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Mark200789

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 3, 2015
61
17
Hey there. I have a 2014 iMac 5k that has severe image retention problems around its edges. It clears up eventually, but it only takes about 20 seconds to form (
). This behavior started when the machine was 2 years old and I've just been living with it. I've seen from posts here that this has been a problem in later models, like the 2017. Is it still hounding the 2019 models? If so, is it a random problem like in the old Retina Macbook Pros, or does it effect all of them? I'm thinking of upgrading and my only option would be to trade my 2014 machine in for a lousy $540 which is way below the market value since who would buy it in this condition? I don't want to pay $3000 for a 2019 machine that's going to develop this and be equally unsellable when I'm done with it.
 
I have the 2015 iMac 5k 27inch. Just started noticing it on the left edge of the machine. Someone said to get f.lux. I downloaded it yesterday, and it is next to impossible to see the image retention. I've used f.lux before. It's fairly impressive. Did you upgrade? I am thinking of getting the 2020.
 
Hey there. I have a 2014 iMac 5k that has severe image retention problems around its edges. It clears up eventually, but it only takes about 20 seconds to form (
). This behavior started when the machine was 2 years old and I've just been living with it. I've seen from posts here that this has been a problem in later models, like the 2017. Is it still hounding the 2019 models? If so, is it a random problem like in the old Retina Macbook Pros, or does it effect all of them? I'm thinking of upgrading and my only option would be to trade my 2014 machine in for a lousy $540 which is way below the market value since who would buy it in this condition? I don't want to pay $3000 for a 2019 machine that's going to develop this and be equally unsellable when I'm done with it.
Does the image retention get worse?
 
Until recently I had a 2014 iMac 5K, which also had severe image retention at edges, which was becoming more and more noticeable.
I spent quite a bit of time researching reports of which iMacs have image retention and which don't, as I did not want to buy another one to only have the exact same problem in a few years.
I found that the 2014 and 2015 5k iMacs are notorious for developing image retention, especially at edges, and that the 2015 5k iMacs also develop pink edges.
But the good news is that later iMacs apparently do not have this problem. Or at least not nearly as bad, at least not yet. So I replaced it with a 2020 5k iMac.
I think you will be safe with a 2019 iMac.

btw, some have surmised it is not (only) a screen hardware problem, but is the software/GPU overdriving the sub-pixels (not the brightness, as that is the backlight). A workaround, that supports this conjecture, is to permanently turn on night shift to maximum warmth, and compensate by setting the white point to maximum Kelvin (or something like that - check Google). I was skeptical of this "fix," but found that it actually did reduce the image retention a lot. However it also alters the display color accuracy, which is important for me.
 
Until recently I had a 2014 iMac 5K, which also had severe image retention at edges, which was becoming more and more noticeable.
I spent quite a bit of time researching reports of which iMacs have image retention and which don't, as I did not want to buy another one to only have the exact same problem in a few years.
I found that the 2014 and 2015 5k iMacs are notorious for developing image retention, especially at edges, and that the 2015 5k iMacs also develop pink edges.
But the good news is that later iMacs apparently do not have this problem. Or at least not nearly as bad, at least not yet. So I replaced it with a 2020 5k iMac.
I think you will be safe with a 2019 iMac.

btw, some have surmised it is not (only) a screen hardware problem, but is the software/GPU overdriving the sub-pixels (not the brightness, as that is the backlight). A workaround, that supports this conjecture, is to permanently turn on night shift to maximum warmth, and compensate by setting the white point to maximum Kelvin (or something like that - check Google). I was skeptical of this "fix," but found that it actually did reduce the image retention a lot. However it also alters the display color accuracy, which is important for me.
Good to know. I am looking at the 2020. Do you like it? So the retention will only get worse? I'm curious what f.lux is doing to improve this. It may have something to do with the backlight. f.lux isn't bad, but it takes some getting used to at night.
 
