Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

New iMac 2017 27 inch terrible screen!

T

TONYH0717

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 5, 2017
11
6
I received my new iMac 2017 27 inch a week ago.
I have had 4 iMacs so far and all of them had yellow tint problems, especially visible when I worked with Mail, Safari and iTunes since they have a white background and since I always work in the full screen mode.
Some suffered more from it than others.

I really hoped that technology had evolved and that I would not have this problem again with my new iMac...

My God, was I dissapointed when I saw the screen using Safari in full screen mode!
It had a very yellow tint all around the screen border and a very visible yellow tint in some other areas!
I also tested the backlight bleeding and that was terrible too!

I didn't buy this iMac from the official online store (Mastercard has a limit of 2500 euro and it's the only way you can pay, or I have to drive 2 x 100 km to the only Apple Store in Belgium to buy two gift cards...).
I took contact with the Apple Store and they said that when you buy from the official store you will never have these problems... which is not true cause my previous iMac came from Apple Store and had also yellow tint...

Anyway, I returned my iMac and got a refund (online shop).
Problem now is that I'm afraid to buy another one and get the same problems...
Buying from the Apple Store is too difficult (see previous text), buying from the same online shop is a possibility but I'm afraid I might have to return it a second time and bying it from an Official Retail Store (in my hometown) is not really an option neither because you can't return the computer for a refund (the guy told me that in that case they will try to put in a new screen..).

Honestly, all of my Apple products have had some kind of yellow tint..I have/had iPhone, iPad and iMac and all of them had it. In most cases I learned to live with it, but this time not.

Really dissapionted
 
  • Like
Reactions: amirhossein_ and iemcj
I'm sorry to hear about your complaints. I can relate as I had to return 2 2015 iMacs due to poor backlight uniformity and tint issues along with stuck pixels. I had gone back to my trusty 2010 Mac Pro with my old 27 inch Apple Cinema Display which had a very even screen so it can be calibrated to my liking.

The 2017 iMac screens are much more even in terms of uniformity of the backlight and with tinting. Keep in mind that LCD tech has it's limits and we need to wait till Apple uses OLED panels before these issues are ironed out.

If you can do it, try and buy 1 more unit from the Apple Store to see if you get better luck with the panel lottery game that so many of us played several years ago with iMacs, iPhones and iPads. But keep in mind that you will never find a perfect screen. It just doesn't exist with current LCD technology. Some people, like you and I, are more sensitive to perceiving mild changes in tints than others. So we notice these issues more than others. It's a blessing and a curse!

Good luck and keep us all posted.
 
  • Like
Reactions: amirhossein_ and 0002378
TONYH0717 said:
I didn't buy this iMac from the official online store (Mastercard has a limit of 2500 euro and it's the only way you can pay, or I have to drive 2 x 100 km to the only Apple Store in Belgium to buy two gift cards...).
Click to expand...

There's no way of telling Mastercard / your bank to rise that limit? When I've had this kind of problems I've always been able to solve them. Or maybe you could use the chat in the Apple store and tell them your problem, you might be able to use a transference or make two separate payments.
 
  • Like
Reactions: amirhossein_
Just raise your limit on the card, would make it so much easier. Also, even though this is an expensive machine, you're really not paying much for the screen, uniformity and color consistency is extremely expensive and people pay $2500 for just a screen to get verified quality panels (Eizo, Nec, etc), that said, if you're lucky you will get a great one in your next iMac, impossible to say.
 
  • Like
Reactions: amirhossein_
Yes, for printing, photography, post production or design pros that are that particular about things like zero color shift from any angle, no backlight bleed and absolute color accuracy, you will indeed likely spend the entire cost of a high end iMac for the panel alone, if not more.

I had yellow tint on my Late 2009 iMac. It was much improved in my Late 2013 and I detect none whatsoever in this new 2017. It's the most beautiful screen I've ever seen on a Mac.
 
  • Like
Reactions: amirhossein_
I have zero yellow and no bleeding. I design for the web and print for a living and have been thrilled with the screen. My only issue is that websites that I design on the iMac NEVER look as good on clients screens :(

Just make sure that the yellow you're seeing isn't a reflection from your desktop :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: bluespark and SaSaSushi
I am rather certain that a brief fix can be achieved in ColorSync Utility for the yellow tint "issue". Just pick a lower than D65 white point to start. As for uniformity it is somewhat luck based, at least with my iMac 27" I am more than satisfied (I expected much worse, with experience of owning previous iMacs and Apple displays).
 
  • Like
Reactions: amirhossein_
It's always so interesting to me that I have had numerous iPhones, iPads, iPods, and Macs and have never had a problem with screens, scratches, dents, etc. right out of the box. And then there are people who say they have literally had issues with every Apple product they have purchased. I would hate to have that bad of luck.
 
  • Like
Reactions: amirhossein_, bluespark, vintagebob and 4 others
I returned my iMac a few weeks back due to yellow border around the screen. The rest of the panel was pretty uniform but as I work on white backgrounds often having a yellowing smudge all around the edge of the screen wasn't going to work.
 
  • Like
Reactions: amirhossein_
Mine has a tiny bit of yellow in the bottom right corner. I am chalking it up to par for the course...
 
  • Like
Reactions: amirhossein_
dcottuli said:
I have zero yellow and no bleeding. I design for the web and print for a living and have been thrilled with the screen. My only issue is that websites that I design on the iMac NEVER look as good on clients screens :(

Just make sure that the yellow you're seeing isn't a reflection from your desktop :)
Click to expand...

Can you go into more detail? Why don't your websites look good on clients screens? I'm a web designer and I am considering an iMac. Is it because of the lack of a native sRGB color space?

Thanks!
 
  • Like
Reactions: amirhossein_
how are you judging uniformity?

The 2017 5K I received is thus far phenomenal, even looks better than the two LG 5Ks I was using prior. perhaps its the extra layer of glass that gives it a bit more pop, and I dont notice image retention yet on this display.


Bghead8che said:
Can you go into more detail? Why don't your websites look good on clients screens? I'm a web designer and I am considering an iMac. Is it because of the lack of a native sRGB color space?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Perhaps they don't have quality displays or lack the proper resolution, quite common for clients
 
  • Like
Reactions: amirhossein_
I was hoping to see some pictures or something so we could see what you're talking about.
I go black and a white full screen and it's very uniform. No light bleed, no tinting.
 
  • Like
Reactions: amirhossein_
tozz said:
Just raise your limit on the card, would make it so much easier. Also, even though this is an expensive machine, you're really not paying much for the screen, uniformity and color consistency is extremely expensive and people pay $2500 for just a screen to get verified quality panels (Eizo, Nec, etc), that said, if you're lucky you will get a great one in your next iMac, impossible to say.
Click to expand...
Check with your bank. If I have a purchase that exceeds the limit I pre-pay the credit card account and the payment usually goes through. Better than adjusting the limit for a one-off purchase.

Sounds like you have been unlucky with iMac screen quality.
 
mpainesyd said:
Check with your bank. If I have a purchase that exceeds the limit I pre-pay the credit card account and the payment usually goes through. Better than adjusting the limit for a one-off purchase.

Sounds like you have been unlucky with iMac screen quality.
Click to expand...

In the US, at least, higher limits are better for your credit anyway. It reduces your credit utilization for a better score, assuming you keep habits the same.
 
Just examining my screen visually, the brightness is very even with barely noticeable dimming towards the edges.

However if I use my calibrator, I measure 10% dimming on the right side and there's a negative hot spot on at the middle of the left edge with 17% dimming. This is not visually noticeable though.

I suspect the uniformity is worse than other dedicated wide gamut screens.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back