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2018 iPad

sracer said:
I just traded in my Air 2 for the 2018 iPad. 12W charger was included. Performance difference is noticeable (to me). Non-laminated screen is noticeable in the difference of how it feels/sounds not so much in how it looks...looks great.

Now I have to put some clear Con-Tact paper on the back, and see if the extra matte screen protectors I have from the Air 2 will fit on this. :)
Click to expand...

thanks for sharing

the screen and not caring about pencil support is what is holding me back ...

guess I will be waiting another year or so
 
Richard8655 said:
Yes, that might concern me too. In the past, if I’d buy a new iPad model and noticed something unexpected or unusual (especially with the display), I’d take it down to the local Apple store and compare it side by side with the same demo model at the exact same settings.

If it looked or functioned the same, I’d attiribute it to a common trait of the model and feel ok with it (relatively). Otherwise, I’d head straight over to the Genius Bar.

But I see no reason why the 2018 display would be any different than the 2017. As I understand, they’re exactly the same specification. My 2017 is perfect, as you describe.
Click to expand...

sracer said:
I'm not seeing the things that you are seeing. Granted, I've only had the 2018 iPad for a day. Viewing angles on the 2018 are not noticeably different than my 12.9 Pro or Mini 4. I find the uniformity of the 2018 screen to be just as good as the Mini 4, and perhaps ever so slightly better than my 1st Gen 12.9.

It's been a while since I owned an iPad without a laminated screen and I was pleasantly surprised to see just how nice the screen looks. As I mentioned in a previous post, the feel and sound of the screen ARE different. I did apply a matte screen protector and it did help give the screen a more substantial feel and less-hollow sound.

It is possible that yours is "faulty". I put that in quotes because it could be within Apple's range of acceptability... not that it matters, since YOU are dissatisfied with the screen.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your replies guys. It is possible that I'm looking it too hard and like I mentioned before my previous 2017 was unrealistically flawless, I never expected to find such a good display, so my expectations might have been a bit too high. However that shadow on the left edge (on portrait mode) especially is something others can see too when I point it out (but they said it did not bother them). It seems to occurs mostly only with darker material and it is practically invisible with white image.

Here are photos. Please comment what you think.
Due to camera both photos looks the same brightness but check the names, one is actually dark gray (where dark stripe is present) and another is full white (where is it pretty invisible). Also in these images you can see other problems I mentioned regarding uniformity.

Here is copy of problem description from my previous message (please notice the iPad orientation in the photos is home button to the right (description assumes portrait orientation).
Also it looks like uniformity is much worse. In portrait mode there is very slight narrow shadow near whole left edge. It can be seen with full screen certain gray level solid images and it also shows up in certain solid color moving images when it looks like screen has dirty line. Upper edge has narrow bluish part, just hint of blue. Lower edge is dimmer than rest of the screen. Lower left corner has slight red tint. Some slight flashlight type backlight bleed can be seen too.

I have some positive to say about this too. It looks like back light bleed I mentioned is healing some during more use. It is hardly visible and no way disturbing me anymore. Also 2018 is much faster than 2017 in everyday use. Difference is not in how fast app start, it is about the same but the difference is in fluidity using apps. It is something you don't notice until you spend time using it normally.
 

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sracer said:
i was very hopeful that Apple was going to produce a Mini Plus, but after they released the 2018 ipad, i sadly must conclude that Apple isn’t going to have a follow-on to the Mini 4. It doesn’t make sense for Apple to produce a Mini that will cost more that the 2018 ipad. There just aren’t enough Mini die-hards to make it financially feasible to sell such a device. But having said that, if one doesn’t need an ipad now, it is worth waiting to see what, if anything is announced.
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It make sense to me and othernif they put in current components inside it inside of two- three year old stuff and last year's SoC and minimum RAM that is slowest you can buy.
 
lbass said:
I love the new 2018 iPad. I have added it to be my more portable iPad alongside the 12.9".

My only gripe is how warm the back gets. Always on the right side. Is anyone else finding this? It has been a long time since I have owned an air type form factor so I cannot remember if this is normal.
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The only time I ever experienced anything like that was with the original Retina display iPad—it would get warm in one particular spot. With all my iPads after that, they get uniformly warm if I’m playing a game or something, but not in one specific spot.
 
0906742 said:
Thanks for your replies guys. It is possible that I'm looking it too hard and like I mentioned before my previous 2017 was unrealistically flawless, I never expected to find such a good display, so my expectations might have been a bit too high. However that shadow on the left edge (on portrait mode) especially is something others can see too when I point it out (but they said it did not bother them). It seems to occurs mostly only with darker material and it is practically invisible with white image.

Here are photos. Please comment what you think.
Due to camera both photos looks the same brightness but check the names, one is actually dark gray (where dark stripe is present) and another is full white (where is it pretty invisible). Also in these images you can see other problems I mentioned regarding uniformity.

