iPad mini [MERGED] The iPad Mini looks beautiful until you turn it on.

[questioner76]

I really think folks should go and see the device before purchasing. I saw one at lunch today. Even though the ppi is greater than the iPad 2, I didn't notice a significant difference between the mini's resolution and the 2's. It's very, very slight.

All said, it's a pretty amazing piece of tech. It would have been perfect 2 years ago before the retina versions came out. They would have sold cajillions.

This is getting ridiculous... Firstly, the iPad mini screen resolution is that of the iPad 2 (which people had no problems with at the time), yet in the smaller size it bumps the PPI significantly - and makes it superior to the iPad 2.

Keep in mind that all the Macs that we use all the time (with the exception of the rMBPs) have MUCH lower PPIs than the iPad Mini. Yet we're totally fine with them.

And finally - there are 100s of threads about this very issue. No need to start a new one every time And - If ya think the pixed density is too low for some odd reason ("unusable"? - give me a break), just don't buy it.

EDIT : May have been to harshly put in retrospect. Apologies. But you get my point.

 

[jvmxtra]

ipad 2 still looks fine to me.. so ipad mini should be slightly better

 

[OSMac]

All said, it's a pretty amazing piece of tech. It would have been perfect 2 years ago before the retina versions came out. They would have sold cajillions.

Very true but I think the mini will still be the best seller going forward.

 

[KingArthurVI]

The weight and the thinness blew me away

 

[Noctilux.95]

I'll buy an iPad Mini as soon it comes with the Retina display and A6 processor. Hope version 2 has those features.

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I'll buy an iPad Mini as soon it comes with the Retina display and A6 processor. Hope version 2 has those features. In the mean time I'll have to put up with my iPad 4th Gen.

 

[seajewel]

I finally got my Mini. As expected, the weight and size are great, and it's a beautiful device. The screen is disappointing. I don't understand people who claim they can barely tell a difference or that this is "almost retina." I feel like anyone saying the screen is almost retina never appreciated the retina screen in the first place. Most text is a little fuzzy, not as crisp/uniformly dark/sharp as retina letters.

That said, I fully expected that to be the case. Now I just need to figure out if the device still works for me. It still may--I want to try playing some games on it and getting used to the feel of it.

And I don't think that makes it a ****** device. It can certainly be the perfect device for a lot of people. I'm just a little disappointed because when rumors first started up of an iPad mini, I got excited thinking this could be a very portable way of reading documents and occasionally reading books with fancier graphics and such. It's by no means unusable for me, or unreadable.. it's just that the pixelation bothers me some.

 

[Quantus]

Text is not better on the mini despite the higher PPI. The problem is how small the text appears on screen even when the font is set to the same point as on ipad 2. You must constantly double tap to read webpages. It's like using an iphone.

 

[wolfpackfan]

I have been using my new mini for about four hours now and I think the screen looks fantastic. I really don't know why people are complaining so. Granted my old iPad was the first model, but I am very, very happy with my mini.

 

[drunkbacchus]

I think the display is great. I can see and tell it is not Retina, but it isn't a bad display. A little to "warm" and I wish it was a tad bit brighter, but I still love it.

To say it is completely unusable and indecipherable is a very, very over dramatic statement (unless you have poor vision and do not have any corrective lenses on, such as contacts or glasses.)

 

[57004]

I agree with the TS, the display is a step back. Not just in terms of resolution, but the contrast isn't as good, the colours aren't... All compared to my iPad 3.

And it has that annoying brightness thing (where you can't turn it down low enough to avoid getting eyestrain in the dark). The iPad 3 was the first iPad where you could turn it down low enough.

I have a 3 and a mini (mini as of today obviously) and the weight of the iPad has always bothered me since the first one. So I'm going to try the 2 of them out and keep the one I like most. I have to say the resolution was a bit of a bummer (even though I was prepared for it) but I think I'd get used to it. After all, I still use my 22" 1920x1080 monitor which is even lower in res. (But if they had that size in retina you bet I'd get one).

So I think it's like John Gruber says: it's not a great screen but the portability makes up for it.

