Retina iPad Mini's Display Criticized Over Poor Color Gamut and Accuracy

[Nightarchaon]

Can you really not see a marked difference, even at modest viewing distances? I'm with you on the Monster Cable thing, but retina vs. non-retina is night vs. day to me. It's astonishingly better.

Retina Vs non-Retina at the distance i use my mini is, in real world use, so negligible and unnoticeable that its not worth bothering with, i usually have my mini 2ft from my head or more, at those distances retina vs non-retina disappears as the screen on the original iPad mini is already dense enough that individual pixels cant be picked out , so doubling the density makes no sense, as its a "lost gain" that just eats battery life/processing power unnecessarily.

If your using your iPad mini at 6inchs to 1ft like you do an iPhone, then sure, your going to notice the difference, your also in need of glasses because you shouldn't need to hold something paperback sized that close to read easily,

 

[512ke]

iPad mini display is best in its class.

Quit bitching.

 

[comatose81]

After reading this article, I returned my 128GB iPad Air Wifi + AT&T LTE for a 16GB iPad mini with Retina Display Wifi only. Made the decision pretty easy for me!

 

[SirHaakon]

Retina Vs non-Retina at the distance i use my mini is, in real world use, so negligible and unnoticeable that its not worth bothering with, i usually have my mini 2ft from my head or more, at those distances retina vs non-retina disappears as the screen on the original iPad mini is already dense enough that individual pixels cant be picked out , so doubling the density makes no sense, as its a "lost gain" that just eats battery life/processing power unnecessarily.

I use it about 2 feet away as well, and I can tell the difference plain as day between the two. There's just no comparison. Good news for you is that if you can't see a difference you have no reason to shell out money for an upgrade! The color gamut sucks on both, anyway, so you wouldn't be gaining much.

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iPad mini display is best in its class.

Quit bitching.

Just because something is better than all of the other awful choices doesn't make it great.

 

[Tknull]

But you can't just fix one problem and still have another glaring one. To me, personally, it's not just "a little inferior;" it's painfully bad.

I'm curious now to go down and see one in person. I own the first gen mini, and to me the screen is horrible. I never liked looking at it, and especially so now that I have an air. I got it to carry with me in my car while i'm working, and so I live with it... it serves its needs. I assumed that the new one must be vastly better. But you are right, its an awful lot of money to spend to not be really happy.

 

[AppleWarMachine]

Bought the mini on launch day, returned it yesterday, getting the Air (the mini seems overpriced for a sub-par display)

 

[handsome pete]

So how noticeable is this if I look at pictures of my kids and hold a Air in one hand and a Retina mini in the other?

You'll probably see it if you're specifically looking for it. Even then, maybe you won't. It obviously exists, but seems that most are being pretty hyperbolic about its affect.

exactly. a good 90% of consumers have no idea what color gamuts are and more than likely couldn't distinguish between variances unless they were pointed out to them. Color accuracy is important for photo and video work, neither of which is done on an iPad in any meaningful capacity. If anything, having a less saturated display will help to cut down on all the artificial color enhancements the world of marketing has given us. As long as i don't see banding or harsh gradients, i'm pretty sure the colors on my iPad mini display are just fine, for me, and for 99% of consumers.

Well put. As someone who actually has to worry about color gamut daily in the professional world, I'm loving my new iPad mini.

 

[jschu22]

I'm amused by all those returning their mini for an Air because of this, as if the size of the devices shouldn't have been 99% of the decision.

 

[pat park]

you notice it more when comparing side by side with the Air, but on it's own, it's not really that noticeable. Still a great device and looks great. Having the mini size and form factor with the faster A7 chip is enough for me.

The display is worlds above the first gen Mini.

 

[zombierunner]

Well I ain't cancelling my retina ipad mini order ... I don't even appreciate what colour gamut really means ... I just want to play games ,watch movies , YouTube, safari etc

 

[Whoakapi]

Why even use a Mini for photo work?

Don't they use some more pro gear than a silly ipad. At least I would expect that.

 

[AdonisSMU]

There is a big article on CNN where they interviewed the typhoon victims about the iPad mini with Retina Display. The one woman stated "what happened hear pales in comparison to the color gamut issues that are rampant in the new iPad mini with Retina Display".

CNN has some nerve asking a typhoon victim that.

 

[comatose81]

I'm amused by all those returning their mini for an Air because of this, as if the size of the devices shouldn't have been 99% of the decision.

They're the same idiots who said "OMG my Air has a yellow screen!!!!!!!" Now the "color gamut" is the more important issue.

 

[MisakixMikasa]

But not perfect. And when it comes to Apple and their prices and their so called 'premium' product category, people expect perfection.

People will be picky when you were being charged for a premium amount. I will not give a damn if it is $200.

I really don't give a damn if Nexus 7 screen is wrose than iPad mini Retina or something. It is $230 tablet with damn good sepc. Any samle flaw is acceptable. If Google charges me $400 for Nexus 7, then i will be super picky about it.

