Seemingly Different iPhone Screens Anger Users

By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews

Shades of the nano screen problem, except that was physical scratching / cracking. In this case, iPhone users have posted problems to Apple support forum and elsewhere, including side-by-side comparisons (above) which show many screens identified by “LCD panel ID” number 7 (left in the picture) showing a discernable grid of dots, and being dimmer than those with a panel ID of 5.

On the Apple forum, several messages spelled out how to determine the iPhone’s screen information. Tapping in *3001#12345#* (including the asterisks) on the phone keypad and hitting the Call button puts the device into Field Test Mode, which offers detailed information about the iPhone’s hardware, including the firmware version and “LCD panel ID” number. Panel IDs that start with a 7 are those being bashed by users; screens identified with a number that beings with a 5, on the other hand, are characterized as brighter and sharper because they don’t seem to have the grid pattern. Source: ComputerWorld

We Say: I’ve seen a few posts indicate users with the “7″ screen having no issues, while others do indicate they have the perceived issue. Some have been successful exchanging their devices, but others have not. Meanwhile, opinions on this differ from simply being an actual problem to being imagined and in the users’ minds. It’s hard to dispute the visual evidence, though … and, if I spent $599 for something and was not satisfied, I’d complain, too.