays have all had yellow tinting at the bottom, along with the illustrious black bar.

[raazman]

Originally Posted by PurrBall

Oh please, this is nothing new. My 24" iMac from 2009 does the exact same thing.

And you're fine with that, despite paying for it??

[Zyphlon]

My iPad 2 does this too, with the top bar for safari visible when its closed down occasionally.

Think it would annoy more more on my laptop though!

[Sequin]

That's ridiculous. This shouldn't happen for something so extremely overpriced.

[Ryth]

Our 30" Apple displays do this also...started about a year ago. I think 'ghosting' is just something that happens to displays over time, but definitely shouldn't happen to these new Retina screens.