 

[SirHaakon]

The display is worlds above the first gen Mini.

Actually, the gamut is pretty much the same (bad). The resolution is a vast improvement though, yes.

I guess it's like watching Ultra HD movies with 1940s color.

 

[Millah]

Ok, so Ray Soneira blames IGZO for the issues, yet IGZO is the display technology in the iPad Air and just a few weeks ago Soneira was PRAISING the iPad Airs display and talking about Apples use of IGZO is what made the products weight reduction possible.

So which is it? If IGZO truly was a "mistake," then why was he just praising it in the Air?

I imagine issues are much deeper and more complex than people always are willing to look at. There's probably a lot of factors. IGZO isn't prohibiting a rich color gamut as seen in the Air. There's probably a lot of factors at work here, and I'm sure one of the problems Apple has that their competitors don't is that Apple has to actually manufacture 10s of millions of these to keep up with demand, and they need to do so efficiently. Yes, what a terrible problem to have

 

[Quazimojo]

Returned my iPad air for the retina mini and could not be happier.

Both of mine were/are perfect IE no display issues so I had nothing to complain about but the mini is still king in my book

I owned all the previous iPad models and when the mini came along I just enjoyed it the most. I gave the air a shot thinking it could be a good replacement for the mini because of the reductions made but yeah it's not.

The color differences are certainly there between the two but it is a non issue as far as enjoyment and that is what matters most to me.

They are both great though and equally good choices based on your needs but don't let the gamut thing sway your decision because I initially bought into the negative hype until I saw it and used it and then it took about 2 seconds to decide which I would rather have.

Peace

 

[69650]

Well at least the iPad Mini is priced competitively.

In what sense? It's the most expensive 7" tablet on the market. I'm happy to pay the premium so long as the quality is also the best on the market. Seems like it's not from what this report states. I think I'll stick with the iPad Air and pass on the Mini for another year until they get it right.

 

[comatose81]

Well I ain't cancelling my retina ipad mini order ... I don't even appreciate what colour gamut really means ... I just want to play games ,watch movies , YouTube, safari etc

I thought games have a "color gamut" check that runs right before the game launches?

 

[AdonisSMU]

That seems to be lost on a lot of people.

Its not lost on people. Clearly its not the same. The objective data shows that.

 

[tbrand7]

I ordered the retina mini on launch day. I went to the apple store yesterday to look at it (it was coming in the mail next week). I noticed the difference in color accuracy between the mini and the air right away. Especially with the bright colored icons like iTunes and messages. As soon as I got home, I called apple and changed my order to the Air.

 

[josh.b]

I wonder if they will correct this in the current generation of mini. After all it is just the screen which is manufactured by a different brand. They have switched screen makes in past iPads/iPhones during the same generation right?

off topic:

Each year Apple seems to be getting slightly slacker with quality control. Maybe it is just the competition catching up very quickly.

When I bought this iMac (late 2012) I thought I love the Apple eco system but the way competition is going, this might be my last mac? What if Mac OS X went iOS? What if Windows was completely remade for Windows 9 and was awesome? What if Adobe started developing on Linux? now that would be nice. The way Apple has inspired companies like Sony, Samsung etc to design their shell nicely though not quite there yet really stands forward for the future giving me the feeling I won't have to settle for a piece of crap looking bomb box to do work on

 

[KPOM]

Stupid stupid apple, there was no need for this dense a screen on the already dense screen iPad mini other than to appease the people who think they can see a difference (or are holding the iPad mini to close to their faces).

i would rather have had the same iPad mini screen with a MUCH better battery life and the new 64bit GPU than a crappy screen with issues at a higher resolution that i wont notice because i hold my iPad mini at a sensible distance from my face during use. Maybe saving Retina for the next model when they could do it properly ?

I had the original mini and now have the current one. It is night and day. The screen resolution is instantly noticeable. Anyway, had they not gone Retina they'd have been called out much more intensely for being a generation behind.

Here's my take on the whole color gamut situation. I had both an iPad Air and a Retina mini. Yes, the color gamut was noticeably better on the iPad Air. Yes, it is somewhat disappointing that Apple couldn't match the color gamut of the new Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HDX (and perhaps rushed out IGZO before it was ready). However, on the whole, my assessment is the same as AnandTech's. I decided to keep the mini and return the Air.

Both are good devices, as are the new Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HDX. I think the iPad Air and new Retina mini will both sell extremely well, and unless someone absolutely needs the accurate colors (e.g. for photo editing), I have no hesitation recommending either.

 

[comatose81]

Sure. Someone always has it worse. Why care about anything then? Certainly not product quality. Let's just stop caring and accept worse and worse products!

Is this caring, or being insanely paranoid?

 

[DisMyMac]

Sadly, most who complain about the colors now, only do so because it was pointed out to them.

Yes, everything is like a cat in a box so don't even look inside...

I'm sure the same folks ignoring chromaticity charts would attack holistic medicine. I hate them!!!