Edit: And yes I also think the retina mini will be less than a year away (especially since the competition is pushing so hard now with the nexus 10 hitting 2560x1600 6 months since the first retina iPad). But I'd rather try the mini form factor now than to wait until that happens.

 

[Ankaa]

I keep wondering about people going on about how crappy that screen is...assuming they have superb eyesight (which I have not. Went to have a look at the mini and although I do notice a difference when comparing directly, it doesn't bother me at all just as it doesn't bother me on my non-retina macbook. And I read a lot for many hours on a daily basis).
And then at the same time I keep reading about douple-tapping to increase font-sizes. What about those good eyes now?

Besides, after reading all those different experiences on the screen I keep wondering, if there's just a huge quality variance...

 

[seajewel]

I keep wondering about people going on about how crappy that screen is...assuming they have superb eyesight (which I have not. Went to have a look at the mini and although I do notice a difference when comparing directly, it doesn't bother me at all just as it doesn't bother me on my non-retina macbook. And I read a lot for many hours on a daily basis).
And then at the same time I keep reading about douple-tapping to increase font-sizes. What about those good eyes now?

I have terrible eyesight. That doesn't make the font more sharp though.

 

[xak]

Waiting for a Retina Display iPad Mini, just like I waited for a Retina Display iPad. The device basically is a screen, therefore I want it to be a high-resolution display that Apple seems to make so well.

But, if it comes out with or after the release of a lightweight 5th generation iPad, I'll probably not even bother with the Mini and just sell off my iPad 3rd gen for an iPad 5th gen - I like having a decently sized screen for my at-home recreational tablet.

 

[lilo777]

So I'm going the other way. I have a 3rd generation and I decided today to buy a Mini to replace it.

I already preordered a 4G version but after playing with it tonight in the apple store I'm going to buy a wifi version and sell my iPad 3 with 3G immediately and then just sell the wifi only mini when my 4G version comes.

Why?

Because I always use the iPad everywhere I go and the 9.7 inches is large and heavy to carry around. If I only used it at home or occasionally in Starbucks I wouldn't mind. But I love my iPad.

And the smaller form factor and how light it is amazed me.

My only concern was losing the retina display but I can safely say that the smaller screen size takes away my concerns. Yes there is some pixelation but its far less than the iPad 2 and not enough to put me off.

The convenience is far more useful than the retina display.

You can have both - in Android 7" tablets or Samsung Galaxy Note II

 

[Quantus]

A "minimum font size" setting in safari would go a long ways towards making the Mini's screen more tolerable imo. I've been playing around with text in iBooks and if set large enough, it looks great and would probably be easy on the eyes for long sessions.

 

[richy d]

I own both Nexus 7 & now the mini

Although the screen is far from unusable, its definitely very noticeable when doing general web browsing.

One of the first things I did was go to my gmail & I found the writing to be quite fuzzy... so much so that I've decided I wont be using gmail on it lol (as I couldnt even find a way to zoom in). After this first impression, I was thinking that I wouldnt be able to keep it.

After downloading apps and doing some direct comparisons etc, I have decided that I will keep the mini and ditch the N7... The ironic thing is that people where complaining about android having lots of resized phone apps.. the thing is with the android resized phone apps they are scaled correctly, with iphone apps on the ipad (e.g speedtest.net), literally its either a very small rectangle in the middle of the screen at x1, or if you press x2 it fills the screen, but is totally pixalated and looks silly.

I have had no problem at all with regards to its power and seems to be smooth with everything Ive used it for so far (Im not a gamer).. also, hands down the fit and finish it the best in class.... well I'll give it a week before I sell my nexus just incase... one thing is for sure, when the screen is updated, this will be a perfect device for my needs

 

[lianlua]

A "minimum font size" setting in safari would go a long ways towards making the Mini's screen more tolerable imo. I've been playing around with text in iBooks and if set large enough, it looks great and would probably be easy on the eyes for long sessions.

They can't do that without breaking websites. They load up at the size that makes them fit horizontally without scrolling. Then you can zoom in on the ones that need it. Sites with mobile/tablet aware CSS come up at great sizes and properly laid out, but that's not the majority of the web yet. The Reader view on websites that support it also works pretty well.

