All iPads Why are the bezels on the air thicker than the pro?

[Seanm87]

Is this apples lame way of making it less premium? They did the same on the XR/11 but at least that can be explained by the difficulties of using an LCD panel instead of OLED in a bezeless design.

So is there actually any technical reason why? Or is it just to purposefully make it look worse?

 

[JPack]

Because the size of the chassis is identical to the iPad Pro 11". But the display is 10.86".

 

[klasma]

There is no technical reason for the screen to be marginally smaller and the bezels accordingly larger. It’s just an artificial differentiator to make it less premium, as you say. It’s almost laughable because it’s so obvious.

It’s similar for the stereo vs. quad speakers. It’s pretty clear from the speaker grid placements that the Air has four speaker units like the Pro, and those have just been restricted in terms of the L/R combinations they can output.

 

[doboy]

There is no technical reason for the screen to be marginally smaller and the bezels accordingly larger. It’s just an artificial differentiator to make it less premium, as you say. It’s almost laughable because it’s so obvious.

It’s similar for the stereo vs. quad speakers. It’s pretty clear from the speaker grid placements that the Air has four speaker units like the Pro, and those have just been restricted in terms of the L/R combinations they can output.

Well, every penny counts especially when you’re talking about millions of units They didn’t get to $2T company by giving you free crap.

 

[seabrook7039]

It’s similar for the stereo vs. quad speakers. It’s pretty clear from the speaker grid placements that the Air has four speaker units like the Pro, and those have just been restricted in terms of the L/R combinations they can output.

?? Can you elaborate on the restrictions? Thanks.

 

[AutomaticApple]

Is this apples lame way of making it less premium?

Making it just barely thicker is "less premium" than the iPad Pro?

 

[EugW]

I wonder if the Touch ID button requires a touch more space.

 

[rui no onna]

I wonder if the Touch ID button requires a touch more space.

Do wonder about this as well.

 

[EugW]

So, does Kuo Ming-Chi get a pass on this one? He said 10.8". It's closer to 10.9".

BTW, that was way back in May.

 

[bluespark]

There is no technical reason for the screen to be marginally smaller and the bezels accordingly larger. It’s just an artificial differentiator to make it less premium, as you say. It’s almost laughable because it’s so obvious.

It’s similar for the stereo vs. quad speakers. It’s pretty clear from the speaker grid placements that the Air has four speaker units like the Pro, and those have just been restricted in terms of the L/R combinations they can output.

I'm skeptical that there is "no technical reason." Apple knows that no one's purchase decision turns on just a few pixels. A far more likely explanation is that Touch ID required a bit more room on the top and Apple wasn't willing to compromise on symmetry.

 

[Rogifan]

I wish Apple would stop referring to these displays as “edge-to-edge”. I’m sorry but a black bezel all the way around isn’t edge-to-edge anything.

 

[JPack]

I'm skeptical that there is "no technical reason." Apple knows that no one's purchase decision turns on just a few pixels. A far more likely explanation is that Touch ID required a bit more room on the top and Apple wasn't willing to compromise on symmetry.

We've seen teardowns of several phones with fingerprint power sensors like the Galaxy A7 and S10e. The sensor is extremely thin, certainly thinner than the TrueDepth camera module on the iPad Pro.

 

[akash.nu]

I wish Apple would stop referring to these displays as “edge-to-edge”. I’m sorry but a black bezel all the way around isn’t edge-to-edge anything.

Without the bezels how are you meant to hold the devices without touching the screen ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[EugW]

Without the bezels how are you meant to hold the devices without touching the screen ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Like an iPhone without the fingers overlapping the screen?

Anyhow, I wonder if there is an elegant solution for people covering up the Face ID sensor in landscape mode on the Pros. I guess they should try the iPhone type grip too.

 

[akash.nu]

Like an iPhone without the fingers overlapping the screen?

Anyhow, I wonder if there is an elegant solution for people covering up the Face ID sensor in landscape mode. I guess they should try the iPhone type grip too.

iPad is too big and heavy for an iPhone type hold for a prolonged and comfortable usage.

 

[throAU]

There is no technical reason for the screen to be marginally smaller and the bezels accordingly larger. It’s just an artificial differentiator to make it less premium, as you say. It’s almost laughable because it’s so obvious.

Cheaper screen is smaller?

That's one reason.

 

[EugW]

iPad is too big and heavy for an iPhone type hold for a prolonged and comfortable usage.

