The thread on Apple forums is almost 600 pages;
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4034848?start=0&tstart=0
Having read over a 100 pages, it's clear that this is not the result of just a bad patch.
What scares me personally is that image retention is one of those things (on Plasma at least) that gets worse over time. It's a signal that the panel is of lower quality and failing, slowely. So people with perfect screens today might have IR in a year or two years.
Though there is nothing to back this up. As others said, even a big pool of people might not even be 1% in a sea of customers. But then again, many customers might be generally ignorant, think it's a natural bi-product, may be average users who don't notice it that much because all they do is email, facebook and youtube.
Regardless we can't jump to conclusions.
What's really important at this stage;
1) Many people have gone to Apple stores and have had no **** about getting a replacement. That at least is a big comfort in that they are so understanding, and not trying to make customers go away like some other businesses.
2) It affects all models, 13 and 15, LG and Samsung. 2012, early 2013 and late 2013, have been affected. But people have also had perfect screens in these incrementals. It might be a yield problem, who knows.
3) Applecare seems like a good idea at this point. It will further add to price, but you might say that you can get up to 3 years of warranty. At any rate you will keep having to get it replaced until they give you a new one or it will be an absolute farce.
Incidently, two other things could happen;
1) If this problem turns out to be massive (image retention and yellow tint) they might do a recall. I personally think they won't do a recall over uneven color, backlight bleeding or yellow tint because imacs in the past have suffered from other tints, and as have many other computers. I think that's just a bi product of laptop screens, even if power users will keep yapping about their old screens superiority. There is nothing new about technology degrading in certain areas even as other areas advanced.
IPS is great but it comes with some faults, and other manufactureres with these high res screens are also getting image retention.
Maybe when OLED comes, there will be other problems we don't have now. maybe when glasses free 3D displays come we will have even completely other problems we don't have now. Trade offs all around. A year ago, people boosted about waiting because for the Haswell models because first gen technology is always ridden with bugs. Well, these new Haswell machines already seems to have at least as many problems if not more than the 2012 models.
And that's a good remember for the people who are now yapping about Broadwell update in 2014. It might very well have it's own unforseen mass produced problems.
So my contengency is this; Nothing is perfect. That's an oxomoron. There will always be flaws, and even if you feel you are entitled to perfection for 3000 Dollars, it won't mean the world will abide. We all have preferences and individual tolerance levels.
For me, yellow tint and backlighting is not the end of the world. What's the end of the world for me is image retention as it has almost ruined the way I watch TV on my LG 60 inch Plasma. A TV I love and that is well regarded by all.
But that's me. For others IR will not be that annoying, but yellow tint will be the end of all things.
