ipad pro yellow V white screen issue may be fixed

[VesselA]

I had an issue with the left side of an ipad pro which clicked sometimes when held in landscape as if it was loose - this ipad also had a tiny speck of dust at a corner, but I was going to live with the dust as it was not noticeable, however the clicking sound from holding the display was too annoying to keep.

So I ordered a replacement as I prepared to return the defective unit. I was surprised when comparing the two displays that the first, older one I got was a lot more yellow compared to the newer one.

picture below - top is first ipad pro, middle is new ipad pro, bottom is a mini 4 for comparison - the new ipad is actually whiter than the mini 4, but old ipad more yellow than mini 4

it may be that the yellower display was a problem with early ipad pros and has now been resolved. I remember another thread people were complaining about a yellow display

it would be interesting if anyone with a recently purchased pro could post pictures and see if the yellow tint issue still exists or if this was just an issue with earlier models.

It could also just be a variation of calibration, but there seems to be a lot of people with the yellow tint to begin with, and this new one I've got is really white

 

[mcdj]

Sorry to burst your bubble there Dr. Livingston, but you have discovered nothing, with the exception of the tried and true fact that year after year, there are variances in iPad (and iPhone) screens.

In 3 months, someone will get one with the exact same yellow screen you saw. The next day, someone will get a clean white one. With dead pixels. Or bookspine. Or a pink/green shift. Or not.

People will invariably try, to no avail, to narrow down the "good" screens to a certain panel manufacturer. Or assembly factory. Or date. And invariably, any theories that develop will unravel as more data is collected.

It's all been said and done, and year after year nothing changes. It remains, and may always be, a lottery.

 

[Atomic Walrus]

If you know how these things are made it's pretty clear why it has to be a lottery. Basically the material is made in large sheets and cut down to individual panels. When cutting panels there are a few goals:

-Don't include defective regions (dead pixel clusters for example).
-Try to select regions of the original sheet with good uniformity. Users are more likely to care about variations in the screen than something that impacts the entire panel. For example, a warmer (yellow) panel is still more appealing than a panel which is half cool and half warm.
-Even with good uniformity there's a tolerated range for every parameter (for example white point must be from ~6400-7100K)
-Minimize wasted material.

That last one works against the other guidelines, and from the manufacturer's perspective it's the most important rule. That's how you end up with panels that have variation or dead pixels; Some amount of quality variation must be allowed to avoid throwing away so much of the material that you can't make a profit.

This explains why you can't even narrow a good batch down to a specific date at a specific factory: That day's sheets would have been cut into a number of panels, some nearly perfect, others with significant variance. It's possible that some manufacturers consistently do a better job than others, but in my experience even that is probably taking it too far (LG vs. Samsung in MBPs, still no agreement on which is better).

You'd think these issues would be going away, but what happens is that companies like Apple continue to order more difficult displays to produce. Smaller pixel size, higher light output, thinner panels, newer materials (IGZO), etc. I would add (this is just opinion) that many users don't care, which means there's not much motivation to improve things like uniformity even when it's possible.

 

[powerbook911]

I've seen three Pros at this point. Mine and two for work.

The last one my work got in is not nice. Half the screen is blue and the other half yellow. If you're reading an article, it looks like it moves from a white blue background to a yellow background.

While work isn't picky, that one may actually have to go back because it's just so bad.

I do find it a shame that these $1079 devices have screens that look so dramatically different from one area to the other.

I mean the other two aren't perfect by any means, but this third one is just flat out funny.

I don't think it's really Apple's fault though. LCDs just aren't that good I guess.

 

[7even]

I've seen three Pros at this point. Mine and two for work.

The last one my work got in is not nice. Half the screen is blue and the other half yellow. If you're reading an article, it looks like it moves from a white blue background to a yellow background.

While work isn't picky, that one may actually have to go back because it's just so bad.

I do find it a shame that these $1079 devices have screens that look so dramatically different from one area to the other.

I mean the other two aren't perfect by any means, but this third one is just flat out funny.

I don't think it's really Apple's fault though. LCDs just aren't that good I guess.

I had to go through 2-3 Macbooks because of screen issues. Cost much more than $1079. Same with my TV. There's bound to be some variance with LCDs.

 

[Max(IT)]

If you know how these things are made it's pretty clear why it has to be a lottery. Basically the material is made in large sheets and cut down to individual panels. When cutting panels there are a few goals:

-Don't include defective regions (dead pixel clusters for example).
-Try to select regions of the original sheet with good uniformity. Users are more likely to care about variations in the screen than something that impacts the entire panel. For example, a warmer (yellow) panel is still more appealing than a panel which is half cool and half warm.
-Even with good uniformity there's a tolerated range for every parameter (for example white point must be from ~6400-7100K)
-Minimize wasted material.

That last one works against the other guidelines, and from the manufacturer's perspective it's the most important rule. That's how you end up with panels that have variation or dead pixels; Some amount of quality variation must be allowed to avoid throwing away so much of the material that you can't make a profit.

This explains why you can't even narrow a good batch down to a specific date at a specific factory: That day's sheets would have been cut into a number of panels, some nearly perfect, others with significant variance. It's possible that some manufacturers consistently do a better job than others, but in my experience even that is probably taking it too far (LG vs. Samsung in MBPs, still no agreement on which is better).

You'd think these issues would be going away, but what happens is that companies like Apple continue to order more difficult displays to produce. Smaller pixel size, higher light output, thinner panels, newer materials (IGZO), etc. I would add (this is just opinion) that many users don't care, which means there's not much motivation to improve things like uniformity even when it's possible.

Every time a whining about the "display lottery" would be found on this forum, someone should link your post here....