iPad Air The M4 iPad Air screen is better than the OLED iPad Pro screen in this one area…

[Greenmeenie]

I’m an artist and only use iPads. I’m about to add a 13” iPad to my collection of an 11” iPad Pro & iPad mini 7. I am leaning towards the 13” iPad Pro for the brighter screen, but was debating btwn the 13” M4 iPad Air & the 13” M5 iPad Pro for longer than i thought i would be. So i figured I’d share my observations here. Yes the OLED screen is much brighter & has more vibrant colors (especially with HDR content)… but sometimes that over saturation can look kinda fake too. Like how some photographers complain about the over saturation on some smartphone camera photos. Also, one of the selling points of OLEDS is the pure blacks… and its true, the blacks are really black which makes the colors pop even more - which is great - but one of the downsides is that subtle detail can get lost in those inky blacks. I noticed that altho the LCD screen on the ipad air doesn’t have the same inky blacks & the colors are more muted… it does show more detail in those black areas. Not saying the OLED screen is worse, in most ways it is more gorgeous than the iPad Air screen. It’s way brighter. And the colors in HDR 4k videos in particular really pop! I just wanted to point out some other things that are actually not as good as the LCD ipad air screen. The details in those black areas can get lost & some may find the more vibrant colors a little fake looking at times while the iPad air colors altho not as bright, can look more realistic with more detail in the black areas. Also, some old tv shows & movies can look blotchy & worse with the high contrast of the OLED screen & look better on the LCD iPad Air screen. If that is important to you, picking up the M4 iPad Air may be your last chance as rumors strongly suggest that the M5 iPad Air next year will get a single panel OLED screen.

 

[I7guy]

To me the biggest difference is cost. You get what you get and then you live with it. But what you are pointing out is the pros and cons of different screens. For me, I wouldn’t give up my IPP M5 for an air.

 

[Greenmeenie]

To me the biggest difference is cost. You get what you get and then you live with it. But what you are pointing out is the pros and cons of different screens. For me, I wouldn’t give up my IPP M5 for an air.

I hear you. And I agree, the M5 iPad Pro is significantly better. The OLED screen is amazing. It really blows you away compared to the iPad Air screen side by side for brightness & color vibrancy. I was just pointing out some subtle things i noticed because I compared them extensively at the Apple store for the last few months. The OLED screen is objectively better for sure. I just noticed those couple of things upon closer inspection that i thought were interesting.

I was looking at the 512gb versions of both and the cost at some stores is not too big a difference. I found the 13” M5 iPad Pro on sale for $1,338 and the 13” m4 ipad air on sale for $1,049 which is a $289 difference instead of the usual $400 difference at Apple.

 

[jimmy_uk]

I’m an artist and only use iPads. I’m about to add a 13” iPad to my collection of an 11” iPad Pro & iPad mini 7. I am leaning towards the 13” iPad Pro for the brighter screen, but was debating btwn the 13” M4 iPad Air & the 13” M5 iPad Pro for longer than i thought i would be. So i figured I’d share my observations here. Yes the OLED screen is much brighter & has more vibrant colors (especially with HDR content)… but sometimes that over saturation can look kinda fake too. Like how some photographers complain about the over saturation on some smartphone camera photos. Also, one of the selling points of OLEDS is the pure blacks… and its true, the blacks are really black which makes the colors pop even more - which is great - but one of the downsides is that subtle detail can get lost in those inky blacks. I noticed that altho the LCD screen on the ipad air doesn’t have the same inky blacks & the colors are more muted… it does show more detail in those black areas. Not saying the OLED screen is worse, in most ways it is more gorgeous than the iPad Air screen. It’s way brighter. And the colors in HDR 4k videos in particular really pop! I just wanted to point out some other things that are actually not as good as the LCD ipad air screen. The details in those black areas can get lost & some may find the more vibrant colors a little fake looking at times while the iPad air colors altho not as bright, can look more realistic with more detail in the black areas. Also, some old tv shows & movies can look blotchy & worse with the high contrast of the OLED screen & look better on the LCD iPad Air screen. If that is important to you, picking up the M4 iPad Air may be your last chance as rumors strongly suggest that the M5 iPad Air next year will get a single panel OLED screen.

I always like reading your posts, but this is a wall of text! Paragraphs would be helpful 👍

 

[Greenmeenie]

I always like reading your posts, but this is a wall of text!

I tried to keep it short. 😆 Basically was just trying to articulate the differences i saw btwn the OLED ipad pro screen & the LCD iPad Air screen. At first look, the OLED totally blows the LCD screen away. The brightness & colors just POP. But as you keep watching & comparing some subtle differences emerge. Like the lack of details in dark shadows on the OLED compared to the iPad Air screen. And you begin to wonder if the colors on the OLED are oversaturated or punched up a bit too much. But the OLED colors are just so gorgeous & bright that you don’t really care or notice - unless you really stare at 4K HDR youtube videos playing side by side like i did for hours. 😂

The LCD screen did look amazing when not looking at the OLED screen next to it. But when you did, you noticed how muted/washed out the colors looked in comparison. Or did they actually look more natural? Cause you also saw more detail in the shadows. In the end, the OLED screen just wowed you so much with it’s vibrant colors & brightness that you overlook the lack of detail in the shadows.

