I have always been told that parallel of LEDs is not a real great idea, but that was before the modern COB days. Is manufacturing or sorting good enough these days that this is less a concern? I would think discrete parallel would be the only right way where each diode is fed from a common power supply, and each has their own resistor? I realize this method is not very main stream with LED lighting companies as I think it just adds complexity and I think the end goal is to ensure total failure so new equipment must be purchased. I am trying to pay close attention to how these lights are built to see who does it best.
I think what is most common is over driving the diode chips, which will certainly impress on initial purchase, but will not last. I am also noticing a deficiency in thermal management. In the case I am testing in this thread, the chassis is specified as Aluminum, but its actually stamped steel, and they are installing the PCB strips against the painted steel finish, so thermal transfer will not be good at all.
I know in my research and test data that thermal management is key to long life LED lighting.