iPhone 5 leaks light, say some users
Owners of the white iPhone 5 have posted photos showing light leaking behind the front display, prompting others to report the same issue.
The iPhone 5 may have the same light leak problem that initially plagued other Apple devices.
Chiming in on the MacRumors forum, one user posted a photo of the new iPhone in relative darkness, showing a small flash of light coming from the top of the device behind the glass panel. Another posted a similar picture displaying the same light leak. Other users have since added to both discussions, reporting the same issue on their new iPhones.
Apple's Discussion Forums have also picked up a few complaints about the light leakage.
Some users say they received a replacement unit from Apple, but the new units suffered from the same glitch. The number of posts on this problem is small so far, so it's difficult to tell how widespread the issue may be.
Light leaks aren't a new problem for Apple's mobile devices.
Some buyers of last year's iPad 2 discovered light leaking from around the bezel directly into the display. Also in 2011, tests of the white iPhone 4 found light leaking in when using the built-in camera. At that time, the problem was pinned on the way the white paint was interacting with the phone's glass technology.
In the case of the iPad 2, the light leakage was accompanied by a yellow tint that affected the screen. The yellow tint also was found on the iPhone 4S. Many people said that these defects were the result of the glue used in the screen assembly not having fully hardened. In those cases, owners found that both problems eventually went away.
For now, iPhone 5 owners who notice the light leakage should certainly take the phone back to Apple for a replacement. But if this problem mimics the same one in the past, then it may be a matter of waiting for the defect to eventually resolve itself.
CNET contacted Apple for comment and will update the story if we receive more information.
(Via Boy Genius Report)