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iPad mini rMini: You guys had me all worked up over nothing!

W

wermy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 15, 2013
205
1
I finally got my rMini today. The screen is fantastic - far more than adequate. I was obsessively reading these boards waiting for it to arrive, and expected to see a washed out, muddy display with muted colors. The colors are not as vivid as an iPad Air (or lots of other devices, for that matter), no. But it still looks fantastic.

I do realize there will be people out there with a different definition of "fantastic," but I really think the vast majority of users will be more than happy. Really if I hadn't read about it on here, I doubt I'd have ever noticed. MAYbe if I held it up right next to my 5S.... Maybe.

Anyway, that's all. Just thought I'd share this for anyone else awaiting theirs while worrying about "gamut-gate". :) Happy to answer any rMini questions anyone may have.
 
J

JSalig

macrumors 6502
Oct 30, 2010
272
3
You really do need to take alot of what is said around here with a grain of salt. It can make for some entertaining reading but be mindful of the echo chamber effect.
 
V

voronoi

macrumors member
Jul 14, 2012
43
0
To be fair, nobody said it was garbage (that I remember reading) or muddy (where'd that come from?), just that it wasn't as good as it could be. All the reviews that note the difference also mention that it's subtle and that it would be most apparent to those who spend lots of time around calibrated displays.

Also note that different people have different levels of color perception (try this test if you're curious http://www.xrite.com/online-color-test-challenge). You'd be surprised how different people see different colors.
 
F

FrankB1191

macrumors 6502a
Jun 14, 2013
722
1
Pennsylvania
It was called "inferior" and "gimped" regularly. I have to admit that the fear monger bunch had me second guessing what I saw with my own eyes. Now all I have to do is get myself to the store tonight.

Enjoy wermi! :)
 
W

wermy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 15, 2013
205
1
voronoi said:
To be fair, nobody said it was garbage (that I remember reading) or muddy (where'd that come from?), just that it wasn't as good as it could be. All the reviews that note the difference also mention that it's subtle and that it would be most apparent to those who spend lots of time around calibrated displays.

Also note that different people have different levels of color perception (try this test if you're curious http://www.xrite.com/online-color-test-challenge). You'd be surprised how different people see different colors.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that link, that was pretty cool. I scored a 7 on it, with 0 being perfect, so I guess that's pretty good?

I have seen some people on here saying edges of text and lines look blurry, which is where my muddy comment came from. And yes from all the doom and gloom around here regarding the colors on the rMini, I think it would be reasonable for someone to draw the conclusion that the screen is poor quality, rather than just not as good as it could be (and to be fair, there are few things in this world that would *not* fall under the category "not as good as it could be.").

Anyway, the whole point of my post was just to put others like me at ease: the screen is much nicer than you might guess from reading these boards. :)
 
Wuiffi

Wuiffi

macrumors 6502a
Oct 6, 2011
686
78
Imo it's all about the point of few. If you see the retina mini as an upgrade to the mini (as I do) it's better in many things (resolution, CPU performance, GPU performance ....) and as good in all the others (gamut, battery life, ...)

However a lot of people expect the retina mini to be a smaller, cheaper version of the Air and want it to be as good in every single aspect.
 
rockyroad55

rockyroad55

macrumors 601
Jul 14, 2010
4,152
59
Phila, PA
Wuiffi said:
Imo it's all about the point of few. If you see the retina mini as an upgrade to the mini (as I do) it's better in many things (resolution, CPU performance, GPU performance ....) and as good in all the others (gamut, battery life, ...)

However a lot of people expect the retina mini to be a smaller, cheaper version of the Air and want it to be as good in every single aspect.
Click to expand...

I look at the mini as the same iPad as the air but in a smaller package. Well the air is technically a bit faster.
 
jpcarro

jpcarro

macrumors 6502
Mar 13, 2009
428
82
On your nine
voronoi said:
...All the reviews that note the difference also mention that it's subtle and that it would be most apparent to those who spend lots of time around calibrated displays.

Also note that different people have different levels of color perception (try this test if you're curious http://www.xrite.com/online-color-test-challenge). You'd be surprised how different people see different colors.
Click to expand...

