Apple has been using comparatively low-quality panels in their laptops for a while. I ran into an issue like this when researching my 17" Macbook Pro purchase i

Apple has been using comparatively low-quality panels in their laptops for a while. I ran into an issue like this when researching my 17" Macbook Pro purchase in late 2006. I still ended up making the purchase, but it was indeed a lower-quality screen with very apparent dithering under certain color profiles.