Check Retina screen without terminal?

Is it possible to just enjoy the notebook if it seems to be running fine without nitpicking and hunting for possible flaws? Guess not... Hint: just pick up a screwdriver and pop the thing up... try looking for a printed serial number directly on the screen's chip.

 

Nope. Not possible especially if it's inside a box.

If it turns out to be an LG screen, and you have issues down the road, just push it back into Apple. They'll most likely replace it with a Samsung screen.

 

No you stand just as much chance of defect with either, both are fantastic displays so you have little to worry about and the vast majority are fine.

 

LG -> Some prone to image retention, much better colours, much better blacks

Samsung -> Some prone to dead pixels and white spots, much brighter, slightly better whites

I'd take an LG personally.

 

I'd disagree here. I had a LG MBPR which was flawless for a few months before it started to develop IR. It was naturally replaced with a Samsung and on the whole I can say the Samsung is significantly better than my LG.

Of course you can claim that it was because it was a faulty screen but even when it didn't suffer from IR and having seen 'perfect' LG screens, they're not as good as the Samsung IMO.

Theres a reason why Apple do not replace screens with LG panels.

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Anyway, back to OP; There is no way, although you do have some scenarios I guess:
1. Cycle through multiple machines until you get a Samsung (can be done rather easy I'd assume if you live close to an Apple store as they have a 14 day return policy).
2. Test the LG screen for IR. If you have IR then take a screenshot of it and book in for a genius appointment. The LG screen will be replaced by a Samsung (I can give you the part number if you so wish).

Obviously then once you have the Samsung display, wipe the SSD clean and reinstall OSX via a flashdrive or the internet recovery. Only issue is that the box will be open, but even if there was a way to tell w/o going in the terminal the box will have to be opened; so I'll assume this point is moot.

 

Actually from what I've read and experienced:

LG: -Cons: ALL prone to IR, though to differing degrees. Some prone to dead pixels and white spots.
-Pros: Better colors and blacks.

Samsung: -Cons: Some prone to dead pixels and white spots. Some prone to yellowish hue. Some prone to washed out colors.
Pros: Much brighter (which means better whites or you can save some, albeit marginal, battery life since you can reduce the brightness to LG levels and preserve mA's). No IR whatsoever.

In my opinion the Samsungs are much better since with some color calibrating of the display profile you can improve the colors and blacks, eliminate or minimize the yellowish hue and washed out colors, without having to ever deal with IR or having to crank up the brightness sacrificing battery power. A little more work in the beginning to set it up, but worth it in the long run.