Cool test...I got a perfect score. I'm preparing to be supremely disappointed when my rMini arrives...NOT! Don't gamutgate me bro ;)
 
K

kalt

macrumors regular
Oct 17, 2011
164
0
Yep, good post. I love my miniRet, the screen is fine. Unless you're a professional photographer with a serious need for absolute color gamut perfection, the mini is totally fine. The screen is great. Even meet to a big iPad the diff is hardly noticeable.
 
m3110y3110

m3110y3110

macrumors newbie
Jul 18, 2002
6
0
Boston
Completely agree with the OP. Just received my rMini as well and it's kick-butt. No complaints and I won't start 'looking' for issues with it either. Unless it blows up or doesn't turn on I'm just gonna kick back and enjoy the product for what it is. Cheers.:D
 
Gix1k

Gix1k

macrumors 68040
Jun 16, 2008
3,418
1,074
The screen is fine unless you own the Air and the rMini and compare them. My rMini screen is great. Not as vibrant as my Air, but far better than the OGmini
 
Tork

Tork

macrumors regular
Oct 14, 2006
224
160
So true. From what some people have been saying around here, I expected the same -- washed out, muted, "gimped" colors. But I played with one for quite a while at an Apple Store yesterday and the display looked great! I searched Google Images for "colorful photos" on it and I thought they looked completely normal. Couple that with the razor sharp text, and I'm not sure what the fuss is about at all.

Now to decide whether to spring for a T-Mobile LTE version or stick with Wi-Fi like I've done in the past when I buy mine soon...
 
bizzy045

bizzy045

macrumors 6502
Oct 5, 2011
397
117
Tork said:
So true. From what some people have been saying around here, I expected the same -- washed out, muted, "gimped" colors. But I played with one for quite a while at an Apple Store yesterday and the display looked great! I searched Google Images for "colorful photos" on it and I thought they looked completely normal. Couple that with the razor sharp text, and I'm not sure what the fuss is about at all.

Now to decide whether to spring for a T-Mobile LTE version or stick with Wi-Fi like I've done in the past when I buy mine soon...
Click to expand...

If you can use your phone as a hotspot, especially for free, save your money and stick with wifi.
 
x-evil-x

x-evil-x

macrumors 603
Jul 13, 2008
5,576
3,234
Gix1k said:
The screen is fine unless you own the Air and the rMini and compare them. My rMini screen is great. Not as vibrant as my Air, but far better than the OGmini
Click to expand...

Honestly I've had the air for two weeks just got the mini today. Have you looked at skin tones and details in picture? Seems like the mini to me look more natural and I've noticed more detail in certain photos. I've been comparing them for the last hour. Blues look more purplish on the air in some pictures. Greens look more vibrant yes but those vibrant pictures in comparison you should look at the details on both.
So tell me what have you compared them to? I'm more interested in skin tones and natural colors. Sky's also look more natural on the mini's blue.
 
G

gecis

macrumors regular
Jun 26, 2010
129
3
x-evil-x said:
Honestly I've had the air for two weeks just got the mini today. Have you looked at skin tones and details in picture? Seems like the mini to me look more natural and I've noticed more detail in certain photos. I've been comparing them for the last hour. Blues look more purplish on the air in some pictures. Greens look more vibrant yes but those vibrant pictures in comparison you should look at the details on both.
So tell me what have you compared them to? I'm more interested in skin tones and natural colors. Sky's also look more natural on the mini's blue.
Click to expand...

We'll said. My thoughts are the same. I have both mini and air, I think airs colors are more vivid and saturated where as mini has more natural tone.
 
3rdiguy

3rdiguy

macrumors 65816
Sep 17, 2012
1,361
611
The only thing holding back is the enormous black bars when watching video. That's a tough call
 
upnorth85

upnorth85

macrumors 6502a
Oct 2, 2011
629
202
MN, USA
I have both the Air and R mini. I have watched several hours of netflix on both. my connection speed is around 30 Mbs. The Air is far superior to the rMini. I am a bit disappointed with the R mini. It is better than the original mini due to better chip and better Antena signal. But it is thicker and heavier and the resolution is not that great. My recommendation:

Between Air and rMini, Air wins out.
If upgrading from iPad 4 to Air, definite improvement.
Mini to r mini, upgrade not worth it.

That said everyone's usage and perspective is different. My iPad R Mini is now used only for traveling and reading e-mails on the go or at meetings etc.
 
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