Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
2016 15" MBP Screen uniformity
- Thread starter Farsider
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
So on my first 15'' MBP, there was a redish to greenish tint from left to right. I exchanged it and got this one. There's still a little darker on the very right side. It doesn't bother me as the color uneveness though...
EXACTLY! So we SHOULDN'T let Apple get away with it at all. We should keep swapping devices as many times as is needed until a good one. If everyone did this it would force Apple to cherry pick quality screens.
So I chatted in, they told me since I exchanged it once in a store that I have to go to a store to exchange it again, and that since I got it during the holiday return period I had until the 8th of Jan. Guess I'm off to the Apple store again on Friday. Hopefully this 3rd unit doesn't have any strange clicking and doesn't have a scratch by the speaker grill and pinkish tint on the screen. Honestly, if this unit just had the scratch I'd keep it since it's not really that noticeable on the silver, but once I saw my screen had a pinkish tint as well then I knew this one would need to get exchanged too.
I think you can exchange it anytime if it came with cosmetic damage out of the box or an inferior screen. The problem with exchanging outside the "return for any reason" period would be getting Apple to agree that the screen is not good. Apple employees never see screen irregularities and indeed it is hard to see them in an Apple Store under bright lights even for the people who can. Your best bet is to get to the store before Jan 8th so you're in the driver's seat.
Also returning instead of exchanging and then buying new, gives you another 2 weeks of returning for any reason. It does put 2 hefty charges on your credit card however for a few days.
Yeah, I'm visiting CT for the holiday and was going to wait to exchange it when I got back to NYC right after the new year but my cousin said I should exchange it while I'm still here in case that one has issues as well, then I'd have a little more time to return it once I got back to NYC on Jan 3rd. If that one has issues then I'll just return it and then repurchase it like you said. It's my first Mac and my first time paying mac prices. So I expect quality to be much higher than a PC equivalent that's half the price.I think you can exchange it anytime if it came with cosmetic damage out of the box or an inferior screen. The problem with exchanging outside the "return for any reason" period would be getting Apple to agree that the screen is not good. Apple employees never see screen irregularities and indeed it is hard to see them in an Apple Store under bright lights even for the people who can. Your best bet is to get to the store before Jan 8th so you're in the driver's seat.
Also returning instead of exchanging and then buying new, gives you another 2 weeks of returning for any reason. It does put 2 hefty charges on your credit card however for a few days.
Each swapped one might give you another 14 days by the way. I.E If you swapped on January 8th you might get more time. I could be wrong though but I have seen it work this way for swapping BTO machines
http://imgur.com/a/Arq2E
This is my 15" (photos taken with an actual camera, not phone). It's pretty uniform compared to some I saw here on the forums, there's just an oval warmer blotch in the lower center of the screen (marked in the second picture). Since it has no dead pixels/speaker scratches/whatever I'm not convinced I want to try my luck though.
This is my 15" (photos taken with an actual camera, not phone). It's pretty uniform compared to some I saw here on the forums, there's just an oval warmer blotch in the lower center of the screen (marked in the second picture). Since it has no dead pixels/speaker scratches/whatever I'm not convinced I want to try my luck though.
Your screen looks good to me and I'm pretty picky. If you try your luck again I would definitely keep this one until you see what the next one looks like. I think it would be hard to find a better one.
Same issue here buddy, I read a lot of text and use my MBP for productivity. Not sure what these other folks are using their MBPs for, but I don't care to read left to right going from pink to green hues and muddy looking yellows. I find the unevenly colored screen distracting and disappointing on a $3.2k laptop.
Sorry if this has been asked elsewhere; between the new MBPs and the new AirPods it's tough to keep up with all the threads ...
Are people finding that 2016 MBP screens are a little warmer than 2012 rMBP screens?
My new 2016 15" MBP with Touch Bar looks perfect as a general matter — no scratches, no inconsistencies with the screen's color or brightness — but I noticed that with the brightness set the same and the desktops both set to a plain white background, my 2012's screen looks whiter than my 2016's.
Not a huge deal; just curious. The 2016's are billed as being up to 60% brighter, or something like that, but I'm not sure that I'm seeing it. Thanks.
Are people finding that 2016 MBP screens are a little warmer than 2012 rMBP screens?
My new 2016 15" MBP with Touch Bar looks perfect as a general matter — no scratches, no inconsistencies with the screen's color or brightness — but I noticed that with the brightness set the same and the desktops both set to a plain white background, my 2012's screen looks whiter than my 2016's.
Not a huge deal; just curious. The 2016's are billed as being up to 60% brighter, or something like that, but I'm not sure that I'm seeing it. Thanks.
If it's really that red in real life then ya you should exchange it. Just the backlight inconsistency is enough to warrant an exchange. Looks pretty bad.
Agree with this.
[doublepost=1483042185][/doublepost]
I have the 2012 rMBP also and it's screen is whiter than my 2016 15" with Touch Bar, but that is because my new computer has a slight pink on the left to blue on the right color shift somehow making it look like a cooler screen overall (tint is very minimal and at times I don't even notice it). If I put both computers side by side at maximum brightness the new one is very slightly brighter. I prefer the screen on my 2012, but I like the new computer more in every other way. If your screen is even overall you may be able to adjust the white point to make it less warm.
