Not saying there's anything wrong, just trying to understand the ideology. Ok I somewhat understand that people have two tablets with different sizes, but having a Nexus 7 and iPad Mini both?
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iPad mini AnandTech's iPad mini w/ Retina review is out!
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AstonishingYes, I've compared many and the results are similar to the photo below. The photo below was taken with a Canon 5D MKII & Canon 135 f.2.0L lens. Even with the maximum upload size on this site being quite restricted, you can see the color issue Anand raised in the review (From Anand's review: The difference is small but apparent, particularly if youre used to panels with full sRGB coverage like the iPad Air or any of the rMBPs/iMacs. The biggest deviations are in reds/blues and magenta in between as you can tell from the CIE chart above.)
In the photo below, the flowers are purple. They look this way in real life (I took the photo), they look purple on my iMac, 15 MBP-R and on my wife's iPad Air (below "left" in the photo). However, on both the Mini-R (below "bottom right") & Mini-O (below "top right", they display as blue.
This appears to be the main compromise with the Mini-R (color accuracy and vibrancy). This may be an acceptable compromise to make for many given that almost all else about the mini is excellent. If so, great! Either way, it's nice to know the facts going in so that an informed decision can be made.
You sound like a bratty child. I just sold my first gen mini for $300 w/ a "gimpy" non-retina display. You think the 4 people out 40 million who care / notice things like color gamut are going to be influenced by this?
I'm going to laugh when you leave your iPad Air at home 90% of the time because it is too big.
Any photo editor worth his salt isn't using an iPad as his/her main editor. And to display work they have customized apps.
Sweet, now apple has created fanboys within its own product lines
Thats because if you dont get the highest spec'd item every one shames you into it. However Apple shouldve known better than to send an rMini out without the full range of color and MR and other sites really need to step up their game as it relates to dealing with mobile devices. The mobile experience is horrible. Websites should be responsive.
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Not saying there's anything wrong, just trying to understand the ideology. Ok I somewhat understand that people have two tablets with different sizes, but having a Nexus 7 and iPad Mini both?
I've got an air and a nexus 7. I've also got an iPhone 5 , note 3 and a nexus 5. So what
Not saying there's anything wrong, just trying to understand the ideology. Ok I somewhat understand that people have two tablets with different sizes, but having a Nexus 7 and iPad Mini both?
You realize one is iOS and the other Android, right? And that you can do things in Android you can't to on iOS (and vice versa) right?
When I need to reply to an email and attach a document, I use my Nexus. My iPad is incapable of this simple task. This is just one simple example. Having access to the file system and a USB port is very handy sometimes.
Another good review from Anand and he's right, the screen is perfectly acceptable, it's just not quite as good as the Air and whether that's a factor in the purchasing decision is down to personal preference and priority.
I think the real "danger" here is that there'll be a new model in short order. I don't think the reduced gamut of the mini compared to the Air was a deliberate choice by Apple but rather a limitation of the screen technology and/or manufacturing processes. These technologies are maturing fast and, if I was in the market for a Mini right now, I'd be very wary of Apple replacing it with an updated model in six or seven months' time, just as happened with the iPad3 and 4.
Yet again it seems that Apple may have released a slightly "premature" product, just as with the iPad3. Ideally I think they'd have preferred to wait six months or so to allow the screen technology and yields to improve but instead felt they had to launch now due to market forces. This is exactly what happened with the iPad3 and we all know what happened there.
Let me state clearly that I'm not in the market for a Mini myself but, if I were, I'd either get an Air instead or wait it out for a few months to see what happens and what new rumours emerge. I'd be too scared to buy a retina Mini now.
I think the real "danger" here is that there'll be a new model in short order. I don't think the reduced gamut of the mini compared to the Air was a deliberate choice by Apple but rather a limitation of the screen technology and/or manufacturing processes. These technologies are maturing fast and, if I was in the market for a Mini right now, I'd be very wary of Apple replacing it with an updated model in six or seven months' time, just as happened with the iPad3 and 4.
Yet again it seems that Apple may have released a slightly "premature" product, just as with the iPad3. Ideally I think they'd have preferred to wait six months or so to allow the screen technology and yields to improve but instead felt they had to launch now due to market forces. This is exactly what happened with the iPad3 and we all know what happened there.
Let me state clearly that I'm not in the market for a Mini myself but, if I were, I'd either get an Air instead or wait it out for a few months to see what happens and what new rumours emerge. I'd be too scared to buy a retina Mini now.
