I know right!? It’s becoming quite comical at this point. I’m really inclined to get a Samsung tablet or any other brand at this point, but I’m pretty deeply entrenched in the Apple ecosystem. And Apple products are as good as any when they work properly. It‘s just too bad they seem to do hardly any QC before boxing up new stuff at the factory. Given my experience, I’m willing to bet there’s a lot of iPad owners out there who don’t do screen checks out of the box who have unnoticed dead pixels on their devices.
There has been a decline in the quality of iPads. But the thing to keep in mind is that not every unit will exhibit this decline. Don't let others convince you to ignore your first-hand experiences.... just as your experiences don't invalidate someone's perfect track record with iPads.
It started with the 1st gen 12.9 iPad Pro... and it took nearly 2 years for the issues to appear in some units... touch disease and the white spot. Since then, all iPads with larger than 9.7" laminated screens were prone to the white spot... again, not all, but that is something that didn't happen to iPad before.
I managed to trade my 12.9 Pro in just as it began to suffer from touch disease. After that, I refrained from buying those larger iPads.
I've owned nearly every generation iPad (except for the iPad 3, and Air 1) and never had any quality issues. No dead pixels, no hot pixels, no backlight bleed, no nicks or dings out-of-the-box. My original iPad is still functioning today (as a digital picture tube for a vintage TV) and my iPad 2 still serves as a dedicated iCade and pinball machine. My Mini 4, Mini 5, and 6th gen iPad were in perfect condition out of the box, and continue to be.
Given my experiences and what I've concluded, the only iPad I will consider buying is the 8th gen (if it is the last of that form-factor) or the 9th gen if it is the same as the 8th.
Let your first-hand experiences guide your decisions.