I was just wondering if others noticed this difference. And what they thought?🤔

 

[I7guy]

In an Apple store with the lighting I don’t think it’s easy to discern nuances. Their air probably wasn’t rendering the screen accurately and the m5 it was probably difficult to discern the highlights due to either the brightness and/or the lighting.

 

[Greenmeenie]

In an Apple store with the lighting I don’t think it’s easy to discern nuances. Their air probably wasn’t rendering the screen accurately and the m5 it was probably difficult to discern the highlights due to either the brightness and/or the lighting.

I hear you. But i tested in multiple Apple stores in NYC. Some had iPads set up in the basement level so not as bright conditions. I got a really good comparison btwn the two over the last couple of months. I made sure both ipads were playing the same 4K HDR youtube videos at the same settings. It wasn’t the highlights the OLED panel had issues with, it was the details in the black areas. Because the OLED panel turns off the pixels to get the truest blacks, it sometimes makes details in those black areas get muddy or lost. Where as the LCD iPad Air panel often gets knocked for not producing true blacks but more grayish blacks, is ironically the same reason why it showed more detail in those dark areas. I just found it interesting comparing both panels beyond just the obvious initial OLED advantage of brightness & color vibrancy. The LCD panel wasn’t bad at all. Sometimes showing truer more realistic colors that still looked great. But it’s hard to deny the wow factor of the OLED panel. It is just so much brighter and colors really POP.

 

[I7guy]

I hear you. But i tested in multiple Apple stores in NYC. Some had iPads set up in the basement level so not as bright conditions. I got a really good comparison btwn the two over the last couple of months. I made sure both ipads were playing the same 4K HDR youtube videos at the same settings. It wasn’t the highlights the OLED panel had issues with, it was the details in the black areas. Because the OLED panel turns off the pixels to get the truest blacks, it sometimes makes details in those black areas get muddy or lost. Where as the LCD iPad Air panel often gets knocked for not producing true blacks but more grayish blacks, is ironically the same reason why it showed more detail in those dark areas. I just found it interesting comparing both panels beyond just the obvious initial OLED advantage of brightness & color vibrancy. The LCD panel wasn’t bad at all. Sometimes showing truer more realistic colors that still looked great. But it’s hard to deny the wow factor of the OLED panel. It is just so much brighter and colors really POP.

So after some “googling” I remembered and read things I’ve forgotten.
- oled does suffer from black crush mostly at a gamma curve of 2.2
- streaming compression is also responsible
- True Tone affects this as well
- the iPad Pro m5 has fine grain calibration

 

[Greenmeenie]

So after some “googling” I remembered and read things I’ve forgotten.
- oled does suffer from black crush mostly at a gamma curve of 2.2
- streaming compression is also responsible
- True Tone affects this as well
- the iPad Pro m5 has fine grain calibration

Yes, Black Crush. That’s the term. Thanks. But i guess it’s a testament to how impressive the OLED panel is because you are so wowed 🤩 by the vibrant colors you don’t notice this one downside. I think most people that can afford the iPad Pro will overlook this.

Another thing I noticed is that older tv shows & 720p & some 1080p video can look worse or the same on the OLED compared to the iPad Airs screen.

The OLED really shines on 4k HDR video.

 

[Nuubi]

I’m no artist, so please forgive my ignorance. I recall seeing this option under the display settings. As I don't know anything about screen calibration, I left it off by default. Is the reference mode on the iPad Pro not supposed to be enabled for colour-accurate workflows?

 

[throAU]

I’m an artist and only use iPads. I’m about to add a 13” iPad to my collection of an 11” iPad Pro & iPad mini 7. I am leaning towards the 13” iPad Pro for the brighter screen, but was debating btwn the 13” M4 iPad Air & the 13” M5 iPad Pro for longer than i thought i would be. So i figured I’d share my observations here. Yes the OLED screen is much brighter & has more vibrant colors (especially with HDR content)… but sometimes that over saturation can look kinda fake too. Like how some photographers complain about the over saturation on some smartphone camera photos. Also, one of the selling points of OLEDS is the pure blacks… and its true, the blacks are really black which makes the colors pop even more - which is great - but one of the downsides is that subtle detail can get lost in those inky blacks. I noticed that altho the LCD screen on the ipad air doesn’t have the same inky blacks & the colors are more muted… it does show more detail in those black areas. Not saying the OLED screen is worse, in most ways it is more gorgeous than the iPad Air screen. It’s way brighter. And the colors in HDR 4k videos in particular really pop! I just wanted to point out some other things that are actually not as good as the LCD ipad air screen. The details in those black areas can get lost & some may find the more vibrant colors a little fake looking at times while the iPad air colors altho not as bright, can look more realistic with more detail in the black areas. Also, some old tv shows & movies can look blotchy & worse with the high contrast of the OLED screen & look better on the LCD iPad Air screen. If that is important to you, picking up the M4 iPad Air may be your last chance as rumors strongly suggest that the M5 iPad Air next year will get a single panel OLED screen.