Good to know. I am looking at the 2020. Do you like it? So the retention will only get worse? I'm curious what f.lux is doing to improve this. It may have something to do with the backlight. f.lux isn't bad, but it takes some getting used to at night.
I have not tried f.lux. Backlight has nothing to do with causing image retention. I suspect f.lux is also avoiding overdriving the subpixels, but this is only a guess.
I noticed the image retention more and more. Not sure if this was just me getting fixated on it, or if it really was getting worse; I suspect a bit of both.
Yes, the 2020 iMac is nice. But for day-to-day general use it feels similar to my 2014 i7 iMac (with 1TB SSD) - not exactly a game-changer. I suggest consider what specifically you use your iMac for, and whether the improvement would be worth the (considerable) cost. I'm pleased with the upgrade, but to be honest the upgrade is not massive.
 
I have not tried f.lux. Backlight has nothing to do with causing image retention. I suspect f.lux is also avoiding overdriving the subpixels, but this is only a guess.
I noticed the image retention more and more. Not sure if this was just me getting fixated on it, or if it really was getting worse; I suspect a bit of both.
Yes, the 2020 iMac is nice. But for day-to-day general use it feels similar to my 2014 i7 iMac (with 1TB SSD) - not exactly a game-changer. I suggest consider what specifically you use your iMac for, and whether the improvement would be worth the (considerable) cost. I'm pleased with the upgrade, but to be honest the upgrade is not massive.
Thanks Wilbur. I am on my machine about 10 hours a day it seems. But my usage is primarily for work. No design, no gaming. I just upgraded to the SSD and I was shocked. I can't image the 10th gen vs the quad core will be that meaningful. My offer to buy it was pretty significant. That was what drove me. About 60% higher than Apples $500 trade in. Even still, you are right. They are not cheap. The 512 is 1950 at costco.
 
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The only 5K panel manufacturer is LG so every iMac 5K released used/uses their panels. LG appears to have slowly improved them over time, but every release people immediately look for panel yellowing, backlight variations and image retention and they always find them. Could be confirmation bias or could be that LG has never resolved the issues.

Apple does do more QC and calibration with the iMac 5K panels than LG does with the UltraFine monitors, so overall the iMacs do better, but they are not and never have been perfect.

I'm on my third iMac 5K and I don't go out of my way to look for panel irregularities so I don't see them. I expect they are there, but they are not bad enough to stand out so I am content.
 
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The only 5K panel manufacturer is LG so every iMac 5K released used/uses their panels. LG appears to have slowly improved them over time, but every release people immediately look for panel yellowing, backlight variations and image retention and they always find them. Could be confirmation bias or could be that LG has never resolved the issues.

Apple does do more QC and calibration with the iMac 5K panels than LG does with the UltraFine monitors, so overall the iMacs do better, but they are not and never have been perfect.

I'm on my third iMac 5K and I don't go out of my way to look for panel irregularities so I don't see them. I expect they are there, but they are not bad enough to stand out so I am content.
Hello.

I've the same issue with. my screen. I would like to buy a brand new screen and install it by myself. Do you know any site in europe that sells the original screens? I've browse the aliexpress... There are a lot of shops selling the screen but they don't seem the original ones! :)

Thank you,

Carlos Marcão
 
Hello.

I've the same issue with. my screen. I would like to buy a brand new screen and install it by myself. Do you know any site in europe that sells the original screens? I've browse the aliexpress... There are a lot of shops selling the screen but they don't seem the original ones! :)

Thank you,

Carlos Marcão
just curious - what year is your iMac? (As listed in "About This Mac", not when you bought it)
 
SO fare I have not experienced image retention on my 2019 or 2020 27" iMacs. The 2019 was a work computer and I left stuff static for a long time, nothing. Did some screen tests on my 2020 and so far so good. It is well known that the 2014/2015 models are particularly plagued by this issue, and I have seen it in 2017 iMacs too. Haven't heard too much about the 2019 and nothing about the 2020. Could be a problem, but most likely much less prevalent.

Side note, the worst image retention I've seen ever was on a 2006 24" iMac, where the wallpaper continuously bled into the screen, so I would have purple blotches in my screen from the water droplets. Switched it to another and I had face outlines in my screen. Had a 2007 24" that also had it pretty bad, the edge of browser windows would stay for days. Gave up on the larger iMac sizes for a while due to that.
 
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