Thanks for the feedback. Playing around with the Calibrate tool on each, I noticed the "native white" for my 2012 is 6,509 while it's 6,602 on my 2016. They still look a little different when both are set at one or the other of those settings, so I guess it's just a matter of different screens looking different.
Also, you're right: My 2016, when set to maximum brightness, is brighter than my 2012, but the 2012 looks brighter when both are set at around 90 percent. This seems odd, but maybe there's an explanation. (I guess the 2016's advertised increased brightness is mostly for when using the MBP outdoors; I certainly don't need more brightness than my 2012's when working indoors.)
Also, you're right: My 2016, when set to maximum brightness, is brighter than my 2012, but the 2012 looks brighter when both are set at around 90 percent. This seems odd, but maybe there's an explanation. (I guess the 2016's advertised increased brightness is mostly for when using the MBP outdoors; I certainly don't need more brightness than my 2012's when working indoors.)
My screen looks pretty bad too. I think it's inherent of these things. I was going to keep mine (looks similar to yours), but the touch bar is not working properly. Bits and pieces of the touch bar do not come on. It's pretty strange. Once I touch that area of the touch bar when shortcuts disappear, they reappear again. My last MBP 15 I had did not power on out of the box and one before that was randomly resetting. I'm pretty irritated considering Me driving to the Apple Store and back is about a 3-5 hour round trip depending on traffic :-/ This one I have now I ordered online because I was tired of getting bad units in store and didn't want to make another trip. Well, so much for that.
[doublepost=1483081802][/doublepost]
Same color differentiation on mine as well. My screen is more of a yellow and brighter towards the bottom. My previous 2016 15" MBP didn't have this issue, but it was returned due to a bad battery pack from the factory :-/
Well after numerous attempts for a good 13" TB MacBook Pro I have given up. All the ones I tried were more yellow at the bottom or had patches of pink and yellow etc.
As I don't need a lot of processing power in a laptop (I have the 5k iMac) I purchased an M5 512gb Rose Gold MacBook and I couldn't be happier, the screen is uniform and white. I wish I had of bought one sooner. I know Apple will probably release a new one in a few months but chances are it will have this P3 screen and after the uniformity issues with the pro I am not taking a chance.
As I don't need a lot of processing power in a laptop (I have the 5k iMac) I purchased an M5 512gb Rose Gold MacBook and I couldn't be happier, the screen is uniform and white. I wish I had of bought one sooner. I know Apple will probably release a new one in a few months but chances are it will have this P3 screen and after the uniformity issues with the pro I am not taking a chance.
The issue of screen uniformity is very subjective, as always some people can't see a thing, and other's spot it straight away and it drives them crazy. This is not an issue that will resolve itself or get better with time.
Out of the last 3 brand new MBP's (between 2007 and 2013) I've ordered I've returned 2 multiple times until I get a screen I am happy with. Being "happy" with a screen is largely subjective and a personal preference.
I would encourage anyone not 100% happy with their screen to keep swapping screens until you get one you are 100% happy with. Especially with Apple's generous return policies and exchanges.
You are paying a premium for a product. Do not feel guilty about this whatsoever.
Out of the last 3 brand new MBP's (between 2007 and 2013) I've ordered I've returned 2 multiple times until I get a screen I am happy with. Being "happy" with a screen is largely subjective and a personal preference.
I would encourage anyone not 100% happy with their screen to keep swapping screens until you get one you are 100% happy with. Especially with Apple's generous return policies and exchanges.
You are paying a premium for a product. Do not feel guilty about this whatsoever.
Fully agree and I've been through a number of 2016 MBP's in this process, I did manage to get a goos screen but then had over problems like bad keys, dents in the body. Good screens are not far and few between but you risk other defects.
I finally have a screen and MBP that is perfect, the screen is beautifully white, fully uniform and defect free. I am done now however, admittedly, I did go between the nTB and TB thus that didn't help.
Some people have mentioned after a couple of months, where you have the purple hue in the corners, that it'll right itself - not sure about this.
Just out of interest, has anyone with a colorimeter (Spyder, i1 pro, Colormunki etc.) put it on the different areas of their uneven display and measured the colour temperature of a white background at the different points to see what the actual objective difference is?
I have on both 15" and 13" with x-rite i1 Display Pro. The displays seem to be pretty much in line. No major white point discrepancies, but yet I've still not seen a new display that does not have this issue. I still think it's an issue with the LGs GB-LED backlighting, as my Dell UP2516D exhibits same behavior unless "Display Uniformity" is on in menu, My LG 4k does not do this but there is noway to tell if some sort of display uniformity is active or not. I have personally returned my 2016 purchases as I could not get pass this anomaly. It's a real shame as they're really great machines. I guess we'll have to wait until next rev to see if IGZO or something else is available.
Last edited: