Apple FINALLY acknowledge gradient issue!

[cxc]

Just to let you know, I sent three back due to the gradient and yellowing issues - I was talked into a 4th replacement instead of a refund (to be fair, I think I could have just kept sending them back forever - apple couldn't have been more helpful) and I'm glad I was - No4 has a great screen, no freezing (and it was delivered before the fix) with no dead pixels - a very happy iMac owner now. Good luck with your replacement.

That´s good news. I am also awaiting a replacement unit. The one I am typing this one arrived last friday and isn´t capable of portraying real white on 80% of the screen. The one before that had severe backlight bleeding and gradient issues. What´s the production week of your fine machine?

Thanks,
Lance

 

[Leon Kowalski]

Exactly right. So I guess you agree with me that this "news" about
Apple openly acknowledging a gradient problem in their products
is BS or just some random employees feeding crap to a user.

Yes, believe it or not, I agree with you 100% on that point.

"A verbal acknowledgement ain't worth the paper it's written on."
-- apologies to Sam Goldwyn

Apple has not officially admitted anything much less made a ridiculous
statement that while there IS a gradient it is within their "specifications".

email to LK from Apple tech support, dated 10 Oct '07 -- verbatim:

Leon,

Here are the summarized responses from the engineering support group.

1st Response: Previous reports of luminescence and brightness non-
uniformity were found to be within the expected range for iMacs.

2nd Response: The URL http://images.apple.com/environment/resources/pdf/APES_24-in_iMac_8-07-07.pdf
is for documenting the environmental requirements of the machine.
For technical specifications regarding the machine see
://support.apple.com/specs/imac/iMac_Mid_2007.html

<tech-support.droid>@apple.com


English translation:

1) They all meet specs.

2) There are no specs.


Of course, since it's not a public ridiculous statement, your point remains valid.

...it ain't worth the electrons it was emailed with,

LK

.

 

[neographikal]

I'm not calling you a liar. Why would you think using their names would get them in trouble? This is huge news if what they said is true. If they are willing to make such outrageous claims they should be willing to back them up.

I understand the point you make, there is a lot of crap out there, but publicizing the names could get the employees in trouble. They have been honest (though not the only ones judging by the experiences in this thread) and made statements that are probably against Apple's policy. I don't want them to get fired or anything like that

Anyway, reading some other forums, there have been other support employees admitting there is a problem. The only thing we will be waiting for is an official statement from Apple itself.

Don't get me wrong though, I don't have a grudge against Apple at all. I'm disappointed not having the beautiful machine on my desk, but they solved it all friendly and blazingly fast. I guess I'll be waiting for the new update to come out. If they update it in January they already have to change things; the cost of changing the production of the screen will be lower then. So who knows

 

[SaSaSushi]

Yes, believe it or not, I agree with you 100% on that point.

"A verbal acknowledgement ain't worth the paper it's written on."
-- apologies to Sam Goldwyn



email to LK from Apple tech support, dated 10 Oct '07 -- verbatim:

Leon,

Here are the summarized responses from the engineering support group.

1st Response: Previous reports of luminescence and brightness non-
uniformity were found to be within the expected range for iMacs.

2nd Response: The URL http://images.apple.com/environment/resources/pdf/APES_24-in_iMac_8-07-07.pdf
is for documenting the environmental requirements of the machine.
For technical specifications regarding the machine see
://support.apple.com/specs/imac/iMac_Mid_2007.html

<tech-support.droid>@apple.com


English translation:

1) They all meet specs.

2) There are no specs.


Of course, since it's not a public ridiculous statement, your point remains valid.

...it ain't worth the electrons it was emailed with,

LK

.

Good, and for the record I'm not calling you a liar either.

My position has always been and remains that if this was as universal of an issue as some make it out to be Apple would not have the luxury of remaining mum and would be forced to comment publicly just like they were with the freezing issue.

There would also be widespread news coverage of it as there was with the GPU problems.

 

[Nordichund]

My replacement 24" 2,8 Ghz iMac has just been delivered and this is my first post on it.

The screen is a lot better than my origninal iMac which was built in the first week of October. Though I must stress it is far from perfect and what I would expect from an Apple machine. There are still some uneven patches around the edge of the screen and some backlight bleeding. However that awful yellow tint, gradient and smudge looking effect seen when I viewed a light background are not to be seen.

In all honesty, unless there is a severe deteriation during the next two weeks in the screen's quality, I am probably going to keep this machine. However I wouldn't recommend this machine to any photographer or graphic designer friend of mine. For what I am using it for it is I believe acceptable.

