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AdonisSMU

macrumors 604
Original poster
Oct 23, 2010
7,299
3,050
The mini's screen is far and away better than the iPad Air's screen guys... eeek! please don't get mad at me. I really want to keep both but the mini is far superior to the air in terms of screen quality.
 

AppleRobert

macrumors 603
Nov 12, 2012
5,726
1,132
The mini's screen is far and away better than the iPad Air's screen guys... eeek! please don't get mad at me. I really want to keep both but the mini is far superior to the air in terms of screen quality.

That is a pretty quick assessment to tell the truth.

We'll see how I feel about it now that I have both. My Air was very good to perfect IMHO, never did I feel distraction with anything I did on it. Did you get a good screen on the Air you have?
 

Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
The mini's screen is far and away better than the iPad Air's screen guys... eeek! please don't get mad at me. I really want to keep both but the mini is far superior to the air in terms of screen quality.

No one is going to hate you for stating the obvious. All of the bloggers who got a sneak peak at the rMini @ the special even noted the Mini's text was sharper than the Air's since the screen was smaller @ same resolution; i.e., more PPI. It's just math.
 

AdonisSMU

macrumors 604
Original poster
Oct 23, 2010
7,299
3,050
My air's screen looks more yellowy and my mini in comparison looks more blueish..
 

Macalway

macrumors 68040
Aug 7, 2013
3,864
2,373
The 3 or 4 rMini screen weirdness threads soon to follow shed doubt on your claims
 

AdonisSMU

macrumors 604
Original poster
Oct 23, 2010
7,299
3,050
No one is going to hate you for stating the obvious. All of the bloggers who got a sneak peak at the rMini @ the special even noted the Mini's text was sharper than the Air's since the screen was smaller @ same resolution; i.e., more PPI. It's just math.

I didn't want to believe that I would actually notice it.
 

ob81

macrumors 65816
Jun 11, 2007
1,406
356
Virginia Beach
Do you have the paper app for the mini? The use of the paper app and pages is what is slowing me down from grabbing a mini.

Odd thing is, I had a mini for a long time and loved it. The lightness of the Air makes it hard to decide.
 

Nikhil72

macrumors 65816
Oct 21, 2005
1,433
1,153
Do you have the paper app for the mini? The use of the paper app and pages is what is slowing me down from grabbing a mini.

Odd thing is, I had a mini for a long time and loved it. The lightness of the Air makes it hard to decide.

I used Paper on my non-retina mini all the time and it was perfectly good...the smaller screen can feel restricting, but the zoom tool that the Paper crew added really helps when it comes to smaller details.
 

Dlanod

macrumors 65816
Jul 11, 2008
1,000
96
UK
My air's screen looks more yellowy and my mini in comparison looks more blueish..

Mine is the exact opposite. Colours in my old Mini and the Mini R are more or less the same - a bit washed out and sepia. The colours in my Air and vibrant and bright. Just different screen suppliers I guess. I much prefer the Air colours.

Images seem sharper but to be honest, the Mini weakness of the text being very small remains (as was obvious that this was going to be the case).
 

iapplelove

Suspended
Nov 22, 2011
5,324
7,638
East Coast USA
How's the weight difference? Can you feel the 0.25lbs between the Air and rMini?

I noticed at the store because the air is bigger and so light for its size it just feels lighter then the mini with retina. There is no doubt the mini is sharper I couldn't really judge photos just web text the few minutes I had with one .
 

ApplePhy

macrumors 6502
Nov 7, 2013
320
157
I'm assuming the screen quality difference is negligible?

The iPhone 5/5s is supposed to have the same PPI as the retina mini.

When I compare the screen (text/graphics/pictures) on my iPhone 5 and ipad air, the denser pixels on my iPhone 5 seem to be similar to the pixel density on my air...I find the sharpness similar.
 

I8P'CS

Suspended
Jul 29, 2010
355
31
"Far better" please. Yes you are over joyed with your rMini purchase and screen but starting these pointless attention threads to satisfy your ego is silly. Galaxy 10.1 has an higher ppi of 299 ppi yet the tech reviews claim you can't tell the difference compared to air.

Just enjoy your rMini. Both are great devices. Some say the rMini and Mini is for girls. You don't hear those people shouting it from the roof tops. Lol
 
S

syd430

Guest
My air's screen looks more yellowy and my mini in comparison looks more blueish..

So in other words, the panel lottery went in favour of your Mini this time. I guarantee I can pick out a yellowish and/or uneven Mini and a "nice" bluish looking Air for you tomorrow and you'd come on here and make a thread about how all Air screens are better.

I'm guessing you've either haven't had many iPads in the past or you've just had a really good run.

Sure the Mini might have a better screen if you're basing that on PPI, but if you're basing it on screen tints and evenness, I'd say that's extremely naive of you.
 

jclardy

macrumors 601
Oct 6, 2008
4,164
4,392
Yes, if you look at both screens at the same distance then the Mini looks better.

But...lets do some actual usage. Can you comfortably read text on the retina mini while it sits at the end of your lap with the smart cover? Nope, they are different devices for different use cases. You typically have the air further from your face.

The real question is whether or not the color accuracy and actual display quality (other than PPI) are different.
 

AdonisSMU

macrumors 604
Original poster
Oct 23, 2010
7,299
3,050
How's the weight difference? Can you feel the 0.25lbs between the Air and rMini?

Yes definitely.

----------

So in other words, the panel lottery went in favour of your Mini this time. I guarantee I can pick out a yellowish and/or uneven Mini and a "nice" bluish looking Air for you tomorrow and you'd come on here and make a thread about how all Air screens are better.

I'm guessing you've either haven't had many iPads in the past or you've just had a really good run.

Sure the Mini might have a better screen if you're basing that on PPI, but if you're basing it on screen tints and evenness, I'd say that's extremely naive of you.

I had a really good run...up until the Air.

----------

Ipad mini is sharper for sure but so is the tiny screen on the iphone. Small is small :)

And it's slower. Sorry, had to throw that in there ;)

Its definitely slower.
 

ARH1956

macrumors 6502
Sep 12, 2007
407
64
NE Alabama
The mini's screen is far and away better than the iPad Air's screen guys... eeek! please don't get mad at me. I really want to keep both but the mini is far superior to the air in terms of screen quality.

Really, far and away better? You need to return your Air to the Apple Store, something is wrong with it. My Air's screen is easily equal to my Mini R's screen in every way to my eyes. I do find the Air's screen has a little more vibrant color & contrast than the Mini R's screen, but both are excellent.

As a disclaimer, I've always thought the original iPad and Mini were completely acceptable, not displaying the totally unusable "Etch-A-Sketch" pixelated screen some seem to suggest.
 

ZBoater

macrumors G3
Jul 2, 2007
8,497
1,322
Sunny Florida
Yeah, I think its just some carelessness on the part of some posters relying a bit too much on hyperbole. It's a shame, because it makes it harder to sift the exaggerations from more reasoned and accurately stated observations to feed one curiosity and need for understanding.

My iPad is crippled.

The constant crashes make my iPad unusable.

The screen is washed out.

The yellow tint makes in unwatchable.

Etc. Seems like they need to be returned immediately for exchange or refund.
 

harpyeagle

macrumors regular
Mar 18, 2011
151
30
Extra inches > extra ppi

I don't know if you meant Extra inches leads to Extra ppi, but if you did, its actually the opposite, at least as far Apple & Ipads are concerned.

Air = 2048 x 1536 @ 264ppi
Mini R = 2048 x 1536 @ 326ppi
 
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