Here is copy of problem description from my previous message (please notice the iPad orientation in the photos is home button to the right (description assumes portrait orientation).
Also it looks like uniformity is much worse. In portrait mode there is very slight narrow shadow near whole left edge. It can be seen with full screen certain gray level solid images and it also shows up in certain solid color moving images when it looks like screen has dirty line. Upper edge has narrow bluish part, just hint of blue. Lower edge is dimmer than rest of the screen. Lower left corner has slight red tint. Some slight flashlight type backlight bleed can be seen too.

I have some positive to say about this too. It looks like back light bleed I mentioned is healing some during more use. It is hardly visible and no way disturbing me anymore. Also 2018 is much faster than 2017 in everyday use. Difference is not in how fast app start, it is about the same but the difference is in fluidity using apps. It is something you don't notice until you spend time using it normally.
Click to expand...

It does look like a bit of shadowing mostly along the home button side. I know the display brightness set at high can exaggerate normal but slight display differences, but it doesn’t look like yours was set at that level. I did set my 2017 on high with a white background to compare, and don’t see similar shadows, with everything pretty consistently white. I’d be interested in sracer’s opinion, as he also owns a 2018.

Ultimately if you’re close to an Apple store, I might have them take a look and check it out. It may be within normal specification, but they could give a good evaluation.
 
Well in the last 2 weeks I’ve purchased 2 of the 2018s and 3 2017s (couldn’t pass it up at $249) for my grandchildren. I’m gonna use the 2018 I just bought for a couple months because I’m gonna be traveling, but then I’ll hand it down to one of the grandkids and likely part with one of the 2017s. I’m curious to see what it’ll be like after using a pro for the last 2 1/2 years...
 
I’m tempting to buy this iPad to upgrade a family member’s iPad, but I hesitate because a) the individual seems pretty content with what they have, b) this iPad update feels small to me and I have this nagging sense that next year’s revision might have a bigger bump.

Correct me if I’m wrong on this but basically this is the 5 year old 2013 iPad Air (same dimensions, screen, Touch ID, cameras, speakers, etc) with a 1.5 year old iPhone 7 processor (with the same 2GB RAM that came in the 4 year old 2014 iPad Air 2). Assuming an Apple Pencil will never be used (which I’m 99% certain would be the case). This just seems mildly underwhelming and leaves me thinking that perhaps next years update would add something additional. But perhaps I’m being too generous and Apple will just throw in an A11 processor and be done with it?
 
Mad Mac Maniac said:
I’m tempting to buy this iPad to upgrade a family member’s iPad, but I hesitate because a) the individual seems pretty content with what they have, b) this iPad update feels small to me and I have this nagging sense that next year’s revision might have a bigger bump.

Correct me if I’m wrong on this but basically this is the 5 year old 2013 iPad Air (same dimensions, screen, Touch ID, cameras, speakers, etc) with a 1.5 year old iPhone 7 processor (with the same 2GB RAM that came in the 4 year old 2014 iPad Air 2). Assuming an Apple Pencil will never be used (which I’m 99% certain would be the case). This just seems mildly underwhelming and leaves me thinking that perhaps next years update would add something additional. But perhaps I’m being too generous and Apple will just throw in an A11 processor and be done with it?
Click to expand...

well, it depends on which ipad model your family member has right now

in the end, your are already mentioning two very good reasons not to upgrade this time: the family member seems happy with what he got and the upgrade is rather small
(and in some cases even a step backwards)

same reasons why I decided not yet to upgrade
 
ChrisChaval said:
well, it depends on which ipad model your family member has right now
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Yes now comes the surprising part. They are using an iPad 3. So clearly this would be a significant upgrade in nearly every measurable way. But she doesn't really seem to care about getting a new one whenever I've mentioned it. Might be just a case of not realizing what she's missing out on. Haha
 
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Richard8655 said:
It does look like a bit of shadowing mostly along the home button side. I know the display brightness set at high can exaggerate normal but slight display differences, but it doesn’t look like yours was set at that level. I did set my 2017 on high with a white background to compare, and don’t see similar shadows, with everything pretty consistently white. I’d be interested in sracer’s opinion, as he also owns a 2018.

Ultimately if you’re close to an Apple store, I might have them take a look and check it out. It may be within normal specification, but they could give a good evaluation.
Click to expand...

Yes that is correct. That appears in real life also somewhat warm reddish especially in another corner (bottom left when in portrait mode). Also what can be seen in dark_gray photo is shadowing on the bottom edge (which is left edge in portrait mode). That is something that seem to occur mostly with some gray levels, especially around 40-60%. Full white is not so bad. I did some searching and I found old threads about the same issues with previous models too. I believe problem I'm having with mine is called "book spine effect".

I found couple of old threads in this forum about this issue
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/air-screen-defect.1665350/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/have-they-fixed-the-book-spine-effect.1692349/

Maybe I have been lucky with my previous iPads since this is the first time I saw this.
I'm still trying to figure out if I should just live with this or go thru replacement process. In the past I've had very bad luck with similar cases. I recently bought new computer monitor that had extreme back light bleed and after several units result was that either replacements had more back light bleed or when it was tolerable it had some other defects like other side of the screen greenish and other reddish or so on.
Anyway, it would be interesting to hear from other 2018 owners if they have this issue or have they perfect screen?
 