Knowing what I now know about this generation iMac, if I were in the market for a new iMac (and in every other respect it is a fantastic machine) I would wait for the 2nd generation, unless you need it now, because I am certain that Apple will make sure that the next models have beautiful screens.

Like many other people I have to praise Apple Customer Support who in my case have been absolutely fantastic and very helpful.

 

[Tomovich]

I have bought my iMac 20" 2,4Ghz in the second week of October and have only now discovered this problem. I already thought that something wasn't ok but I assumed it had something to do with Leopard. I bought this one at the Belgian online Apple store. What should I do?

 

[ceres]

My replacement 24" 2,8 Ghz iMac has just been delivered and this is my first post on it.

The screen is a lot better than my origninal iMac which was built in the first week of October. Though I must stress it is far from perfect and what I would expect from an Apple machine. There are still some uneven patches around the edge of the screen and some backlight bleeding. However that awful yellow tint, gradient and smudge looking effect seen when I viewed a light background are not to be seen.

In all honesty, unless there is a severe deteriation during the next two weeks in the screen's quality, I am probably going to keep this machine. However I wouldn't recommend this machine to any photographer or graphic designer friend of mine. For what I am using it for it is I believe acceptable.

Knowing what I now know about this generation iMac, if I were in the market for a new iMac (and in every other respect it is a fantastic machine) I would wait for the 2nd generation, unless you need it now, because I am certain that Apple will make sure that the next models have beautiful screens.

Like many other people I have to praise Apple Customer Support who in my case have been absolutely fantastic and very helpful.

Hi Nordichund,

can you please post a picture of your screen so that I can assess what to shoot for when my next replacement unit arrives?
Here is my status quo:

 

[Nordichund]

Hi Nordichund,

can you please post a picture of your screen so that I can assess what to shoot for when my next replacement unit arrives?
Here is my status quo:

Hi, the picture of your iMac screen looks like my old iMac screen. I'd like to post a picture ofmy new screen, but I haven't had much luck in capturing how it actually looks with my camera.

Like I mentioned my new iMac does not have a perfect screen, but it's acceptable for me. I don't believe if I asked for a new screen I would get a better screen than this one. Also I haven't noticed any dead pixels, which is a relief.

My advice would be when you get your replacement iMac to judge your new screen for yourself. Is it going to do the job you want it to? Regardless of what anyone on here or anywhere else says, only you can decide whether you are going to be happy with it for the next couple of years or so.

Good luck.

 

[ceres]

Hi, the picture of your iMac screen looks like my old iMac screen. I'd like to post a picture ofmy new screen, but I haven't had much luck in capturing how it actually looks with my camera.

Like I mentioned my new iMac does not have a perfect screen, but it's acceptable for me. I don't believe if I asked for a new screen I would get a better screen than this one. Also I haven't noticed any dead pixels, which is a relief.

My advice would be when you get your replacement iMac to judge your new screen for yourself. Is it going to do the job you want it to? Regardless of what anyone on here or anywhere else says, only you can decide whether you are going to be happy with it for the next couple of years or so.

Good luck.

sure, what else? btw, the on above is already better than my first one which speaks volumes. The screens were bad but no dead pixel turned up

 

[mjagers1982]

Well, my replacement arrived. But what a disappointment, even worse as the first one, gradient is bigger and as a bonus the yellowish glare for free! , so this one is going back straight away. I really can't believe the junk Apple is selling, this is totally unacceptable.

The lost me as a customer, and in that the biggest loser I consider myself because I really got addicted to MacOSX... Well, what can you do about it, there is NO Apple alternative for a 24inch iMac (considering price/features)...

 

[ceres]

My third unit arrived this morning. After some heating up the gradient is less than on my previous iMac, no backlight issues but the tint is there across much of the screen.
I feel absolutely gutted and will surely quit playing iMac screen Roulette.
W44,47,49 bto from China all crap. Every iMac 24 on display in town crap.
I am sure it´s just really bad luck.

 

[mjagers1982]

My third unit arrived this morning. After some heating up the gradient is less than on my previous iMac, no backlight issues but the tint is there across much of the screen.
I feel absolutely gutted and will surely quit playing iMac screen Roulette.
W44,47,49 bto from China all crap. Every iMac 24 on display in town crap.
I am sure it´s just really bad luck.

It's absolutely unacceptable indeed! On the bright side, I talked to AppleCare in the Netherlands about the problem and they said they were aware off the problem and that Apple was busy trying to find a solution. They agreed with me that is wasn't acceptable...

So who knows everything will be solved in a couple of weeks / months, but the latest iMacs don't show any improvement yet...

 

[Anuba]

Is this gradient issue (bear with me, today is the first time I've heard of it) the reason why it's damn near impossible to get an iMac 24?

