Apple makes this decision for us when they advertise their perfect products and tell how all how 'awesome' they are.
Awesome does not equal 'defective'
I am just an advocate for perfection when it comes to spending hundreds of pounds on electronics.
Ps. The iPad is shown from angles where one may see this light bleeds on their website, someone should do a mockup of the apple.com landing page and stick in a bit of light bleed.
I am now off to collect my iPad! (please, no bleed!) (I am going to open in store just in case!)
Where did Apple ever say their products are perfect? Like I said, manufacturing variances in fit and finish are TOTALLY within spec. These iPads are not in any way defective! Heck, the black spot on my screen was almost certainly within spec (it was tiny) and I appreciated Apple swapping it as it was a visible and distracting anomaly. You'll NEVER SEE these minor "light leaks." Ever. A large gap that allowed dust to migrate under the glass more readily or spilled enough light that it affected the screen - sure. But a tiny bit of light you can see at an extreme angle?
That's why these things are so expensive. A new car won't have nearly the level of fit and finish some of you expect from your iPads (and not the iPads VISIBLE parts I will not, the internals that can only be seen from extreme angles looking inside). I'm widely considered as picky by most people and even I find some of this ridiculous. Apple products are not fine jewelry!
P.S. If it seems like I'm on a crusade, I do apologize. There's two reasons I respond so strongly:
1. for those of us that have "real" problems (by that I mean they're visible in normal use, not whether they're subjectively major or not - mine was a minor anomaly probably totally within spec) it makes Apple much more likely to adopt a cut and dry "sorry, that's within spec" approach. Thankfully, the tech I worked with at Apple (had to send my iPad in twice, first time it came back with a letter saying it was within spec, so second time HIS supervisor (3rd tier at that point) attached a force replace order) was very understanding - he'd bought an LCD monitor years ago with a dead pixel that he couldn't do anything about as it was "within spec" yet it annoyed him every day he owned that monitor. These subjective judgement calls will become increasingly rare if people exchange numerous times for "issues" as minor as tiny gaps in fit and finish of internal components (that's what the light leak is).
2. It raises costs for everyone, on multiple levels. Aside from the obvious cost of replacing these iPads, all products are manufactured within specified tolerances. If Apple sees an extremely high exchange rate due to these "light leaks" or other minor problems (admittedly including the dirt I exchanged mine due to) to the point that the cost of the exchanges exceeds the additional manufacturing cost of specifying tighter tolerances, Apple will require tighter tolerances from their assembler (Foxconn usually) and component suppliers (such as Samsung for the screen, Corning [presumably, never verified] for the glass, etc). Apple is also a major contract for these companies. While Apple parts are custom for Apple and a large enough product line to have their own dedicated manufacturing, practices and procedures will spread through a company to some extent. If Apple demands very tight tolerances on their LCDs for example, that has the potential to raise costs throughout Samsung's product line, not just in products made for Apple, as procedures and handling at entire factories may need to be tightened.
Fit and finish will NEVER be perfect on consumer electronics. Frankly, Apple is so far above the rest it's absolutely amazing. Yet the Apple fanboys continue to find issues most purchasers of other brands don't? I've read people complaining about MacBook Pro trackpads being not quite level (this one is but my last one wasn't!), little things like that and they're seen as major issues. Look at ANY OTHER LAPTOP ON THE MARKET then compare fit and finish to a MBP with "problems" Same goes for iPad vs most if not all other tablets.
