Manufacturers love the "it doesn't affect the functionality or durability" excuse, but to me that's insufficient.
That's like a display manufacturer ignoring a dead pixel. Yes, the monitor will work, and yes, it probably won't mean new dead pixels appearing. So what? I didn't pay for a monitor with one less pixel.
I didn't pay for a phone with bumps on the screen, and the adverts about the phone didn't include the possibility of bumps.
I returned a TV to Best buy because it had a dead pixel. I remember the manager was real annoyed, but exactly what you said. What, I saved up for all that time to buy a TV... Only to pick the wrong one in the line and I should suffer for it? Nah. Exchanged it for a working one, manufacturer can take the hit, not me
Do you own one? Can you see the bumps with the screen on? The screen doesn't have to look good when it's off - there's nothing to look at then. It just has to look good when it's on.
I made a generalist point about manufacturer replies to user-raised concerns. I don't have to own one. My example didn't even relate to smartphones.
Can you see the bumps with the screen on?
I don't know. A good amount of users noticed it, so it's certainly something different from other panels and that stuck out to new owners. What I do know is that I wouldn't trust Google's evaluation if it's noticeable or not.
Can you see the bumps with the screen on?
That's for me to decide when I get a device. If it bothers me and I want a return, I don't care if you think it's okay. Usually, those "under the display components" appear when you use it in bright lights, like outside in a sunny day. Plus, people kept claiming those optical fingerprint sensors were invisible but I saw the outline from the sensor all the time when using my previous phone.
Okay, I own one. In fact I'm typing this on it. I'll answer my own questions. I can see the "bumps" if I look at an extreme angle with the screen off when it's under a light. They're not visible with the screen on, and they're below the screen so there's nothing to feel. It does seem like a non issue unless something changes. This whole thing feels overblown because "Google bad"
Expecting every display to not have dead pixel or 2 is incredibly wasteful. So many perfectly good monitors and TVs would end up as scrap if the manufacturer had to pull every single one. Mountains of ewaste.
This expectation of excessive perfection and uniformity is really damaging.
The conversation is actually about manufacturer greed (w.r.t sale prices going past $1000) and audacity to ask customers to pay that much for a less than perfect (their marketing material, theur words) device.
I hate greedy corporations as much as the next guy, but manufacturers are not going to up their QC to include single dead pixels and take a hit to their profit margin. They'd increase prices, by a lot.
Maybe there's a market for displays that meet this standard for the nitpickers, and sell the ones that fail at a discount, but they'd definitely be a premium.
Whatever man, I'll enjoy my functionally identical display while you're fucking around with returns and wondering why there's so much ewaste on this planet.
I'd love to have your superhuman eyesight that can detect a dead pixel on a 4K TV from 10 feet away.
You know what you just did, buddy? They just called me - I'm no longer allowed in the research group.
They told me I returned a TV, and that instead you kept yours - they said if everyone was just like you, we would be saved. But I doomed things. I returned the TV.
Are you happy now? You saved the planet, and I condemned it. You're a hero now.
Not to mention a dead pixel can be indicative of future failures. My brand new Pixel 7 Pro had a single dead pixel. I didn't notice until I finished setting it up (or maybe it didn't show up until then). Being lazy and not wanting to set it up again, I decided to ignore it. It was at the bottom, out of the way.
A month or two later I woke up one day, checked notifications and took my horror that dead pixel had upgraded to an entire line at the bottom. Enough was enough, I missed my window for a store return but was able to get a RMA setup. Replacement is going strong, no dead pixel and none showing up.
One or two dead pixels on a 4k display, probably not a problem. I likely won't notice. Bright pixels though and it goes straight back. Those will annoy me the entire time I own the device.