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

[dampfnudel]

Well my decision is made. Hello iPad Air...

The iPad Air appears to be the better value, at least until Apple decides to use a better display for the iPad mini. Maybe that was Apple's intention, to differentiate the Air as a better choice for photographers and anyone else who values the best display. For people who think we're being too picky, for the money we're paying, we have a right to be picky, especially when the competition including Apple's own iPad Air offers a better looking display. In a previous post, I thought the retina iPad mini was good enough and it would only be an issue for picky people. I was wrong. What do you do if you're ready to spend $700 on the 128GB version and realize for $100 more you can get a significantly better display on an iPad Air.

Well, hopefully in addition to Touch ID, Phil will also be able to announce another new third gen iPad mini feature next year, an "enhanced" retina display, equal to the Air and competition.

 

[mdelvecchio]

The new iPad is so light that we decided to call it iPad Air. The new iPad mini has so washed colors that we decided to call it iPad Water.

the mini's color gamut hasn't changed from last year.

as Anand from the review cited in this post put it in his conclusion:

"The biggest [difference between Air and mini] in my eyes is the iPad Air’s wider gamut display with full sRGB coverage. The mini’s Retina Display is good, the Air’s is just better."

...i know this wont stop the teenage entitlement so prevalent on MR, but hey. facts is facts.

 

[PatriotInvasion]

Huge chunk of cheap plastic = $150 lower price point.

No one is saying the Kindle is the king of design, but when you're going to charge a significant premium like Apple does you should expect that they are going to (rightfully) be held to a higher standard than the rest.

Is the plethora of optimized apps, the quality of hardware design, and the stability of iOS worth an extra $150? Apple thinks yes, as will the millions of people who fork over the $399+ will.

The Kindle is marketed to budget-conscious Moms who want a cheap way to entertain their kids after school. Not for a real tech savvy user.

 

[SirHaakon]

that's the article this thread is citing. you know, the article youre responding to.

you did READ the article, right? or did you just see the twisted headline MR made and decide this would be a good place to issue entitlement directives to apple?

so weird.

Of course I read the article, you know, the one that was based on mathematical evidence. Just because they then followed up with a completely subjective opinion on the matter doesn't change the numbers. You yourself put in bold "The mini’s Retina Display is good." Who's to say it is? Some dude at Anand, apparently... you drew attention to that and that's what I was responding to.

 

[iSee]

Am wrestling with the Air vs. Mini question...

Since the colors are as good as the original Mini's this isn't a deal breaker.

Still can't decide... portability?... or screen size & colors? Hm...

 

[mdelvecchio]

Apple cutting corners bug time on the retina mini


Not unexpected though

youre high -- the color gamut on the mini is exactly as it was last year. thus no corners were cut.

the source review from this post summarizes:

"The biggest [difference between Air and mini] in my eyes is the iPad Air’s wider gamut display with full sRGB coverage. The mini’s Retina Display is good, the Air’s is just better."

 

[eyehop]

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!

Then care in due proportion by going to redcross.com and donating.

 

[SirHaakon]

why was this not an issue last year, when the mini had the exact same gamut as this year? why is it only now that this is a calamity? last year everybody said they needed retina resolution. guess what, you got it.

Could you even see the gamut in last year's iPad through the screen door of pixels?

 

[mdelvecchio]

Of course I read the article, you know, the one that was based on mathematical evidence. Just because they then followed up with a completely subjective opinion on the matter doesn't change the numbers. You yourself put in bold "The mini’s Retina Display is good." Who's to say it is? Some dude at Anand, apparently... you drew attention to that and that's what I was responding to.

Anand himself, one of the most highly regarded hardware reviewers on the planet. he didnt say it was a major shortcoming. he said it was good, but the Air is even better.

the facts remain unchanged: the gamut in this year's model is unchanged from last year. why werent you complaining last year?

 

[ellsworth]

I guess this only affects people who actually have or have had an iPad in front of them. The iPad Mini Retina is my first iPad. Right off the bat and out of the box, the display was actually extremely bright to the point that I had to turn it down halfway. I'm extremely happy with my iPad's display (so far). I better not butt it up next to an iPad Air or I'm screwed.

Also, I'm having trouble finding the Press Release where Apple says the iPad Mini with Retina is EXACTLY like the iPad Air when comparing displays? Seems like the media and blogs hyped themselves up about the two being exact and now are shooting themselves in the foot when they find something that's slightly different or not the same at all. Goodness people.

 

[JAT]

Retina iPad mini = Gold plated digital cables IMO, utterly useless and offers no real world difference, but people will SWEAR they can see/hear a difference after forking out for them.

I know, right? Clearly the issue for digital cables is capacitance of the entire cable, not just the last micron.

 

[mdelvecchio]

Could you even see the gamut in last year's iPad through the screen door of pixels?

resolution, color depth, and gamut operate independently of each other. you could see the color gamut on last year's model just as well as today's. you just need something new to bitch about, is all.

 

[SirHaakon]

Is the plethora of optimized apps, the quality of hardware design, and the stability of iOS worth an extra $150?

Okay, fine... if it's not the screen then it's the apps, the hardware design and the stability of the OS. Does that not make them "top dog," and the significantly higher price tag "deserving of being held to a higher standard than the rest?"

 

[yabot]

Now for the rush of undecided MacRumorians that will go and trade for a Nexus 7...