It's just been too many years of people designing websites around pixel dimensions (and even worse, mixing absolute and relative units on the same page). It's kind of a bummer that we ever got started with using pixels as a unit of measure in the first place, but hindsight is 20/20.

One of the first things I did was go to my gmail & I found the writing to be quite fuzzy... so much so that I've decided I wont be using gmail on it lol (as I couldnt even find a way to zoom in).

Zooming on the web works the same as everywhere else in iOS. Pinch two fingers together to zoom out, push them apart to zoom in. You can also use the Gmail app instead of the website, which works a lot better but lacks some features (it'd be nice to have the Gmail app from Android on iOS).

The ironic thing is that people where complaining about android having lots of resized phone apps.. the thing is with the android resized phone apps they are scaled correctly

But still designed for phones. The graphics are scaled correctly, but the UI doesn't take advantage of the bigger canvas.

with iphone apps on the ipad (e.g speedtest.net), literally its either a very small rectangle in the middle of the screen at x1, or if you press x2 it fills the screen, but is totally pixalated and looks silly.

Which is why you use the iPad apps--something there is a limited selection of in the Play store. The point is that almost all Android apps are "phone" apps that just get bigger on a tablet, where iPhone and iPad apps have totally different layouts and designs that take advantage of the space on iOS. Android apps don't do that very well yet, although that is starting to change.

 

[ucfgrad93]

I appreciate the honest reviews.

I'll take a range of opinions over people just fawning over everything that comes out.

By most accounts it appears the screen is a compromise. And it's something each potential buying should weigh in making their purchasing decision. For some it's no big deal, for others it's a deal breaker.

But I'd rather people be honest with their opinions than just expect everyone to grab their pom poms for everything that comes out.

Agreed. However the OP called the screen "unusable" which is clear hyperbole.

 

[sfwalter]

I turned On my iPad and I still thinks it looks beautiful.

 

[jon3543]

I checked out the Mini today as well as Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7. I thought the Mini looked fine in iBooks, but web pages like cnn.com suffered. However, the Kindle and Nexus looked bad when viewing web pages at their standard sizes, too. The Mini suffered from some fuzziness and unequal weighting of stems in letters, such that the two l's in "all" could have different widths. The Kindle looked a little fuzzy and had odd problems with character spacing. The Nexus just didn't look sharp. Basically, I thought they were all fairly bad at rendering full web sites like cnn.com at their "native" sizes. I would have to rotate into landscape and sometimes zoom all these tiny tablets to make web pages pleasant to read and to make the tiny links reliably touchable, and they all look pretty good when I do that. The 4:3 Mini obviously shows more of the page than the 16:10 tablets in landscape, which is a plus.

On an iPad with Retina, I zoomed out (pinched in?) on cnn.com to approximate the size of the Mini, and the text looked much, much better than on any of the small tablets. So a Retina Mini with at least 264 PPI will be a big upgrade when it comes. In the meantime, these 216 PPI displays on the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD aren't hugely better than the Mini's 163 PPI when viewing web sites like cnn.com. Because the Kindle and Nexus are smaller, and web pages like cnn.com are scrunched horizontally so they fit, the text is smaller, and the display needs a correspondingly higher resolution to render it well. Their 216 PPI isn't really enough, and when viewing web pages at their "native" size, the Kindle and Nexus displays are probably about what a Mini would look like if it had 180-190 PPI or thereabouts, IOW something between 163 and 216, IOW, not as huge a leap as marketeers would want you to believe.

Since I found the Mini perfectly fine for viewing the larger (but still "standard size") text in iBooks and pretty much everywhere but the web browser, and since I'd have to take the same steps to improve web browsing on the 7" tablets as the Mini, the display wouldn't be a dealbreaker if I were interested in a small tablet. In fact, I would prefer the Mini, because it's a little larger than the others.

 

[jbachandouris]

Now that I have one, I can comment. As a almost 45 year old, the type is too small even with glasses. My script is +1 on one eye and .5 on the other.