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Mad Mac Maniac said:
I’m tempting to buy this iPad to upgrade a family member’s iPad, but I hesitate because a) the individual seems pretty content with what they have, b) this iPad update feels small to me and I have this nagging sense that next year’s revision might have a bigger bump.

Correct me if I’m wrong on this but basically this is the 5 year old 2013 iPad Air (same dimensions, screen, Touch ID, cameras, speakers, etc) with a 1.5 year old iPhone 7 processor (with the same 2GB RAM that came in the 4 year old 2014 iPad Air 2). Assuming an Apple Pencil will never be used (which I’m 99% certain would be the case). This just seems mildly underwhelming and leaves me thinking that perhaps next years update would add something additional. But perhaps I’m being too generous and Apple will just throw in an A11 processor and be done with it?
Click to expand...
This is a budget iPad and even the iPhone 8 still has 2GB RAM. If there's a refresh next year, I wouldn't really expect much from it.
 
I wonder what brand and model display they use in 2018 model? They did not mention that. I feel that I had much better display in my 2017 model. I'm not sure if that is just normal variation between units or is display now from different vendor than in last year's model.
 
0906742 said:
I wonder what brand and model display they use in 2018 model? They did not mention that. I feel that I had much better display in my 2017 model. I'm not sure if that is just normal variation between units or is display now from different vendor than in last year's model.
Click to expand...

Is your new 2018 display improving with use? I’d be surprised if the 2017 and 2018 would be different. It may come down to slight production differences that may happen with either year model. I have to say my 2017’s seem as perfect as I could expect.

I would still consult with Apple if the 2018 doesn’t seem quite right, while it’s under warranty.
 
I have a couple 2018s and 2017s here right now (a few of my grandkids are over). I’m gonna compare screens.

I got my 2018 yesterday and honestly, I just don’t see a huge difference between it and my iPP, other than size. I’m sure side by side I would, but I’m liking this little pad.
 
ssledoux said:
I have a couple 2018s and 2017s here right now (a few of my grandkids are over). I’m gonna compare screens.

I got my 2018 yesterday and honestly, I just don’t see a huge difference between it and my iPP, other than size. I’m sure side by side I would, but I’m liking this little pad.
Click to expand...

I felt the same way when I briefly had an IPP. I’d be interested in what you find (if anything) in the 2017/2018 comparison.
 
Richard8655 said:
Is your new 2018 display improving with use? I’d be surprised if the 2017 and 2018 would be different. It may come down to slight production differences that may happen with either year model. I have to say my 2017’s seem as perfect as I could expect.
Click to expand...
It improved a bit. Back light bleed became tolerable. Still not as perfect as in 2017.
Uniformity and book spine effect does not seem to improve much. To me displays between these two units seem completly different. I would not be suprised if they both had different brand LCD.
I was under the impression than they used displays from different vendors in phones in the past. So maybe the same case with iPad. Or are they using only one vendor lcd’s in these?
Definitely my 2017 had excellent completly flawless screen compared to 2018.

ssledoux said:
I have a couple 2018s and 2017s here right now (a few of my grandkids are over). I’m gonna compare screens.
Click to expand...
It would be very interesting to hear your findngs. I suggest checking screes in dimmer room lightning when defects are easier to spot. Also certain test screens like different gray level full screens will help determing if the screens have issues. I recommend using for example walvisions test patterns, type that in Google and check.
 
dantracht said:
Thank you! Does what I'm reading about the newer iPad not having a laminated screen make a difference?
Click to expand...

It hasn’t made any difference to me whatsoever. Sure, if you compare it to the pro models then it will be inferior. However, it’s still a fast, functioning iPad that will enjoy long software support. I picked my 128gb up this morning, used it at different points during the day with my AirPods and I have used 8% battery.
The model I purchased was £409 and still seems like a bargain
 
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dantracht said:
Thank you! Does what I'm reading about the newer iPad not having a laminated screen make a difference?
Click to expand...
It makes a difference. If you're coming from an Air 2 or a mini 4, you will immediately notice. If you're coming from an Air 1 or earlier, you will also notice, because the screen seems not as solid somehow.

It will be a matter of opinion exactly how much difference this makes. I would never go back to a non-laminated screen at this point, but some people don't seem to mind for the price.
 
spiderman0616 said:
It makes a difference. If you're coming from an Air 2 or a mini 4, you will immediately notice. If you're coming from an Air 1 or earlier, you will also notice, because the screen seems not as solid somehow.

It will be a matter of opinion exactly how much difference this makes. I would never go back to a non-laminated screen at this point, but some people don't seem to mind for the price.
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Thanks for this. I guess the choice is: faster performance at the expense of screen quality. I love my mini 4, but it's starting to show it's age.
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CreamEggBear said:
It hasn’t made any difference to me whatsoever. Sure, if you compare it to the pro models then it will be inferior. However, it’s still a fast, functioning iPad that will enjoy long software support. I picked my 128gb up this morning, used it at different points during the day with my AirPods and I have used 8% battery.
The model I purchased was £409 and still seems like a bargain
Click to expand...
Thanks. Sounds like it's worth it for the pencil support and speed increase alone.
 
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