Apple’s 27in iMac woes continue
By Gareth Steward
Posted on 4 Feb 2010 at 14:25
Apple customers are still facing a two-week delay on shipments of the new 27in iMac, following ongoing problems with its display.
In December we reported how a graphics glitch had delayed shipments of the 27in iMac by a fortnight, with the delay increasing to three weeks during January.
The 27in iMac has been a huge hit with customers and we are working to increase supply to meet up with strong demand
Hundreds of users have since flooded Apple’s support forum complaining of screen flickering and yellow screen tinting. Apple has released two firmware updates in an attempt to fix these issues, with a large number of users reporting that the update has successfully resolved the flickering issue. However, the update has seemingly had limited success in solving the yellow tint.
According to an internal memo obtained by Gizmodo, Apple instructed its technical support teams to inform customers that “slight colour variability is normal for LCD screens and in general does not warrant replacement”. However, customers who have already returned their iMacs have said that they have been offered a full refund, as well as an extra 15% of the purchase price in compensation.
One British Apple reseller has reportedly blamed the delays on a shortage of replacement 27in LCD panels, with a backlog of more than 230 iMacs currently awaiting this replacement. The 21.5in iMac models are not affected.
An Apple spokesperson told PC Pro that “the 27in iMac has been a huge hit with customers and we are working to increase supply to meet up with strong demand.” The company claims that production is continuing while it sorts out the display issues.
From around the web
The easy solution
The way for Apple to solve this issue is surely for Jobs to put out a PR video saying that a yellow tint in "Awesome". It could even be a revenue stream, with Apple selling an iFilter (basically, a bit of transparent yellowish film) to users that don't currently have the yellow tint on their iMac.
By PaulOckenden on 4 Feb 2010 
@PaulOckenden
LOL, that's brilliant! :)
I bet you they could as well.
By Grunthos on 4 Feb 2010
full refund, as well as an extra 15%
If that's what Apple have been doing, then well done I say.
Don't often say nice things about the company & how it's run (well, it's a big company - what's to like?), but that is very good service, at least
By greemble on 4 Feb 2010
but but
and Stephen Fry could say it was caressable. Just one small point - why does the photo show it running Windows 7?
By jonathandk2 on 4 Feb 2010
You learn something new every day
"Hundreds of users have since flooded Apple’s support forum complaining of screen flickering and yellow screen tinting"
You mean they've actually been switching it on? I thought you were just meant to plonk it in your living room and stare at it, occasionally rubbing your groinal area and making little sqeaks of pleasure.
By Lacrobat on 5 Feb 2010
I like the Win7 desktop on the iMAC picture! Did you see if the tint is still there in Win7?
'
Good customer service though, 15% extra back is more than you would expect from most PC manufacturers. I'm not surprised they've stopped it though, it must have cost them a fortune (14% of their profit margin).
By phantombudgie on 5 Feb 2010
Where are all the Mac fans?
Where are all the comments along the lines of "its a small percentage that are affected, any other company could have these problems". Ignoring of course that they don't believe Apple to be just any other company and would have us subcribe to the gospel of Jobs.
By windywoo on 5 Feb 2010
@PaulOckenden
you're so right, i can imagine the queues outside the Apple store right now waiting til its midnight launch.
it would also cost about £300 more than a standard filter and at the end of its 18 month life the imac its attached to would need replaceing because it would be non-removable.
By kingct on 7 Feb 2010
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