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Why does Apple stick to its crappy AA on the iPad?

naujoks

naujoks

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 6, 2008
303
62
London, UK
I know there are two camps of belief about Anti Aliasing of fonts, the Apple and the Windows way of doing things, but let's face it: for small fonts (which you get most of the time on the iPad) the Windows way of doing this is FAR superior.
That is the main reason why I still don't read my books on the iPad, because everything looks so blurry and fuzzy. And I'm afraid even a higher resolution on the iPad 2 won't change anything: small fonts on my 11.6" MBA (which has a far higher ressolution than the iPad of course) look crap.
So why doesn't Steve offer an alternative, at least? There's no two ways about it: small fonts DO look much better under Windows.
Rant over.
 
naujoks said:
I know there are two camps of belief about Anti Aliasing of fonts, the Apple and the Windows way of doing things, but let's face it: for small fonts (which you get most of the time on the iPad) the Windows way of doing this is FAR superior.
That is the main reason why I still don't read my books on the iPad, because everything looks so blurry and fuzzy. And I'm afraid even a higher resolution on the iPad 2 won't change anything: small fonts on my 11.6" MBA (which has a far higher ressolution than the iPad of course) look crap.
So why doesn't Steve offer an alternative, at least? There's no two ways about it: small fonts DO look much better under Windows.
Rant over.
Click to expand...

... Still waiting for a Resolution Independence Mac OS...
 
Unfortunately, the aggressive hinting Windows uses is really bad when you need freely scalable fonts, such as in Mobile Safari. Also, subpixel rendering would be quite inconsistent on a device which can be used in all four orientations so Apple decided to stick with greyscale anti-aliasing.

http://www.antigrain.com/research/font_rasterization/

Small fonts look beautiful on an iPhone 4, so increased resolution certainly makes a difference.
 
GnillGnoll said:
Small fonts look beautiful on an iPhone 4, so increased resolution certainly makes a difference.
Click to expand...

Yes, only that it will be a long time until we get anything like the iPhone's resolution on the iPad. I really hope that the increased resolution which we're probably getting next will make enough of a difference. So far I have put off all my book reading plans, and stuck to reading the Times and websites. Just couldn't face it!
 
naujoks said:
Yes, only that it will be a long time until we get anything like the iPhone's resolution on the iPad. I really hope that the increased resolution which we're probably getting next will make enough of a difference. So far I have put off all my book reading plans, and stuck to reading the Times and websites. Just couldn't face it!
Click to expand...

Which ereader apps have you tried? If you can read websites on the iPad without the fonts bothering you, I'm not sure why ereaders would be a different experience.
 
Night Spring said:
Which ereader apps have you tried? If you can read websites on the iPad without the fonts bothering you, I'm not sure why ereaders would be a different experience.
Click to expand...

I have no plans on getting yet another device to lug around. I was hoping to have everything in one device, in the form of the iPad.
 
naujoks said:
I have no plans on getting yet another device to lug around. I was hoping to have everything in one device, in the form of the iPad.
Click to expand...

I meant ereading apps on the iPad. If you can stand reading a website on the iPad, why is your experience different with say, the Kindle app or the iBooks app?
 
Night Spring said:
I meant ereading apps on the iPad. If you can stand reading a website on the iPad, why is your experience different with say, the Kindle app or the iBooks app?
Click to expand...

Because I browse websites only for short amounts of time.
The Times I make myself bear because I like the format, and it's cheaper than the paper version and more convenient than reading it on my main computer.
But neither iBooks nor Kindle on the iPad I would ever consider using for longer than a 15 minutes at a time.
 
naujoks said:
Because I browse websites only for short amounts of time.
The Times I make myself bear because I like the format, and it's cheaper than the paper version and more convenient than reading it on my main computer.
But neither iBooks nor Kindle on the iPad I would ever consider using for longer than a 15 minutes at a time.
Click to expand...

Ah, gotcha. Each to his own, I guess -- I find I can read on the iPad for hours at a time, be it websites or ebooks.
 
As far as I know, pretty much the entire design/typography world disagrees with you about Apple anti-aliasing. There is no better anti-aliasing technology (and certainly not ClearType).

In mobile Safari you can always double-tap or pinch to zoom, if you're trying to read it that small...
 
So every video game is blurry and fuzzy?

Don't you know PC gamers pay more for anti-aliasing?

