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iPad iPad Mini - low quality display

Y

yth

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 17, 2012
95
0
I just tested the ipad mini, ipad 2, and ipad 4 displays and I must say, the ipad mini has a terrible display! I can't believe it gets good reviews! I'll admit that i'm used to a macbook pro retina display, which has pretty good resolution and color accuracy, but the ipad mini has low resolution AND poor color accuracy. Reading a PDF on it is a dismal experience - the text is blurry, the colors are abysmal, and the brightness is, well, dim. If the ipad mini is made for viewing content, why would someone choose to view content through such a murky window? The ipad 2 and ipad 4 are beautiful, but unfortunately very bulky. Using either of these is like reading a giant textbook. And it doesn't take a genius to realize that people hate reading textbooks...

Overall, I'd say the ipad lineup is awesome, but only for a very specific audience. The ipad mini is by far the better design (because of its form factor), but it completely lacks in the one area that happens to be incredibly important. The ipad 2 and ipad 4 are just too bulky, but are obviously ok if you are training for an ironman. I hope in the next release, they nail the display -because then, the ipad mini will be perfect
 
I have no problem reading on my Mini
Actually reading right now on it and paused to respond

I find the display to be very good personally and certainly meets my needs

Some don't like it, others do
Personal preference I suppose

I love mine
 
MacDawg said:
I have no problem reading on my Mini
Actually reading right now on it and paused to respond

I find the display to be very good personally and certainly meets my needs

Some don't like it, others do
Personal preference I suppose

I love mine
Click to expand...

Do you read PDFs? Maybe it's just something I need to get used to... I tried reading a PDF on the mini, but I really had trouble. I mean, it's certainly possible, but it's not something I would consider as a replacement for my normal PDF reading (i.e. printed paper or MBPR)
 
I think it depends on LCD manufacturer in yours, most seem to be LG I think (not as good imo).

and your level of tolerance of non-retina.

i think between those two variables, it's too tough to make objective statements.
 
yth said:
Do you read PDFs? Maybe it's just something I need to get used to... I tried reading a PDF on the mini, but I really had trouble. I mean, it's certainly possible, but it's not something I would consider as a replacement for my normal PDF reading (i.e. printed paper or MBPR)
Click to expand...

I pulled up a few PDFs and I have no problem with them
I recognize that not everyone feels that way, but for me, it is a non-issue

I certainly wouldn't reject a retina iPad Mini :)
But I didn't let it stop me from enjoying this one every day
 
yth said:
Do you read PDFs? Maybe it's just something I need to get used to... I tried reading a PDF on the mini, but I really had trouble. I mean, it's certainly possible, but it's not something I would consider as a replacement for my normal PDF reading (i.e. printed paper or MBPR)
Click to expand...

I read PDFs on mine all the time, it's the main reason I bought the mini (and the main concern I had before trying it was that it would *not* display them well enough to read). I have a Kindle (which I adore) but it won't display PDFs well enough, and with the programme I'm studying I have loads and loads of PDFs I have to read each week, most of which are either book scans (sometimes even double page scans) or JSTOR articles, and I have to say the mini is great for reading. It's great for any PDF I can throw at it.
 
yth said:
dim
Click to expand...

I know a lot of this is subjective opinion, but dim? Really? I have to keep my Mini's brightness setting down to about 33%. At 100% it feels like I'm shining a flashlight directly into my eyeballs.

Maybe you were in a retail location? If so, the lighting conditions are VERY deceptive.

http://hdguru.com/how-retailers-use-lighting-to-confuse-hdtv-buyers/467/

"...with store lighting levels purposely cranked up as much as 50 times typical home lighting conditions..."
 
yth said:
I just tested the ipad mini, ipad 2, and ipad 4 displays and I must say, the ipad mini has a terrible display! I can't believe it gets good reviews! I'll admit that i'm used to a macbook pro retina display, which has pretty good resolution and color accuracy, but the ipad mini has low resolution AND poor color accuracy. Reading a PDF on it is a dismal experience - the text is blurry, the colors are abysmal, and the brightness is, well, dim. If the ipad mini is made for viewing content, why would someone choose to view content through such a murky window? The ipad 2 and ipad 4 are beautiful, but unfortunately very bulky. Using either of these is like reading a giant textbook. And it doesn't take a genius to realize that people hate reading textbooks...

