Apple sued for 20" iMac display capabilities deception
Apple has found itself at the forefront of another lawsuit involving the capabilities of the 20-inch iMac display. The company claims the display is capable of producing "millions of colors" and is the same display used on the 24-inch iMac; it appears this is not the case.
A federal class action lawsuit has been filed by Kabateck Brown Keller, LLP. The suit states Apple has deceived consumers by concealing the fact that the current 20-inch iMac displays are inferior to that of its predecessors and the 24-inch iMac.
Apple says that both the 20-inch and 24-inch can display millions of colors at all resolutions. This is true only for the 24-inch model which does display 16,777,216 colors on 8-bit in-plane switching (IPS) screens as did the last generation of 20-inch iMacs.
The current crop of 20-inch models do not even come close; displaying only 262,144 colors which is 98% fewer colors than the 24-inch models can produce. Apple is using inferior twisted-nematic film (TN) displays on the 20-inch iMacs.
This means that those models have a narrow viewing angle, less color depth and accuracy and are more prone to screen washout. Kabateck says that despite Apple’s claims, the 20-inch models are not well suited to photo editing because of the limited color accuracy.
The law firm said, "Apple is squeezing more profits for itself by using cheap screens and its customers are unwittingly paying the price."
Apple could rectify the situation by offering current users an upgrade to a 24" model; replace the 20-inch TN display with an IPS display or fight it out in court. Replacing the displays would probably be cheaper in the long run rather than a court battle but it may take a court appearance to force Apple to provide the display capabilities promised in current models.
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