iPad mini Specific examples of Mini Display at its Worst?

Does the BestBuy have any iPad 3/4 near the mini that you can compare? Because unless you compare it to a retina display, the mini screen is going to look just fine.

For me, the difference is most noticeable when I play games like Bejweled. The colors look much brighter and clearer on 3/4. Also, text is clearer on any app -- just open up the same webpage on mini and a retina iPad, and if you don't notice a diff, well then, you are one of those people who'll be happy with a mini.

Try blu-ray.com.

Text is where it is most noticeable - any text anywhere, on a website, in iBooks, in Mail, anywhere and everywhere. If you're fine with it, go ahead and purchase, don't torture yourself with it (at least until the retina model comes out!)

Now that I'm used to retina displays on my iPad 3 and iPhone 5, the iPad mini looks horribly pixelated to me. A few years ago I would have said it was an excellent screen, but excellent is no longer good enough for me.

Some people say they can't tell the difference, that's either because they're trying to convince themselves, or because their eyesight is poor - in which case it is a retina display for them!

It's not bad but. compared with the 4 it's inferior however you pays your money and takes your choices.

rbrian said:

Text is where it is most noticeable - any text anywhere, on a website, in iBooks, in Mail, anywhere and everywhere. If you're fine with it, go ahead and purchase, don't torture yourself with it (at least until the retina model comes out!)

Now that I'm used to retina displays on my iPad 3 and iPhone 5, the iPad mini looks horribly pixelated to me. A few years ago I would have said it was an excellent screen, but excellent is no longer good enough for me.

Some people say they can't tell the difference, that's either because they're trying to convince themselves, or because their eyesight is poor - in which case it is a retina display for them!

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The mini wasnt meant to be a top spec tablet. It is just a smaller version of the ipad with a much smaller price. If we are talking about the base model which is $329, you cant expect to have it all at that price point from Apple.

They way these Minis are selling, I think plenty of people do not mind the pixelated screen. I have it and it does not bother me, but if I needed a better screen/specs I would have an ipad 4 near me instead of the mini.

In terms of lightness the 4 is not much heavier.Buy it!

maverick22 said:

Maybe that's what the deal is. I'm on a computer all day, and work directly under fluorescent lighting 10 hours/day. I get eye fatigue fairly quickly.

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I don't think you'll notice your eyesight getting worse gradually. I didn't when I was 12; I thought the teacher's handwriting was poor (it was, but that wasn't the problem). When I went to an optician and got glasses, I was amazed at how sharp everything was, and I could then read the blackboard from the back of the class.

A couple of years ago I had laser treatment, now I can see without glasses, and I see jagged pixels everywhere I look. Maybe I should go outside more, I hear the graphics are amazing...

I have had the first-gen iPad, iPad 2, and iPad 3.....and all of the iPhones except iPhone 4S, so I've had experience with devices without and with the retina screen. Yesterday I bought an iPad Mini and brought her home to the household of two devices with retina screens and 1 device (iPad 2) without. I think a lot of people are making a big deal of something rather unimportant. Do I love the retina screens on my iPhone 5 and iPad 3? Sure, I do, they are gorgeous. However, the iPad Mini screen is NOT THAT BAD. If, when lying in bed, I bring the screen very close to my face I can see the pixels and such a whole lot more than I would if I did the same with my devices with a retina screen, but that does not mean I cannot enjoy using the iPad Mini. I spent some time last night reading in bed (a whole lot more comfortable than using the heavier full-sized iPad!) and then today some time playing with it in a couple of games, checking forums, reading the Washington Post.....and guess what, my eyes aren't bleeding or falling out of my head because I used something which was not a retina screen!

My primary purpose in purchasing and using the iPad Mini is to take it with me when I am leaving the house. It will be a lot lighter to carry and the smaller size means I won't always need large bags or purses, I can use something more the size of a normal purse. When out-and-about I often pause to check my emails or my forums, especially if out for a sustained period of time. The iPad Mini will do just fine for that purpose. If I were going out somewhere and knew I'd be showing off my photos, well, sure, that's when I'd tote the iPad 3, since the retina screen does really nice things for my images.

Apple clearly had a specific plan in mind and a target audience in mind when designing this latest iPad, and I think they wanted to make it affordable and also as useable as possible for a lot of people old and young. I am very happy they have brought out the device now rather than waiting another year or two or however long it would take to create the device with a retina screen. Rather than spending a lot of time trying to compare the iPad Mini without a retina screen to other devices with it, why not simply appreciate the device for what it DOES have and what it DOES do? I think it is already making a lot of people very, very happy and even more will be after December 25th......

Fritter60 said:

It's not bad but. compared with the 4 it's inferior however you pays your money and takes your choices.

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Takes your choices?

The Mini's display is fine, it's just not great.

maverick22 said:

Maybe that's what the deal is. I'm on a computer all day, and work directly under fluorescent lighting 10 hours/day. I get eye fatigue fairly quickly.

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If you get eye fatigue, then reading on a 3/4 is going to be less tiring, even if you aren't consciously aware of the difference while looking at the screen.

That said, it also depends on how long you are going to be reading on the thing. If you are planning to read War & Peace, I'd say go with the retina screen, but if you are just going to use it 1-2 hours a day, the mini screen should be fine.

Eye strain

FWIW I decided to return my Mini on a Sunday morning while reading the NYT app. My eyes felt like I had stayed up all the night...and I hadn't. It was that moment that I decided to return the Mini and wait for retina. That morning I switched back to the iPad 3 and it was like drinking from a cool mountain stream with my eyes. Now that I think about it, I spend all day staring at a not-very-high-resolution monitor and have never experienced eye strain the way I did with Mini.

maverick22 said:

In what ways could Best Buy have improved the screen in store? Some have said on here it's not as good when you get the device home. Not sure I'm on the fence with that claim though.

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Well, lighting in stores in general tend to be brighter than in a typical home. I think that does make a difference in how the screens look. Also, no matter how long you play with a device in a store, you are going to spend a lot more time with it at home, and as you spend more time, you notice more details about the device that werent apparent at first.

I agree that the screen is not that bad. I can see how the retina is better, but unless you are comparing the two... It is not bad at all. Just my two cents though... It doesn't bother me.

I typically use it to browse in landscape mode because it can be a little fuzzy in portrait at times.

When I first picked up the iPad mini I couldn't read the text at all and found pictures simply hard to see.

However once I had switched it on the screen displayed very commendable clarity and I found the viewing angles excellent.

Very possibly those who criticize the device are unaware of this handy hint.