If I wanted a 20" I could get one tomorrow, but I've been waiting for my 24" for a month with no real explanation except mumblings about 'component shortage'. Since all components in a 24" 2.4 GHz are the same as 20" 2.4 GHz except the display, I can only assume that 24" display shortage and/or issues is the reason why the 24" can't be manufactured in sufficient volumes...

 

[mjagers1982]

Is this gradient issue (bear with me, today is the first time I've heard of it) the reason why it's damn near impossible to get an iMac 24?

If I wanted a 20" I could get one tomorrow, but I've been waiting for my 24" for a month with no real explanation except mumblings about 'component shortage'. Since all components are the same except the display (well, you can't get a 2.8 GHz 20" but I ordered a 2.4 GHz), I can only assume that 24" display shortage and/or issues is the reason why the 24" can't be manufactured in sufficient volumes...

Don't think so, 24inch is plenty in stock in the local stores in the Netherlands and also @applestore the 24inch will be shipped within 3 days...

 

[airjuggernaut]

I got to say, i'm pretty dissapointed in apple with this whole screen thing. My iMac has the gradient too, but It doesn't bother me much. But for people who make livings off of photos, and etc. It must be hell :| I hope apple fixes these peoples screens.

 

[Anuba]

Don't think so, 24inch is plenty in stock in the local stores in the Netherlands and also @applestore the 24inch will be shipped within 3 days...

Yeah, they *say* within 3 days, but they also say that if you want your iMac 24" before the 25th of December, you have to order it on or before December 7 which was a week ago. In other words the 3-day thing is BS, because then you would've been able to order today (one week after the 7th) and still have it well before Christmas...

 

[Nordichund]

Yeah, they *say* within 3 days, but they also say that if you want your iMac 24" before the 25th of December, you have to order it on or before December 7 which was a week ago. In other words the 3-day thing is BS, because then you would've been able to order today (one week after the 7th) and still have it well before Christmas...

I don't think there are many people who get their iMacs within 3 days of ordering them from the Apple Online Store. In both my recent cases I had to wait over 2 weeks.

Apple make more profit by selling direct, therefore I imagine they want to make sure they can supply their Online Store customers and then Apple owned Apple stores, before they reach the independant supplier. So unless the independent supplier ordered well in advance, in these days of high demand iMacs are probably difficult to get. I think if I wanted an iMac before Xmas I would be looking at Amazon, BestBuy etc. However I still stand by my recommendation to wait until Apple sort out the screen issue once and for all.

 

[Anuba]

I don't think there are many people who get their iMacs within 3 days of ordering them from the Apple Online Store. In both my recent cases I had to wait over 2 weeks.

OK. Well, I've bought two computers from their online store. The last one I ordered on October 29, it was shipped on October 30 and UPS dropped it off on November 1. That's three days from order placement to my doorstep (I live in Sweden).

The previous one I ordered on July 31 a couple of years ago, I got it on August 4. That's four days.

I've also ordered iPods and various peripherals from Apple Store and generally it's taken 3-6 days from order to home delivery.

I don't know if I've been lucky or if it's the fact that I usually order default configurations and do the rest myself. I don't buy RAM upgrades from Apple because they have the highest RAM prices on the planet. And I'm not just saying "planet" to emphasize a point, I mean that literally. There's the street price for RAM, and then there's whatever Dell/Toshiba/HP and the others ask for -- typically 2-3 times the street price. But Apple charges over 7 times the street price (4 GB RAM for iMac = 1130 SEK from a third party, 4 GB RAM for iMac from Apple = 7650 SEK). Therefore I conclude that there cannot be anyone else on earth who charges more for RAM than Apple, unless there's some special VIP service in Beverly Hills where a butler in suit and white gloves arrives in a limo and delivers the RAM to your doorstep on a gold plate.

 

[Nordichund]

OK. Well, I've bought two computers from their online store. The last one I ordered on October 29, it was shipped on October 30 and UPS dropped it off on November 1. That's three days from order placement to my doorstep (I live in Sweden).

The previous one I ordered on July 31 a couple of years ago, I got it on August 4. That's four days.

I've also ordered iPods and various peripherals from Apple Store and generally it's taken 3-6 days from order to home delivery.

I don't know if I've been lucky or if it's the fact that I usually order default configurations and do the rest myself.

Well it's good to hear that some people do get fast delivery and that the Online Store is working as it should. I will admit that both iMacs which I received were made to order, which according to Apple took 3 days to construct. The first iMac I ordered on was on Sept 27th and I received it on Oct 15. The replacement took 15 days.

I think Apple's RAM prices are amusing, though I woudn't if I actually bought more than the least amount that comes with the machine.