I doubt we'll see it that quickly. With the iPad 3 to 4 transition, it appears that Apple decided to move the iPad launch to coincide with the holiday season. Naturally, they decided to update the iPad 4 to its latest processor and Lightning port.
I don't see either the iPad Air and Retina iPad mini as "premature." Arguably last year's iPad mini was "premature" since the Retina display wasn't ready, and it had a 2011-era processor. But it wasn't updated 6 months later. The Retina iPad mini made a 2-generation leap in processor. There won't be such a big leap in display technology for a while. Sure, it will get cheaper to produce and we may see a lower price and greater supply, but I don't see Apple making another resolution change anytime soon.
Will the A8 be faster and have 2GB of RAM? Probably. When will it be out? Probably next September with the iPhone 6.
Samsung has already said that their first 64-bit chips will be based on ARM's reference design. That means that even if they rush the Galaxy S5 and/or Note 4 to market in January or February it likely won't be a significant performance leap from the A7. We likely won't see Samsung's custom 64-bit chip until about the time that Apple is ready with the A8.
As for the display gamut, it might well have been a conscious decision, since the Kindle Fire HDX and Nexus 7 have sRGB screens, as do the iPhone 5c, 5s, iPad Air, and Retina MacBook Pros, but not the MacBook Air or original iPad mini. So Apple does have a history of having multiple product lines, some with sRGB and some without, regardless of what competitors are shipping.
Sorry but I don't believe a word of that. If all they wanted was to move the launch date, they'd have simply waited until later in 2012 and left the iPad2 as the current model for 18 months or so.
The iPad3 was prematurely launched because the market needed a retina iPad, it's that simple. History is littered with examples of Apple releasing products which aren't quite "finished" simply because they knew the market needed the product there and then, not in six months or a year when it was totally polished. The first iPhone was missing loads of features, including big ones like 3G and MMS. The first iPad was slow and heavy. The iPad3 was underpowered with worse battery life than the iPad2 and heavier and thicker to boot.
The iPad4 was what the iPad3 should have been in the first place, the technology just wasn't quite ready in March 2012, but the market was.
I cannot verify who manufactured the screens in my rMinis, but I assume screens made by Sharp look different than LG and Samsung.
My rMini with Image Retention has a beautiful screen which looks a lot like the one on iPad Air, except that colors are not as saturated. It does not look washed out. My other rMini does.
My hypothesis is that screens made by Sharp are superior to Samsung or LG, except that they have the image retention issue. I mean that they look objectively better - better contrast, maximum brightness, and more accurate colors. However - color gamut is similar, if not identical.
Does someone else have access to both an rMini that has IR and one that doesn't? Could you compare the contrast, brightness, and color accuracy?
Zboater you HAVE to own Apple stock. Because I don't see any other reason as to why you're so invested in staunchly defending Apple. First it was OCD, crazies, and nut jobs. Now that the hard factual numbers are in you're still spinning the story.
FACT is colour gamut on the mini is inferior. It's not opinion its pure FACT. Some will care regardless of the other benefits and others won't. You obviously don't and that's fine but don't start mocking or being condescending to those who do (for legitimate reasons btw).
FACT is colour gamut on the mini is inferior. It's not opinion its pure FACT. Some will care regardless of the other benefits and others won't. You obviously don't and that's fine but don't start mocking or being condescending to those who do (for legitimate reasons btw).
In March 2012, the iPad 2 was about a year old and the market was ready for a retina iPad, so yes, I'm sure Apple did not want to wait 18 months to release a new model. That doesn't mean it was "rushed" to market. Had the A6 been ready, would Apple have used it? Probably, but it wasn't. That doesn't mean it was a mistake to release the iPad 3. It still received iOS 7, and so is still officially supported. That the iPad 4 came out in October likely reflects Apple's ultimate desire to move the product timing.
As for today, yes, I agree that Apple "needed" to get a Retina iPad mini to market since Google, Amazon, Samsung and others had already gotten similar products, but that doesn't mean it was "rushed." I'm not seeing anything 6 months down the horizon that significantly changes the product.
Yes, the processors will be faster, and display yields better, but probably not enough to justify a new iPad release in 6 months unless Apple decides to accelerate the overall cycle of the iPad (in which case every new iPad will be superseded in 6 months). I just don't see that happening. Lots of people are still happy with the iPad 4 and original iPad mini, so an annual upgrade cycle probably still makes a lot of sense.
