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iPad 2 vs iPad 3...Screen Difference is Difficult to See...Read On

J

JoelBC

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 16, 2012
1,067
106
I need some help…

I have an iPad MD368C which is a black iPad 3 + 64 GB + 4G / LTE…I Googled the model number and it matches what I bought / ordered (feel free to Google it yourself)…

I was at work today and a colleague of mine who had his iPad 2 at work wanted to compare the screen on his iPad 2 to the screen on my iPad 3…we placed the iPads side by side and visited the same web sites, looked at the same photos, etc...

To the surprise of both of us we could not see the difference which leads to the questions what is the best method / test for highlighting the difference between the iPad 2’s non-retina display and the iPad 3’s retina display…

Thanks in advance…


Joel
 
For me, the most striking difference was when I opened a document in Pages. On my iPad 2, 12 point font, which is what we use for documents in our office, would be too small to read comfortably, and I'd have to increase the font size. On the iPad 3, I could read comfortably without changing the font size.
 
JoelBC said:
I need some help…

I have an iPad MD368C which is a black iPad 3 + 64 GB + 4G / LTE…I Googled the model number and it matches what I bought / ordered (feel free to Google it yourself)…

I was at work today and a colleague of mine who had his iPad 2 at work wanted to compare the screen on his iPad 2 to the screen on my iPad 3…we placed the iPads side by side and visited the same web sites, looked at the same photos, etc...

To the surprise of both of us we could not see the difference which leads to the questions what is the best method / test for highlighting the difference between the iPad 2’s non-retina display and the iPad 3’s retina display…

Thanks in advance…


Joel
Click to expand...

Well I don't really see much of a difference between the two screens, but try looking at text apparently that is the big difference.
 
I didn't notice a difference either but I'm used to the 4S screen so anything less still looks bad.

I don't care about the retina algorithm, if you have good/great eye sight you can tell.
 
As an owner of both iPad's the difference can be subtle. You'll see smaller text become more legible, pictures have more detail, icons will also have more detail and less jagged edges.

Compare a stock iPad 3 wallpaper such as the water drop wallpaper vs the iPad 2 and you should see a sharper image. As i've said many times, there's not too much difference between the 2 and the 3. :p
 
QuarterSwede said:
I didn't notice a difference either but I'm used to the 4S screen so anything less still looks bad.

I don't care about the retina algorithm, if you have good/great eye sight you can tell.
Click to expand...

I have perfect vision, no contacts or glasses. I still don't see that big of a difference in the screen where it would make me pay $200 more. I can read any text on my iPad 2 perfectly fine without my eyes being bothered or needing zoom in.t
 
-TYLER said:
I have perfect vision, no contacts or glasses. I still don't see that big of a difference in the screen where it would make me pay $200 more. I can read any text on my iPad 2 perfectly fine without my eyes being bothered or needing zoom in.t
Click to expand...

For me is quite the opposite, i used to have the iPad 2 and when i use my father's iPad 2 here and there, the difference in quality to me is obvious as soon as i lay eyes on the screen.

Then again i also manage to perceive the weight difference between the two, which most people say they don't notice it either.
 
-TYLER said:
I have perfect vision, no contacts or glasses. I still don't see that big of a difference in the screen where it would make me pay $200 more. I can read any text on my iPad 2 perfectly fine without my eyes being bothered or needing zoom in.t
Click to expand...

$200? I thought the difference was $100 between iPad 2 16 GB and iPad 3 with same amount of storage.
 
-TYLER said:
I still don't see that big of a difference in the screen where it would make me pay $200 more.
Click to expand...

You are always paying for longer software support too. If Apple decides that it doesn't care about non-Retina screens in iOS8 anymore, those $200 may or may not be worth it in retrospect. Hard to say in advance.

On topic - I think Retina is absolutely irrelevant for video, not worth money for images, but absolutely great for web browsing. Was it a text-heavy website?

The frustrating thing is that Traditional Chinese would benefit A LOT from the retina screen. Yet most retailers in Taiwan only have the iPad 2 and don't even mention the "upcoming" new iPad...
 
