Apple's New iPad mini Suffers From Retina Display Image Retention Problem
by Joe White
November 16, 2013
Certain iPad mini Retina displays appear to be suffering from an image retention problem, which sees previously displayed text and images partly remain on the tablet's screen for several minutes.
The news comes from Instapaper creator Marco Arment, who explains that the problem at hand is not dissimilar to the issue that affected 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display models, when the laptop first launched. Back at the time, Arment created a test page, which switches between a grid and a gray screen, in order to leave a "faint impression of the checkerboard" that eventually fades "over the next few minutes."
In the picture at the head of this article, the image retention problem is indeed further visible. You can test your own iPad mini by visiting the aforementioned test page in Safari for iOS.
Arment explains:
It’s not the sort of problem that I’m likely to notice in actual use — I’ve never noticed it on my Retina MacBook Pro, and it has worse image retention than this iPad on my test page.However, given that Apple uses different display manufacturers for its iPad, it is possible that swapping an afflicted iPad mini through an Apple Retail Store could result in owners receiving an unaffected model. "But it’s also possible that, given the extremely low volume that’s trickling into stores, any replacement I get in the next couple of weeks could be from the same batch with the same issue," Arment adds. Both the iPhone 5s and iPad Air appear to be unaffected. See also: Apple Launches OS X Mavericks 10.9.1 For Registered Developers, United Airlines App Takes Off With iPad Support, iOS 7 Design And New Features, and Check Out The First Teaser Trailer For Cut The Rope 2: Om Nom's Unexpected Adventure. Image credit: Twitter