Remember, the A7 processor was first shipped in a mass market product 2 months ago. Apple isn't putting in a slightly updated version of a 12 month-old chip like they did with the A5X on the iPad 3. They are putting in the latest and greatest, just as they did with the original iPad, iPad 2, and iPad 4. The main technical criticism of the A7 is 1GB of RAM. But that was probably a conscious design decision by Apple rather than something necessitated by technical limitations, since there are smartphone and tablet chips out there with 2GB and even 3GB of RAM. I don't see that changing 6 months from now.
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I have a Retina mini with presumably a Sharp screen (based on image retention and the serial number if the "codes" others have posted are correct). Right now I have an iPad Air with an LG screen (based on the serial number) with no obvious IR. The iPad Air definitely has a wider color gamut, most easily seen with the red triangle wallpaper that AnandTech shows on his site.
How similar is the brightness and contrast between the 2? Does your rMini have white whites or is it more yellow?
I'd say they are about the same. I wouldn't describe either as particularly warm or cool (maybe slightly on the cool/white side). I'd take some pictures but I've wiped the Air as I intend to keep the mini and return the Air. The biggest difference is the color gamut, which is noticeably wider on the Air. PM me with your e-mail address and I can send you some comparison shots I took a few days ago (I'm having issues trying to post pictures on the threads).
Oh I'm not claiming it was a mistake to launch the iPad3, in fact I respect Apple's choice to often release products "prematurely" because they know the market timing is right, even if the product isn't quite where they'd ideally like it to be.
Unfortunately the timing with the iPad3 worked against them. They knew they had to release a retina display but the hardware required to drive it wasn't quite there yet. The result was a device which was slower, heavier, thicker and had worse battery life than its predecessor. In every single way aside from the display, the iPad2 was superior to the iPad3.
I should make it clear however that I bought an iPad3 on launch day and don't regret it at all. I upgraded from an iPad2 as well yet, despite acknowledging that it was worse in many ways, the screen more than made up for all of them. I'm also not bitter about the iPad4 release seven months later because, even if I'd known at the time I bought my iPad3 that the next one was only seven months away, I wouldn't have waited because I wouldn't have gone another seven months without the retina screen.
Basically I understand why Apple did it and respect their decision. I'm not criticising it, just saying the same thing could be about to happen with the retina Mini so caveat emptor.
As someone who bought an iPad 3 and an rMini, I think the old adage is true: never get the v1 of an Apple product. The iPad 3 was certainly a new screen with a lesser powered processor, but my family and I still use it today (my son is using it right now), and my guess is that for my wife, it will be perfectly fine for another 2 - 3 years, assuming the OS upgrades don't kill it off or render it useless.
The rMini is for me, and it is the perfect sweetspot of capabilities and portability, which is important to me. I do suspect that Apple will fix any issues that are inherent with this release, but because they opted for the A7 and M7 in the hardware, the rMini felt like it would not be a complete iPad 3 all over again. And besides, I just couldn't wait. And I'm very glad I didn't.
Thanks. I don't need them - I had a chance to do the same comparison myself and my observations match yours. My good rMini, with IR, has a screen that looks a lot like the Air, except for color gamut.
My "bad" rMini does not have IR, but has a noticeably lower contrast ratio, lower brightness and lower color accuracy. It looks "washed out" compared to the Air. People who think the rMini screen is bad are likely looking at one of these.
Great info. Out of interest what does that picture look like on the Air if you have one? Also how inaccurate is a photo with lots of red in it?
It is impossible to make judgments about the quality of a screen by looking at a photo of it.
The ONLY thing a good photo of two devices will do is allow you to make relative comparisons of hue or saturation. Such as "the red on this screen is more saturated" or "this screen displays this color with a warmer or cooler hue. You can't even really determine the magnitude of the difference.
There is nothing wrong with the calibration profiles for either device¹. You could theoretically apply a profile to the mini that showed in-gamut colors with more accuracy, but that would end up clipping out-of-gamut colors, so you'd lose all contrast in heavily saturated areas.
¹ Okay, maybe you could do a bit better with a professional calibration, but they are as good as you can get with a factory calibration
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The iPad 3 seems to get a lot of flak for making some compromises ... but in truth, it's still viable today because of the 1GB RAM and retina display, and will continue to be for a number of generations, seeing as how the current gen just released still has only 1GB of RAM. I think it was the biggest and best leap of all the iPad's so far.
The picture on the left was from the iPad Air. The colors appear very accurate (similar to my 15 MBP-R and iMac). Photos with lots of red were shifted towards orange on the Minis vs the Air.