Wow, I can't even look at an iPad 2 since getting my 3. The difference is enormous! I see pixelation throughout the entire UI on the 2, it's simply absent on the 3. I can't fathom how it's not very noticeable to someone.
 
docprego said:
Wow, I can't even look at an iPad 2 since getting my 3. The difference is enormous! I see pixelation throughout the entire UI on the 2, it's simply absent on the 3. I can't fathom how it's not very noticeable to someone.
Click to expand...

This right here...

It just doesn't even seem possible to me that someone can't notice the obvious difference :confused:
 
When I first went from an iPhone 3G to the iPhone 4 I could not see the difference right away. I only saw the difference once I used a 3G/3Gs after I used my 4 for a while. Everytime I now use a 3GS I want to puke.

I really love my iPad 2 and don't want to upgrade so I have not gone to visit the iPad 3 yet. I'm pretty sure if I used an iPad 3 for a while I would get the upgrade bug.
 
The difference is painfully obvious to my eyes.

Though I will echo the opinion of someone who mentioned this earlier - the difference at first may seem minor, but as you use the retina for a little while - going back it becomes painfully obvious.

Thanks to the iPad 3, my monitor looks like a Lite-Brite now, and I've found the iPad is much easier on my eyes to use, so I do a bulk of my reading on the iPad now.
 
I'm sorry, but it's really hard to believe that people with perfect vision can't tell the difference between the clarity of the iPad 2 and 3..
I'm not even trying to be funny here. If you can't tell the difference of the sharpness between the two devices, you need to get your eyes checked.

The difference is immense. And by immense I mean, IMMENSE.
So much so that when looking at the iPad 2 text, it looks pixelated. Badly. Whereas the iPad 3 makes them look so much better and crisper.

Just compare the keyboards. Or even read this thread on the two iPads side by side.
If you can't tell the difference, then well..I don't know what to say after that..the difference is just too drastic to miss.
Unless ofcourse..you're an iPhone 4S user. You won't have trouble adjusting to the iPad screen easily.

There really is. And to some it's more clearer than others.
 
-TYLER said:
I have perfect vision, no contacts or glasses. I still don't see that big of a difference in the screen where it would make me pay $200 more. I can read any text on my iPad 2 perfectly fine without my eyes being bothered or needing zoom in.t
Click to expand...

I don't have perfect vision, and I can read fine prints a lot easier with iPad 3. Also, that nasty gray aliasing around fonts are gone. It's way more noticeable than say 320k mp3 vs flac or full-frame DSLR vs cropped or receiver vs separates...

Still, the upgrade is only worthy for those who can appreciate it.
 
I spend a lot of time reading PDF documents, and to me the difference is very noticeable.
 
Here's an odd suggestion, if you have the goodreader app, open a PDF and look at the scratched gray wallpaper behind it, it's honestly like looking at a piece of paper.

I couldn't see much difference in the display either during normal use, but my eyes suck (ironically it's my retinas that are bad) so I sold my 3 and bought an iPad 2 and iPod touch. Apple gets my money either way, and I wouldn't rather have it go anywhere else.
 
The difference is very obvious to me, when I look at my 3 next to my dad's 2. Particularly with text; text heavy pages are now readable in portrait, whereas before they weren't necessarily.

It's like the difference between SD and HD TV. Some people can't tell the difference there, either. That amazes me too!

ETA: as BluePhoenix mentioned, the keyboard looks much better on the 3.
 
i got to used my dads iPad3 and coming back to my iPad2 it looks awful. I dont know with you guys but i noticed it right away
 
-TYLER said:
I have perfect vision, no contacts or glasses. I still don't see that big of a difference in the screen where it would make me pay $200 more. I can read any text on my iPad 2 perfectly fine without my eyes being bothered or needing zoom in.t
Click to expand...

Funny. I have far from perfect vision, and I totally see the difference. In fact, I relate the experience of going from an iPad 3 to an iPad 2 screen as similar to taking off your contacts/glasses.
 
I love looking at the Messages and iTunes stock apps, they shine so bright compared to the iPad 2 and the retina display is AMAZING. Use the new background that came with the new iPad and you'll see it.
 
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