Are you blind perhaps?

I have both Air and Pro and claiming the Air gives you more detail in dark areas makes me think perhaps you need your eyes tested. Or maybe adjust the brightness on your iPad Pro.

 

[Greenmeenie]

Are you blind perhaps?

I have both Air and Pro and claiming the Air gives you more detail in dark areas makes me think perhaps you need your eyes tested. Or maybe adjust the brightness on your iPad Pro.

Dude. Google “Black Crush” on the OLED iPad Pros. It’s a real thing. I actually have perfect vision. Perhaps your eyes are deficient 🤓

Google: “While the OLED iPad Pro technically offers vastly superior contrast and perfect blacks, users may prefer the shadow detail on the IPS LCD iPad Air because it avoids the aggressive "crushing" of deep blacks that can occur in OLED panels.”

Just saying. Have a nice day. 😂

 

[eltoslightfoot]

I’m an artist and only use iPads. I’m about to add a 13” iPad to my collection of an 11” iPad Pro & iPad mini 7. I am leaning towards the 13” iPad Pro for the brighter screen, but was debating btwn the 13” M4 iPad Air & the 13” M5 iPad Pro for longer than i thought i would be. So i figured I’d share my observations here. Yes the OLED screen is much brighter & has more vibrant colors (especially with HDR content)… but sometimes that over saturation can look kinda fake too. Like how some photographers complain about the over saturation on some smartphone camera photos. Also, one of the selling points of OLEDS is the pure blacks… and its true, the blacks are really black which makes the colors pop even more - which is great - but one of the downsides is that subtle detail can get lost in those inky blacks. I noticed that altho the LCD screen on the ipad air doesn’t have the same inky blacks & the colors are more muted… it does show more detail in those black areas. Not saying the OLED screen is worse, in most ways it is more gorgeous than the iPad Air screen. It’s way brighter. And the colors in HDR 4k videos in particular really pop! I just wanted to point out some other things that are actually not as good as the LCD ipad air screen. The details in those black areas can get lost & some may find the more vibrant colors a little fake looking at times while the iPad air colors altho not as bright, can look more realistic with more detail in the black areas. Also, some old tv shows & movies can look blotchy & worse with the high contrast of the OLED screen & look better on the LCD iPad Air screen. If that is important to you, picking up the M4 iPad Air may be your last chance as rumors strongly suggest that the M5 iPad Air next year will get a single panel OLED screen.

This is a thing with photographers as well. If you want print accurate color, I would have to do careful research before choosing OLED. For everything else, OLED is amazing. I love it on my gaming laptop!

 

[Greenmeenie]

This is a thing with photographers as well. If you want print accurate color, I would have to do careful research before choosing OLED. For everything else, OLED is amazing. I love it on my gaming laptop!

Exactly. I dunno why some people get triggered if you say anything bad about OLED. I love OLED. And I acknowledge how great it looks. How the true blacks make the colors just pop. Etc. But if i point out also that some subtle details can get crushed in those true blacks… YIKES people jump down your throat. I am not saying that the iPad Air screen is better than an OLED. In most ways the OLED blows it away. However, a great LCD screen like the one on the iPad Air can show more detail in those true black areas. That is just a fact. It doesn’t take away from the fact that the OLED screen is objectively better or more pleasing to the eye. And you’re right, some photographers & artists do prefer the LCD screen over the beautiful but sometimes overly saturated look of the OLED. I think both things can be true. You can say the OLED screen looks absolutely gorgeous. That it’s brighter. That the colors just POP. And it does look more pleasing to the eye. While at the same time admit that some people might prefer the LCD screen for a couple of key reasons.

 

[I7guy]

Black crush is very screen dependent and can happen on lcd monitors and oleds and depends on the calibration as well.

And whether black crush is exhibited is dependent on other things such as dynamic screen adjustments such as True Tone and streaming compression.

When I have an opportunity I am going to try a black crush test on my IPP m5 and compare it to my IPP m1 and 15PM.

 

[I7guy]

Here’s my update. I searched YouTube for black crush test. In a dark room I tested my IPP M5, 15PM, iPad 7th gen.
- iPad 7th gen fail
- 15PM partial pass
- IPP M5 passed.

The grey boxes are subtle and your eyes have to acclimate.

 

[teohyc]

Main reason why black shows more details with LCD is because of the backlight. I also find it more difficult to see into shadow areas of OLED because it's so much darker due to the higher contrast ratio where dark is darker.

I also find LCD to look better at low brightness. OLED just looks weird at low brightness.

But downside of LCD is edges will turn yellow with time. Not sure about OLED on the iPad yet as it's still considered new.

 

[gnomeisland]

Did you have reference mode enabled? I understand what 'black crush' but in my experience the OLED iPad Pro in reference mode is the most accurate portable display for photo editing I've ever used. Including near blacks.