 

[Nordichund]

Doing my head in

Well the update with my latest iMac which I have already stated has some screen issues, which as I have said I was quite happy to live with. Today I noticed an irritating buzzing sound whenever I dim the screen. It's as quite as a mouse when it's on full brightness. So I called up tech support and after doing a couple of tests over the phone, the technician told me I need another replacement. An apologetic guy from sales then came on the phone and offered me either my money back or a new iMac. I told him about the screen issues and his words were

"the machine should be perfect, if not then it must be replaced"

So now I have to go through the whole tedious process of waiting for a new custom built iMac to arrive from China. I was very tempted to order a new MBP instead, but the iMac in every other respect is I think a beautiful machine.

Again I have to give Apple Support their due for being professional. At least I'd already planned to go away for Xmas, that's if the airline doesn't go on strike like it's threatening to do over the holiday period.

All I need now is a stuck red pixel right in the middle of the screen of my brand new 2nd replacement iMac to make it a happy new year.

What a pain!

 

[airjuggernaut]

Well the update with my latest iMac which I have already stated has some screen issues, which as I have said I was quite happy to live with. Today I noticed an irritating buzzing sound whenever I dim the screen. It's as quite as a mouse when it's on full brightness. So I called up tech support and after doing a couple of tests over the phone, the technician told me I need another replacement. An apologetic guy from sales then came on the phone and offered me either my money back or a new iMac. I told him about the screen issues and his words were

"the machine should be perfect, if not then it must be replaced"

So now I have to go through the whole tedious process of waiting for a new custom built iMac to arrive from China. I was very tempted to order a new MBP instead, but the iMac in every other respect is I think a beautiful machine.

Again I have to give Apple Support their due for being professional. At least I'd already planned to go away for Xmas, that's if the airline doesn't go on strike like it's threatening to do over the holiday period.

All I need now is a stuck red pixel right in the middle of the screen of my brand new 2nd replacement iMac to make it a happy new year.

What a pain!

They Offered you a refund :O? Damn, I want to get rid of my iMac...It's been causing a lot of problems lately (screen gradient, buzzing, random black screens, apps freezing up, etc.) Do you think I could get a refund? Its been about a month since I bought it.
If i get the refund, I'll buy Mac Mini in it's place.

 

[Nordichund]

They Offered you a refund :O? Damn, I want to get rid of my iMac...It's been causing a lot of problems lately (screen gradient, buzzing, random black screens, apps freezing up, etc.) Do you think I could get a refund? Its been about a month since I bought it.
If i get the refund, I'll buy Mac Mini in it's place.

If what you are saying is correct then Apple should at least either replace your machine or take it in to get fixed. I can only recommend that you give tech support a call or Apple Customer Support to see what they say. In my experience I think they are brilliant. I just wish I could say the same about the iMac.

 

[ceres]

If what you are saying is correct then Apple should at least either replace your machine or take it in to get fixed. I can only recommend that you give tech support a call or Apple Customer Support to see what they say. In my experience I think they are brilliant. I just wish I could say the same about the iMac.

They are brilliant about playing iMac roulette with you.
I don´t know Norwegian consumer law but where I live they have to spin the wheel three times.

 

[Nordichund]

They are brilliant about playing iMac roulette with you.
I don´t know Norwegian consumer law but where I live they have to spin the wheel three times.

To be honest I'm starting to regret that I didn't take the money and just wait for the next upgrade instead.

In addition to the gradient issue, I'm just wondering how many Al 24" iMac owners actually have a screen that does not give off ANY backlight bleeding with a black screen, especially in the bottom left hand corner.

I'm having quite an iMac experience and it's far from the one I imagined.

 

[airjuggernaut]

To be honest I'm starting to regret that I didn't take the money and just wait for the next upgrade instead.

In addition to the gradient issue, I'm just wondering how many Al 24" iMac owners actually have a screen that does not give off ANY backlight bleeding with a black screen, especially in the bottom left hand corner.

I'm having quite an iMac experience and it's far from the one I imagined.

I agree it is quite different from what I imagined (Rolling hills, me and my iMac running and laughing together). And I know Not everything's ever perfect. But Frig, Since Apple Sets its standards so high, they should atleast be able to deliver to atleast some caliber. Sure they make beautiful computers, and you do pay for it aesthetics essentially, but beauty is just a side thought when you actually need to use the computer. If Dell started making computers that have Broken This, or Problem this and Problem that, they would have a horde of "MS and DELL SUCK" trolls everywhere.
Apple get it the **** together, and start giving us the same quality that you like to flaunt your ass around with.

End Of Rant.
On a side Note, Leopard is amazing