Overall, I'd say the ipad lineup is awesome, but only for a very specific audience. The ipad mini is by far the better design (because of its form factor), but it completely lacks in the one area that happens to be incredibly important. The ipad 2 and ipad 4 are just too bulky, but are obviously ok if you are training for an ironman. I hope in the next release, they nail the display -because then, the ipad mini will be perfect
Click to expand...

So what you are actually saying is that all iPads are currently rubbish? Troll?
 
Last edited:
Personally i have no issue with my mini display. I use it on very low brightness mostly and the tollerance to non-retina? What..?

Its fine, i read many papers and books on it. Its got a great angle of view and to be honest while i would like thre crispy edge of retina text, for the most i dont even notice.

I define my happiness as this; when a next gen comes out, if the only major change is a retina range screen then i will not see any need to update.

To clarify my opinion of its fine for reading display; i am nearly fourty and do not have the best eyesight so i count this as a good screen, esp for its size.

I would say to the op that you have failed to see the merits of the ipad range and its variety of users. I value others opinion, but sometimes I find it hard to see their arguament's merit and this is one of those times.
 
Lack of retina is the one thing that put me off getting a mini. I read tons of PDFs on my 3gen iPad and won't go backwards on screen quality. If the next gen of mini has retina, I'm all in.
 
I have several retina screens around the house, but the device that gets used the most is the mini. I've read over 10 books on it since getting it in December. It's an excellent screen for reading, IMO. No, not retina, but stil good.
 
I love my ipad mini display, given the shrunken down pixels already to keep the identical resolution of the original ipad, the mini is near enough retina for me anyway, pushing for that jump to equal the iPads retina resolution is going to make the minis battery life awful as it has to handle more pixels, and more processing power and battery drain to run them.

Think id rather have the resolution and size stay as it is, and have apple drop the 16gb model and bring the 32/64 and a 128gb version down a price bracket each.
 
I like my Mini, but will certainly upgrade when a retina version arrives. However, I kind of understand where the OP is coming from - I don't just want a higher res display on the mini, I want a better quality display as well. The current mini is terribly reflective, and the colours are very drab and dull next to my iPhone/iPad 3.
 
The iPad mini does not have a retina display, it has the same resolution as an iPad 2 (Making higher res than iPad 2 because of smaller size.) I do you know what you mean OP, I use a Retina iPod touch 5, a Retina 15" MacBook Pro, a Retina iPad 3, basically every screen I use it Retina. I will not be getting the iPad mini until it has a Retina Display. It is a pretty nice device however and the screen is nice, it's just not good enough.
 
yth said:
I just tested the ipad mini, ipad 2, and ipad 4 displays and I must say, the ipad mini has a terrible display! I can't believe it gets good reviews! I'll admit that i'm used to a macbook pro retina display, which has pretty good resolution and color accuracy, but the ipad mini has low resolution AND poor color accuracy. Reading a PDF on it is a dismal experience - the text is blurry, the colors are abysmal, and the brightness is, well, dim. If the ipad mini is made for viewing content, why would someone choose to view content through such a murky window? The ipad 2 and ipad 4 are beautiful, but unfortunately very bulky. Using either of these is like reading a giant textbook. And it doesn't take a genius to realize that people hate reading textbooks...

Overall, I'd say the ipad lineup is awesome, but only for a very specific audience. The ipad mini is by far the better design (because of its form factor), but it completely lacks in the one area that happens to be incredibly important. The ipad 2 and ipad 4 are just too bulky, but are obviously ok if you are training for an ironman. I hope in the next release, they nail the display -because then, the ipad mini will be perfect
Click to expand...
It's very high quality. Color reproduction, saturation, etc etc. all top notch.

Just PPI is bit low, but it's also a lower cost tablet. It's better than iPad 2, worse than iPad 4. Which is about right considering the price point.
 
Menel said:
It's very high quality. Color reproduction, saturation, etc etc. all top notch.
Click to expand...

Hmm, this disagrees with both my personal experience with the Mini (which I like) and all the technical reviews of the Mini i.e. Ars Technica. To be clear, I'm NOT talking about resolution.
 
Are people still droneing on about the iPad mini not having a retina display?!
The Mac's were never a Problem, iPhones were never a problem, nor were iPads 'till the iPad 3. Just shut up.
 
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