No need to trade, i already bought one.

 

[koppie644]

It already has 35% smaller screen space but they should subtract for that horrible thick black bar as well. I don't have much love for my N7 either.

Yes, that thick black bar at the bottom is horrible, especially in the landscape mode. I haven't used my Nexus 7 2nd generation a lot. Probably I'm going to sell it. Web browsing is just much worse than my iPad 3

 

[turkeyneck]

Where is the standard iPad in this diagram?

Check Anand's review. The Air shows up there.

 

[KPOM]

And how many rumors did we get this year claiming the mini might not be retina. Heck I remember Rene Ritchie, Peter Cohen, John Gruber et. al. giving us all the reasons they were skeptical we'd get a retina mini this year. Is it not possible that in order to deliver a rMini with the same (or better) battery life, negligible increase in thickness and weight and no thermal issues, a compromise had to be made and the compromise was color gamut?

That's probably exactly what's going on. That said, the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire did pull it off, albeit with smaller screens.

 

[ninethirty]

I have a question then - my mini that I ordered on the Apple Store online literally just arrived. I'm a bit concerned about the screen and I was torn on the air or mini anyway. Can I open this up, check it out for myself and if I don't like it, take it in to an Apple store for an exchange, or do I need to leave it unopened to do this?

Cheers!

 

[KPOM]

Apple cutting corners bug time on the retina mini


Not unexpected though

Yes, jumping 2 processor generations, adding a screen with the same PPI as the iPhone 5s (but nearly 4 times as large0), keeping the battery life the same, and the weight virtually the same is "cutting corners big time."

 

[locust76]

any pro editing on an ipad already wont be using the mini and would be using the full size.

Solely based on the fact that the gamut on the rMini is too narrow. Had they put in a high quality display in the first place, the rMini would also be viable for visual professionals.

 

[WestonHarvey1]

Then care in due proportion by going to redcross.com and donating.

Or: Just learn how to compartmentalize. It's ok to care about different things independently.

Would you use this as a defense at your job if you were called out on your own poor performance? "I may have done a bad job on this, but, the PHILIPPINES, man!" I don't think so.

 

[locust76]

why was this not an issue last year, when the mini had the exact same gamut as this year? why is it only now that this is a calamity? last year everybody said they needed retina resolution. guess what, you got it.

Actually it was an issue last year, but the overall horribleness of the display was talked about first and foremost, with a sort of "oh yeah, as a side note, this display is so bad it doesn't even come close to reproducing the same color gamut of its Android competition" tacked on at the end.

 

[whorlycares]

the mini's color gamut hasn't changed from last year.

as Anand from the review cited in this post put it in his conclusion:

"The biggest [difference between Air and mini] in my eyes is the iPad Air’s wider gamut display with full sRGB coverage. The mini’s Retina Display is good, the Air’s is just better."

...i know this wont stop the teenage entitlement so prevalent on MR, but hey. facts is facts.

+1

Lol, I'm glad I'm not the only one. This article is SO sensationalized...!!!! I'd be hard put... after reading EVERY LAST WORD of Anand's review to assert that he "criticizes mini retina display", as MR puts it.

 

[ThisIsNotMe]

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 ?

Retina iPad mini = Gold plated digital cables IMO, utterly useless and offers no real world difference, but people will SWEAR they can see/hear a difference after forking out for them.

They wanted to get the iPad Air and iPad Mini to the same resolution for continuity with developers.

Simple as that.

 

[SirHaakon]

Anand himself, one of the most highly regarded hardware reviewers on the planet. he didnt say it was a major shortcoming. he said it was good, but the Air is even better.

There have also been people on here who have said they can't tell the difference in color gamut between the Air and the rMini... indicating to me that some people either have bad eyesight or even more likely just really don't care that much about the difference in quality. Perhaps your Anand guy has less sensitive eyes too, I really have no idea. The point is they've shown a chart, and the chart shows - very clearly - that the iPad Mini is at the FAR back of the pack when it comes to color gamut. That's something that IS important to some of us. YOU don't have to care, and WE don't have to buy it. What's frustrating are people declaring subjective opinions as hard truths, and using those statements as justification to "prove" that whatever they believe is accurate. Pretty sure Anand has the same number of eyes I do. And I literally did a double take the first time I picked up my rMini because I was astonished at how poor the color was. It doesn't take a highly regarded hardware reviewer to see it.[/quote]

the facts remain unchanged: the gamut in this year's model is unchanged from last year. why werent you complaining last year?

I honestly wasn't kidding, I have yet to own an iPad because personally I have found them all incredibly lacking up until this point. The iPad Mini with Retina Display was my first iPad purchase (I own plenty of other Apple products, just not tablets) because on paper it seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. The pixel density is absolutely fantastic, as I have stated several times now. The form factor is also great for my uses. But the color is just too off and it's a deal breaker to me. Would you buy a black and white tablet? How about one that inverted the colors? Those may seem like ridiculous extremes to you, but the point is the color is not RIGHT on the new iPad Mini, and it bothers me. And yes, I will vote with my wallet and sit around another year hoping they finally get it right. But it's nice to see that it's being reported in a more official manner now and that those of us who do care about quality aren't crazy - there is a problem (there probably was with the previous iPad as well; I never liked it) - and hopefully they will address it in time.