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Could Apple's OLED iPad Mini Finally Be a Kindle Killer?

ugahairydawgs said:
Problem for me is that my books are all on Apple Books
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Yep, that’s my problem too. If Apple released a reading device with an E-Ink screen (at a reasonable price), it would be an instant buy for me—and millions of others I suspect.

Why won’t Apple do it? I suspect it has something to do with ego—like they see the technology as too primitive for them, ignoring the fact that it would fill a very real hole in their product range.
 
hugo525 said:
Are you kidding me? The PWM of OLED is eye-straining.
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allenvanhellen said:
How is that different than LED lighting in homes and offices? I don’t understand.
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platinumaqua said:
PWM is typically a problem when the brightness is less than 100%. Home LED bulbs are typically run at 100%.
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Cheap LED bulbs might resort to relatively low-frequency PWM for dimming, but higher quality products would not. As example, I think the Philips Hue LED light bulbs have been measured to have a PWM of 1kHz at their lowest dimming level, which is typically high enough to avoid issues.

What happens with OLED displays also typically depends on product quality: a high-end OLED TV panel would typically either use very high frequency PWM or non-PWM DC dimming, or a hybrid of the two depending on dimming level. A cheaper OLED in an handheld device might use low-frequency PWM and thus cause eye strain.

I think the existing OLED iPad has a PWM of 480Hz, which is relatively low and can induce strain, so it's possible the OLED iPad mini would share the same issue.
 
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WarmWinterHat said:
How many times has this come up? No. The kindle is the kindle because e-ink.

I have tried for years to read on a iPad, but e-ink wins every time.

Edit: Oh yea, I paid $99 for it on sale, and it'll probably last a decade. My previous one did.
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I bought a Kindle while waiting for a plane to Singapore. That was 2014. Replaced it last year with (what was then) the latest Paperwhite. My old kindle still works, the only reason for the upgrade was the bigger screen, page turning speed and lack of bezels.

I’ll *never* read a book on iPad.
 
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I have a Kindle Oasis and Kobo Libra 2 but do all my reading on an iPad Mini 7. With a matte screen protector the device makes for a perfect reading experience. To me the text is my cleaner and clear. I have my iPad Mini set to the Reading Focus mode. Since I have two iPad Pros with M1 and M4 chips I don't need the Mini for anything but reading.

I deleted all apps from the Mini and only use the Book App. Since I load all books into Calibre first then load them into Books on my Mac I never need to leave the Book app on the Mini.

eInk is fine and I used those devices for years. But I wanted to use only Apple devices and find the reading time on the Mini as excellent.

There is NO right answer, use whatever device you like. No need to argue about it..
 
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Don't think it will replace Kindle readers especially when they are much cheaper. But with the OLED display, the mini should have an excellent screen. Unfortunately the price could go up by even $200.
 
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Why would a device from a completely different cathegory kill a Kindle? They serve 2 different purpose and neither was intended to compete with the other.

I get click bait headlines but this sìis just silly.

And why do I we need a killer every time, it’s called competition.
 
Read my iPad outside for like 5 mins decades ago and ever since it has been a kindle - just the perfect outside reading device for a multitude of reasons and no current display iPad is ever going to rock that boat !
 
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Many people say "Kindle" as if it's the only brand/ecosystem, when they actually mean e-readers in general. I find that this just contributes to strengthen Amazon's dominance in this market, in detriment of other brands.

I wouldn't expect a technical website like MacRumors to do this, though. Why say "Kindle" specifically in the article title?
 
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An iPad is an iPad. A Kindle is a Kindle. You’re trying to compare a refrigerator to a microwave oven here.

The thing is both of them share a same place in the household, both of them require electricity to work and the only thing that they have in common is the ability to defrost. The same goes for a iPad and the Kindle where the Kindle is an e-book reader whereas an iPad allows you to do a wide variety of things with books being probably on the bottom end of the priority list
 
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I primarily use my iPad as a reading device, so if I bought a Kindle I'm not sure I could justify the cost of having an iPad along with it for the few additional tasks consigned to the iPad.
 
Nope.

iPad's are way more expensive and have awful battery life in comparison.

I would never replace my Paperwhite with an iPad lol.
 
Who wrote this…….and why?
Actually if it was done to promote the new mini it failed miserably. Reading all the comments here has made me decide to buy an e reader.
 
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JohannesO said:
nope
  • e_ink
  • battery life
  • weight
  • glare free
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Calling it glare free is an understatement. I turn off any backlight and prefer to read it directly in sunlight. There's just no competing with that on digital displays.

cmichaelb said:
I lov my mimi, and used to read on my iPads. E-ink is so much easier on the eyes. - I agree with you.

(Kobos are fantastic, love my Clara. Boox and XTEInk have some interesting devices as well.)
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I absolutely love my Libra 2. It was also the last one before they got gung-ho about their color displays which have that muddy filter on top of the ink-layer. So just to be safe I got a case for it as I wouldn't really know what to replace it with would it break. I love me buttons.
 
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actcyclist said:
I read my kindle on the beach. It cost $100, lasts years, needs charging weekly not daily.
The iPad mini would be a terrible reading device. I’d buy a Boox if I wanted a mix between a reader and a tablet.
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Why would an iPad mini be a ‘terrible reading device’? It’s light, flexible - all-rounder reading device - as it supports many file types. Great tablet to boot - saved me from having to buy larger iPhones. It sits comfortably between my M4 iPad 13 Pro and my lowly but functional iPhone SE3. Cannot wait for the mini 8…
 
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LuisNeto said:
Many people say "Kindle" as if it's the only brand/ecosystem, when they actually mean e-readers in general. I find that this just contributes to strengthen Amazon's dominance in this market, in detriment of other brands.

I wouldn't expect a technical website like MacRumors to do this, though. Why say "Kindle" specifically in the article title?
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A fair point. I used a rooted 7.8" Nook as well as a Jailbroken Kindle Voyage 6", both running KOReader.

It's the bees knees.
 
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