Since I'm sitting on the fence pondering the apparent yellow-screen-risk of buying an iMac I went to my local electronics retailer here in Germany yesterday where they still only had the early 2010 C2D (21.5") iMac on display. Core i3s aren't there yet. I opened up Apple's iMac webpage in Safari and full-screened it - the background is all white. The top of the iMac screen in Safari was bluish-white. The bottom ever so gradually changed to yellowish-white with the yellowest spot in the lower right-hand corner. Opening the little Text-Editor programm in the finder and full-screening it (also white background) produced the same results. Noticeable as it was, had I not been looking for it, I may have thought it was due to something else like reflections or in-store-lighting etc. I'm still undecided how the perceived color shift would affect/bother me in everyday usage. I should mention though that I'm not involved in anything that would require a high degree of color accuracy . Hope I can muster up the courage to buy...really want one of those new ones. Good luck to all those who have taken the plunge.
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How big of an issue is the iMac Yellow Tinting issue?
- Thread starter originalvector
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I actually checked my second iMac in the store, I noticed the gray bar along the bottom but was ok with that then when I got home in a dim room with the brightness turned down it was pretty yellow. Unless the yellow is really bad it is hard to see it in the apple store but that doesn't mean you wont see it in dim lighting at home.
When I returned the 2nd and 3rd ones (my 4th ended up ok so I'm keeping it) I didn't even make them open the box I just took it home to check. The apple store in utah has 2 27 inch displays and one has the gray band and maybe some yellow it is hard to tell but the second one looks perfect, that's what kept me coming back for more haha
When I returned the 2nd and 3rd ones (my 4th ended up ok so I'm keeping it) I didn't even make them open the box I just took it home to check. The apple store in utah has 2 27 inch displays and one has the gray band and maybe some yellow it is hard to tell but the second one looks perfect, that's what kept me coming back for more haha
After getting 2 bad displays and giving up in January/February 09 I'm ready to try again with the refreshed iMacs. I truly want to believe that the instances of this issue have been lowered to the point where the odds of me getting a good one are now high enough to make it worthwhile.
I don't understand people who refuse to believe this is/was a huge issue though.
What would be my motivation for making this up?
I really want to own one of these so if anything I'm motivated to ignore the issue but as a discerning consumer, I simply can't.
As far as the lighting in the apple store it is more difficult to see in really bright light such as at the store. There isn't some special magical light that apple uses to conceal the issue. No one is suggesting that. It is simply the fact that bright lights make colour gradation issues more difficult to detect and misrepresent how you will use the machine in the wild.
You don't need some special test to detect the issue. In fact I've found the easiest way to see it is to set the background colour to grey and then cast your eyes from one part of the screen to the other. Not an unreasonable real world scenario.
As far as statistics...
Fact: People with complaints will be more motivated to arrive at a site like this and answer polls. This will skew the statistics in favour of the complaints.
Fact: A number of people are simply unable to see the issue or don't care. These people own machines that are by some standards defective but they will never be counted in any statistical gathering skewing the stats in favour of the non-complaints.
Reasonable Indicator: A high number of people answering these polls and reporting problems have found their way here. The last yellow thread has over 100 pages of reports of the issue. This indicates that it is not an insignificant number of people suffering from the issue.
Reasonable Indicator: The fact that there are a number of people reporting multiple subsequent instances of the problem indicates a high instance of the problem. Simply put the probability of receiving more than one in a row would be extremely low if there wasn't a significant problem. The probability of receiving 3, 4, 5..... would be astronomically low. To me this is the biggest indication of how widespread the issue is.
Still I will try again. I will be fair and honest in my assessment and I will settle only for a machine where the screen is uniformly coloured enough to satisfy my personal preference. Perfection isn't necessary but a reasonably high standard of quality is.
I don't understand people who refuse to believe this is/was a huge issue though.
What would be my motivation for making this up?
I really want to own one of these so if anything I'm motivated to ignore the issue but as a discerning consumer, I simply can't.
As far as the lighting in the apple store it is more difficult to see in really bright light such as at the store. There isn't some special magical light that apple uses to conceal the issue. No one is suggesting that. It is simply the fact that bright lights make colour gradation issues more difficult to detect and misrepresent how you will use the machine in the wild.
You don't need some special test to detect the issue. In fact I've found the easiest way to see it is to set the background colour to grey and then cast your eyes from one part of the screen to the other. Not an unreasonable real world scenario.
As far as statistics...
Fact: People with complaints will be more motivated to arrive at a site like this and answer polls. This will skew the statistics in favour of the complaints.
Fact: A number of people are simply unable to see the issue or don't care. These people own machines that are by some standards defective but they will never be counted in any statistical gathering skewing the stats in favour of the non-complaints.
Reasonable Indicator: A high number of people answering these polls and reporting problems have found their way here. The last yellow thread has over 100 pages of reports of the issue. This indicates that it is not an insignificant number of people suffering from the issue.
Reasonable Indicator: The fact that there are a number of people reporting multiple subsequent instances of the problem indicates a high instance of the problem. Simply put the probability of receiving more than one in a row would be extremely low if there wasn't a significant problem. The probability of receiving 3, 4, 5..... would be astronomically low. To me this is the biggest indication of how widespread the issue is.
Still I will try again. I will be fair and honest in my assessment and I will settle only for a machine where the screen is uniformly coloured enough to satisfy my personal preference. Perfection isn't necessary but a reasonably high standard of quality is.
This is pretty much how my screen is. I don't do any graphical work on it either.