I only had credit at Walmart and they didn't have the iPad 4. I literally just got it, so I will give it a few days.

 

[seajewel]

I checked out the Mini today as well as Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7. I thought the Mini looked fine in iBooks, but web pages like cnn.com suffered. However, the Kindle and Nexus looked bad when viewing web pages at their standard sizes, too. The Mini suffered from some fuzziness and unequal weighting of stems in letters, such that the two l's in "all" could have different widths. The Kindle looked a little fuzzy and had odd problems with character spacing. The Nexus just didn't look sharp. Basically, I thought they were all fairly bad at rendering full web sites like cnn.com at their "native" sizes. I would have to rotate into landscape and sometimes zoom all these tiny tablets to make web pages pleasant to read and to make the tiny links reliably touchable, and they all look pretty good when I do that. The 4:3 Mini obviously shows more of the page than the 16:10 tablets in landscape, which is a plus.

On an iPad with Retina, I zoomed out (pinched in?) on cnn.com to approximate the size of the Mini, and the text looked much, much better than on any of the small tablets. So a Retina Mini with at least 264 PPI will be a big upgrade when it comes. In the meantime, these 216 PPI displays on the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD aren't hugely better than the Mini's 163 PPI when viewing web sites like cnn.com. Because the Kindle and Nexus are smaller, and web pages like cnn.com are scrunched horizontally so they fit, the text is smaller, and the display needs a correspondingly higher resolution to render it well. Their 216 PPI isn't really enough, and when viewing web pages at their "native" size, the Kindle and Nexus displays are probably about what a Mini would look like if it had 180-190 PPI or thereabouts, IOW something between 163 and 216, IOW, not as huge a leap as marketeers would want you to believe.

Since I found the Mini perfectly fine for viewing the larger (but still "standard size") text in iBooks and pretty much everywhere but the web browser, and since I'd have to take the same steps to improve web browsing on the 7" tablets as the Mini, the display wouldn't be a dealbreaker if I were interested in a small tablet. In fact, I would prefer the Mini, because it's a little larger than the others.

Thank you for that comparison. It's very helpful. It's disappointing though that as a reading and web browsing device the Mini is not great. Those uses would be my primary purpose for such a portable tablet.

 

[richy d]

Zooming on the web works the same as everywhere else in iOS. Pinch two fingers together to zoom out, push them apart to zoom in. You can also use the Gmail app instead of the website, which works a lot better but lacks some features (it'd be nice to have the Gmail app from Android on iOS).

What I meant to say is that the screen is split into two & I was expecting that when I clicked on the email it would zoom up to occupy the whole screen, but it doesnt seem to do this (as would be much better to occupy the whole screen, as I done really want to be pinching and zooming to read an email as Ive never had to do this before)... I'll try out the app though.

But still designed for phones. The graphics are scaled correctly, but the UI doesn't take advantage of the bigger canvas.

Which is why you use the iPad apps--something there is a limited selection of in the Play store. The point is that almost all Android apps are "phone" apps that just get bigger on a tablet, where iPhone and iPad apps have totally different layouts and designs that take advantage of the space on iOS. Android apps don't do that very well yet, although that is starting to change.

The reason I gave the example of speedtest.net is one of the first things I wanted to do was test out how fast the wifi was coming through, and there was no ipad version of the app.

Maybe Im a little spoilt as my first tablet was the N7 & I got used to its sharpness... however, I did find the overall size of the screen on the N7 just a tab too small (hence getting the mini).... the good news is that I just compared reading a pdf (without zooming and in portrait) to my N7 the particular textbook was just about more legible on the mini due to the sheer real estate of the screen.

 

[DJTaurus]

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[jon3543]

Thank you for that comparison. It's very helpful. It's disappointing though that as a reading and web browsing device the Mini is not great. Those uses would be my primary purpose for such a portable tablet.

You're welcome, but you've concluded something different than I did. I don't think any of the Mini, Nexus 7, and Kindle Fire HD are great for the web, at least not without zooming or using landscape mode. I think the Mini is just fine for reading in iBooks. I'd choose the Mini over the other tablets for its larger size and squarer aspect ratio.