MacBook Pro with Retina Display Customers File Suit Over Display Flaws

Some Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display customers claim that the displays used to build their machines cause a burn-in or ghosting problem on models using panels supplied to Apple by LG. In fact the Apple Support Communities hosts a thread with over 7,200 replies and over 376,000 views. These are customers experiencing the problem. One customer filed a federal court lawsuit.

macbook pro ghosting comparison

A video on YouTube demonstrates that at least this one MacBook Pro with Retina Display made with a Samsung display panel doesn’t suffer from the issue while the LG display panel version in the video clearly does suffer from the ghosting issue. In the video the user shows how a faint image of the content on the screen remains on-screen even after the user minimized the browser. The video creator claims the one that doesn’t suffer from the problem comes with a Samsung display while the one that does includes an LG panel.

This image below shows how the screen keeps a faint ghosting of the webpage displayed even after the person minimized the browser, showing only a desktop with a gray background.

macbook lg ghosting

The support thread includes one post from a customer who took a computer with the problem to an Apple Store. The customer identified as aut0maticdan said:

I saw a genius today.  They ordered me up a new macbook due to the burn-in.  I may not see it for 3-4 weeks because I have a custom build, but I get to hang on to this one until then.

apple support community

Beau Hodges chose to file a class-action lawsuit over the issue in a California Federal Court. Hodges seeks “unspecified damages” according to a Law360 report cited by 9 to 5 Mac.

The performance disparity between the LG version and the Samsung version is particularly troubling given that Apple represents the MacBook Pro with retina display as a single, unitary product, described as the highest quality notebook display on the market. … None of Apple’s advertisements or representations discloses that it produces the computers with display screens that exhibit different levels of performance and quality.

Currently Apple doesn’t acknowledge the problem, but some users got their computer replaced or repaired after taking the machine to Apple Stores. The report stated that models shipping now likely don’t suffer from the problem due to a minor refresh and recent software updates.

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