The blown up 'LG issue' is no more.

[NeonBible]

I've noticed many people in this forum have a big 'fear' for the LG display panel on the MacBook Air: "it's so washed out", "I'll return my MBA because the LG display sucks", "the Samsung panel is way better". But, as many people have stated, it was more an inaccuracy with the color profile provided with Lion; not the panel itself. Also, the default ICC profile in Lion seemed to be optimalized for the Samsung panel – a fact which occured less 'popping' colors for those with the LG panel.

Fortunately, Apple's latest OS, Mountain Lion, seems smart enough to choose a default ICC profile depending on which panel it recognizes. This has resulted in a great image quality even for those with the LG display – also, the 'LG issue' was just a storm in a teacup. At least now it is.

I have to admit the forum topic here at MacRumors did affect me, actually so much that the first thing I did when I bought my new MBA was to check out the panel via Terminal. I also did compare my panel with my brother's – who has the Samsung panel – and there was a slightly difference in color saturation and contrast. But Apple has now solved this little issue with OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.

TL;DR: The LG display is great in Mountain Lion.

 

[usmaak]

I installed ML on my former LG MBA 13, and the profile that it chooses is way too blue. It's not as blue as the one on Lion, but it is still blue. I calibrated with the Spyder and got a much better result. At the end of the calibration, it shows a bunch of thumbnail sized pictures, and you can switch between the stock color profile and what the Spyder came up with, and that's where it's really apparent. Flesh tones looked normal with the Spyder profile, and sort of greyish without. But hey, to each his own. I think that the stock profile for both the Samsung and LG screens is complete crap. But then again, I am able to properly calibrate the screen. I might have never noticed if it weren't for my Spyder.

I ended up dropping my MBA into the mail today. It's on its way back to Apple now. I am not calling it a Samsung vs. LG thing. But the screen was dimmer than the Samsung one my wife has. The colors weren't as good, and white was sort of greyish in comparison. It wasn't something that was immediately noticed. I most noticed it when I was working on installing ML on the wife's machine. The screen was just much brighter and more clear. It really is an amazing screen when done right. Mine also didn't have the greatest vertical viewing angle. I posted some pictures in one of the other threads on here. The picture was a bit extreme in that it was taken from well below the keyboard. But with a proper calibration, my screen was pink when viewed from below. Now I don't normally view it from below, obviously. But when I adjusted the screen so that the light grey strip that seems to be at the bottom of almost every MBA screen was less visible, the top of the screen was pinkish white. I just couldn't find a good angle for the screen where I could see the entire thing clearly. In the end, I just couldn't deny it, and I wasn't going to spend 1800 bucks on something that I wasn't 100 percent pleased with.

I'm not sure what my next move is. I really did love the functionality and simplicity of the MBA. I'm using my wife's machine for now, but I'd really like another i7/8/256. But I also don't want to keep having to return them. This was my second return. The first one had a bad trackpad. I'm also considering a base rMBP. But that thing seems to have so many problems that it doesn't seem like a good bet to get right now. Maybe I'll just wait a few weeks, and then order another MBA.

Decisions, decisions.

 

[iVeBeenDrinkin']

I've noticed many people in this forum have a big 'fear' for the LG display panel on the MacBook Air: "it's so washed out", "I'll return my MBA because the LG display sucks", "the Samsung panel is way better". But, as many people have stated, it was more an inaccuracy with the color profile provided with Lion; not the panel itself. Also, the default ICC profile in Lion seemed to be optimalized for the Samsung panel – a fact which occured less 'popping' colors for those with the LG panel.

Fortunately, Apple's latest OS, Mountain Lion, seems smart enough to choose a default ICC profile depending on which panel it recognizes. This has resulted in a great image quality even for those with the LG display – also, the 'LG issue' was just a storm in a teacup. At least now it is.

I have to admit the forum topic here at MacRumors did affect me, actually so much that the first thing I did when I bought my new MBA was to check out the panel via Terminal. I also did compare my panel with my brother's – who has the Samsung panel – and there was a slightly difference in color saturation and contrast. But Apple has now solved this little issue with OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.

TL;DR: The LG display is great in Mountain Lion.

...Says the man trying to convince himself that there is no difference.