Of course not. :rolleyes:


Xian Zhu Xuande said:
As far as I know, pretty much the entire design/typography world disagrees with you about Apple anti-aliasing. There is no better anti-aliasing technology (and certainly not ClearType).

In mobile Safari you can always double-tap or pinch to zoom, if you're trying to read it that small...
Click to expand...

Exactly.
 
Xian Zhu Xuande said:
As far as I know, pretty much the entire design/typography world disagrees with you about Apple anti-aliasing. There is no better anti-aliasing technology (and certainly not ClearType).

In mobile Safari you can always double-tap or pinch to zoom, if you're trying to read it that small...
Click to expand...

The problem isnt the anti-aliasing on the ipad. Its the PPI. Its too low. OP is right, extended reading kills the eyes. My answer was to sell the ipad and buy a Nook Color (which has a much higher PPI) for $250 , root it and wait for ipad2 which hopefully has a higher pixel density

Edit FWIW NC has a 169 PPI vs the iPads 132, which isnt a huge increase, but nonetheless the NC's text looks much better
 
Last edited:
naujoks said:
I know there are two camps of belief about Anti Aliasing of fonts, the Apple and the Windows way of doing things, but let's face it: for small fonts (which you get most of the time on the iPad) the Windows way of doing this is FAR superior.
That is the main reason why I still don't read my books on the iPad, because everything looks so blurry and fuzzy. And I'm afraid even a higher resolution on the iPad 2 won't change anything: small fonts on my 11.6" MBA (which has a far higher ressolution than the iPad of course) look crap.
So why doesn't Steve offer an alternative, at least? There's no two ways about it: small fonts DO look much better under Windows.
Rant over.
Click to expand...

I disagree with your opinion.
 
Last edited:
Maybe the OP(and like-minded folks) are holding the device too close to their faces?
Yes, the ppi is low, but when held at more then a foot from your face, you don't really notice the pixels.
 
Considering the iPad is of the same PPI as a computer screen I believe, hold the iPad about as far away from your face as you would sit from a computer screen.

It shouldnt look blurry, I'm a Windows user and browsing on the iPad doesnt feel any different font-wise because I hold the iPad a few feet away on my lap when I browse.
 
Xian Zhu Xuande said:
As far as I know, pretty much the entire design/typography world disagrees with you about Apple anti-aliasing. There is no better anti-aliasing technology (and certainly not ClearType).

In mobile Safari you can always double-tap or pinch to zoom, if you're trying to read it that small...
Click to expand...

The iPad is not a product for design/typography! It's the exact opposite, so screen font rendering should reflect that!
I'm sure the designers have their point when it comes to working with InDesign. On a Power Mac, that is!
 
Consultant said:
So every video game is blurry and fuzzy?

Don't you know PC gamers pay more for anti-aliasing?

Of course not. :rolleyes:




Exactly.
Click to expand...

Pay more? What do you mean? I know it uses more System Resources to Anti-Alias, but I dont have to pay to turn the option on.
 
The problem is simply that the screen res it too low to display some of the things people are trying to display.

One app I had was only allowing 4 pixels width for a character, and you don't need to think much to realise 4 dots is not enough to clearly render almost any letters or numbers, apart from perhaps a "1" or a "l"

Even the stock Safari in portrait mode is pushing things a bit on this forum without zooming it, yes you can read the writing, but it really needs more dots on the screen, more noticeable in portrait mode.

I don't know how Apple are going to get round this as I can't see the ability to double the current res is going to happen anytime soon.
 
I keep reading these threads and I guess I just don't see the problem. I've used my iPad for reading books for many, many hours and it doesn't bother me at all. I typically use iBooks, Bluefire and Nook apps, depending upon where I got the eBook from. Hope I'm not going blind and don't realize it :eek:.
 
Xian Zhu Xuande said:
As far as I know, pretty much the entire design/typography world disagrees with you about Apple anti-aliasing. There is no better anti-aliasing technology (and certainly not ClearType).
Click to expand...

x2

I work in graphic design and work with typography daily. I don't know where you got the idea that Windows is better at displaying and anti aliasing fonts, but that's the first time in my life vie heard someone who prefers the way Windows displays fonts. Even my diehard Windows using designer friends admit OS X and now iOS i s vastly superior at displaying fonts. Typography and Caligraphy is one of Steve Jobs passions and its what he majored in, in University. Apple computers have always been the leaders in typographic display.
 
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