I agree, but then again I use my 10.5” Pro on the table much more than in my hands, the reason being I love using its Smart Keyboard, not only because it makes typing much easier but also because it’s less tiring. So, I personally never hold an iPad for extended periods.

 

[ejin222]

Watch the Air’s bezel is exactly the same as the 11” Pro but they just rounded the Pro to 11” rather than 10.9” 😝

 

[xylitol]

Without the bezels how are you meant to hold the devices without touching the screen ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Touching the screen with the side or base of your thumb (etc) when holding an iPad/iPhone doesn't affect its use. They are designed so that they ignore palm contacts.

 

[ian87w]

There is no technical reason for the screen to be marginally smaller and the bezels accordingly larger. It’s just an artificial differentiator to make it less premium, as you say. It’s almost laughable because it’s so obvious.

It’s similar for the stereo vs. quad speakers. It’s pretty clear from the speaker grid placements that the Air has four speaker units like the Pro, and those have just been restricted in terms of the L/R combinations they can output.

Oh is that true? Will be interesting to see the tear down. Apple is known to put fake speaker grills just for the looks.

 

[macdogpro]

Yeah it’s ridiculous if its just for a differentiator.
but my eyes can not unsee those extra bezel on the air 4, would be a headache for me if I’m in the market to choose between the two now. Nah, i‘ll go with the air for $200 less 😁

i can accept the extra thickness of the case to accommodate touch ID tho, might as well for extra bendiness protection

 

[MacDevil7334]

Watch the Air’s bezel is exactly the same as the 11” Pro but they just rounded the Pro to 11” rather than 10.9” 😝

It’s not. The Pro’s screen is an extra 28 pixels bigger in each direction (784 pixels total) compared to the screen on the Air. So the Air does have slightly thicker bezels.

Seriously though, what a weird arbitrary differentiator between the 2 devices. 28 pixels difference in each direction - why even bother at that point other than to have a difference on paper? If screen size is a big factor in your decision on which iPad to get, don’t worry about it. No way you will miss a measly 784 pixels on a screen with 3.8 million pixels. The Air and Pro screens are essentially identical in size.

I suspect that Apple probably did consider a 10.8” screen at some point as the rumors indicated in order to have a more real difference in screen size compared to the Pro. But, I’m betting the bezels looked so big that they would have sounded silly saying it was an “all screen design”. So, they were forced to go with a 10.9” panel instead.

 

[Wando64]

Differentiator?

Be serious. 0.1" = 2.5mm on the diagonal = a tiny difference in the size of the bezels; Very likely hardly noticeable.
I have no idea why they didn't re-use the same panel as the Pro, but it definitely makes complete sense in not designing an entirely new chassis for such a minute size difference.
We already know what the differentiators are.
Less that 1mm bezel size is not one of them.

 

[EugW]

It’s not. The Pro’s screen is an extra 28 pixels bigger in each direction (784 pixels total) compared to the screen on the Air. So the Air does have slightly thicker bezels.

Seriously though, what a weird arbitrary differentiator between the 2 devices. 28 pixels difference in each direction - why even bother at that point other than to have a difference on paper? If screen size is a big factor in your decision on which iPad to get, don’t worry about it. No way you will miss a measly 784 pixels on a screen with 3.8 million pixels. The Air and Pro screens are essentially identical in size.

I suspect that Apple probably did consider a 10.8” screen at some point as the rumors indicated in order to have a more real difference in screen size compared to the Pro. But, I’m betting the bezels looked so big that they would have sounded silly saying it was an “all screen design”. So, they were forced to go with a 10.9” panel instead.

No, they need to keep the width and height the same for case and keyboard compatibility. You'll note that the 11" Pro and 10.9" Air are EXACTLY the same for width and height. Depth is slightly different, but that is less important.

So, once they've decided to keep those dimensions the same they'll stuff whatever screen that will fit there with existing technology at a decent price and factoring in other technology restraints that may be a factor (like possibly the thickness of Touch ID).

 

[akash.nu]

Touching the screen with the side or base of your thumb (etc) when holding an iPad/iPhone doesn't affect its use. They are designed so that they ignore palm contacts.

Correct, but unfortunately in reality the palm rejection doesn’t always work as you’d expect them to. The best example of a usability nightmare is the recent Samsung edge to edge phones or even the phones that were named as edge.