In my normal use i do notice it a little because i know it's there but it's not really an issue. It's one of those things that if i didn't know about it, i would have thought the same thing as you, that's it's due to lighting/ reflections etc.
You might as well get one, if it the yellow is not so pronounced and doesn't bother you during normal use, keep it. If it does then i'm sure you can get it replaced any time as part of your warranty.
Qualifies for one of the most ridiculous things I've read on this forum year to date.
My .02
That sounds a little extreme doesn't it? On the other hand, I don't expect Apple Stores are going to put yellow screen iMacs on display either.
I've been perusing these yellow screen threads in the forum. Some posters say this issue is very rare. But when something like this happens to a customer then the fail rate for them is 100%. One guy started a thread as he's on his 3rd 21.5 iMac for yellowing.
Imagine you're a long time Windows user who has decided to take the Mac plunge. You even go all in for the 27" 8GB RAM, 2TB drive, and so on. You pull it out of the box, fire it up, and WTH!...
Another poster said buy a second monitor. Such workarounds aren't acceptable. Apples are premium PCs, you're paying extra for the OS, the design, and the hardware. I haven't seen an add where Apple said "Well, we are using Intel and Seagate components now, so some substandard parts are going to get through." I think forums like MR should hold Apple's feet to the fire, tell Apple that noisy drives and gray bars might be OK for Dell, but we expect more from you guys.
When I purchased my 20" C2D iMac I had some issues at the start. I ran the initial setup, it was OK a few days and crashed. I did format & reinstall, it was OK again for a couple days then crashed again. At this point I was starting to think Macs were a little overrated, my initial experience waasn't going very well. I called AppleCare, they had me format & reinstall, same result (personally I think it was crashing trying to download and/or install updates from Apple). Took it to the Store, the Genius hooked up some diagnostic stuff, booted with his CD, did some things I didn't understand, told me to go home and do one more format and reinstall. Went home, formatted reinstalled. That little iMac has run without a hitch since; screen colors look great, runs cool, and is quiet as a church mouse. I plan to have it for a while.
I went to local Best Buy to look at the current Mac lineup after seeing these threads on MR. First chance to see one right up close. My very first impression of the 27" was I want one. It really looks nice, and the screen was sweet! No yellow (even with changes in bright setting), no gray bars, relflections didn't bother me. Store was too loud to hear any HD noises but couldn't hear anything obvious. Other thing that hit me was the heat, this thing was really, really hot! I don't claim any IT brilliance but I do know heat is not a computer's friend, I have to wonder what long term effect that heat will have on the iMac?
That sounds a little extreme doesn't it? On the other hand, I don't expect Apple Stores are going to put yellow screen iMacs on display either.
I've been perusing these yellow screen threads in the forum. Some posters say this issue is very rare. But when something like this happens to a customer then the fail rate for them is 100%. One guy started a thread as he's on his 3rd 21.5 iMac for yellowing.
Imagine you're a long time Windows user who has decided to take the Mac plunge. You even go all in for the 27" 8GB RAM, 2TB drive, and so on. You pull it out of the box, fire it up, and WTH!...
Another poster said buy a second monitor. Such workarounds aren't acceptable. Apples are premium PCs, you're paying extra for the OS, the design, and the hardware. I haven't seen an add where Apple said "Well, we are using Intel and Seagate components now, so some substandard parts are going to get through." I think forums like MR should hold Apple's feet to the fire, tell Apple that noisy drives and gray bars might be OK for Dell, but we expect more from you guys.
When I purchased my 20" C2D iMac I had some issues at the start. I ran the initial setup, it was OK a few days and crashed. I did format & reinstall, it was OK again for a couple days then crashed again. At this point I was starting to think Macs were a little overrated, my initial experience waasn't going very well. I called AppleCare, they had me format & reinstall, same result (personally I think it was crashing trying to download and/or install updates from Apple). Took it to the Store, the Genius hooked up some diagnostic stuff, booted with his CD, did some things I didn't understand, told me to go home and do one more format and reinstall. Went home, formatted reinstalled. That little iMac has run without a hitch since; screen colors look great, runs cool, and is quiet as a church mouse. I plan to have it for a while.
I went to local Best Buy to look at the current Mac lineup after seeing these threads on MR. First chance to see one right up close. My very first impression of the 27" was I want one. It really looks nice, and the screen was sweet! No yellow (even with changes in bright setting), no gray bars, relflections didn't bother me. Store was too loud to hear any HD noises but couldn't hear anything obvious. Other thing that hit me was the heat, this thing was really, really hot! I don't claim any IT brilliance but I do know heat is not a computer's friend, I have to wonder what long term effect that heat will have on the iMac?
this seems to be the endless advise given for the majority of the users, who wouldn't even notice the issue anyway! the general consumer wont be bothered by this issue and most wouldnt even be aware that its an issue in the first place - especially if they arent on forums/internet etc.
the general consensus is always to buy if you're ready, if you are a professional (or prosumer) user and are bothered by it then you wont enjoy using the iMac.
my week 45 (iirc) 2009 iMac doesnt seem to be effected by it at all, but even after a year people dont seem to get it.. its been an infinite loop of complaints and whinging from users who just wish to complain. its a simple decision really...
.....
my week 45 (iirc) 2009 iMac doesnt seem to be effected by it at all, but even after a year people dont seem to get it.. its been an infinite loop of complaints and whinging from users who just wish to complain. its a simple decision really...
I don't know if you have noticed, that there is also an infinite loop of people claiming, again and again, that there is no problem at all, since THEY were not affected...
Tom B.
given that the people whinging would effectively be <2% of ALL iMac 2009/2010 owners, i dont think that its a problem.. at all...