All iPads iPad Air vs iPad mini retina screen wash

[Kaizen]

My main disappointment with the first mini was the very obviously constrained color reproduction. I thought this was a recognized issue with the device, and perhaps a necessary compromise.

I was hoping this issue would be corrected this time around. Sadly it seems like it's not.

With respect to terminology, my understanding is that 'gamut' refers to the range of color a display can accurately produce. This seems like the exact term to describe the limitations of the mini. I don't understand why those who can perceive the mini's limited gamut are being maligned. It's incredibly obvious to me

 

[rGiskard]

Unbelievable - Apple gimped the gamut.

This isn't an IGZO TFT limitation, since the iPad Air uses the same IGZO TFT tech. Most likely Apple was worried about the iPad mini retina cannibalizing the iPad Air sales, so they restricted the gamut to differentiate the display quality. A perfectly understandable move if the iPad Mini Retina was cheap, but at $400?

Apple are treating the 8" tablet as a lower end product rather than a different sized product, and it's going to bite them in the arse. Far cheaper tablets like the Kindle Fire HDX and Nexus 7 display ~100% of the sRGB color space. Apple's marketshare will continue to bleed if they refuse to offer customers what they want, and have in fact begged for.

Many thanks to the original poster, I was about to buy one of these duds tomorrow. Now I'll have to decide whether to settle for an Android tablet or wait to see if Apple de-gimps the retina iPad mini.

 

[docprego]

Comparing the Retina Mini to the Air today I definitely felt that the Air had the MUCH more vibrant screen. Sharpness was great on both and I didn't feel the increased ppi on the mini. But the vibrancy difference was noticeable.

 

[shadowyman]

I am really wondering whether they are currently shipping the LG or Sharp produced displays. We all know Sharp had burn in problems. I don't know if this is what LG could've come up with. It could also be possible that Apple decided to ship "defective" batch instead of waiting until the end of october. If people were happy they'd have sold one more product, if not there's always the clean batch coming. I'm just speculating though. But it's obvious that 11/12 is not late November. There's something else going.

 

[Dlanod]

I am really wondering whether they are currently shipping the LG or Sharp produced displays. We all know Sharp had burn in problems. I don't know if this is what LG could've come up with. It could also be possible that Apple decided to ship "defective" batch instead of waiting until the end of october. If people were happy they'd have sold one more product, if not there's always the clean batch coming. I'm just speculating though. But it's obvious that 11/12 is not late November. There's something else going.

I think Apple actually said later in November rather than late November. This is later in November.

 

[ZBoater]

?..It could also be possible that Apple decided to ship "defective" batch instead of waiting until the end of october...

Ummmm, no. That's not how Apple rolls. Those guys are passionate about quality. Despite what you read HERE. Apple would rather cancel a product launch than launch known defective product.

That's not to say there aren't any defects in the manufacturing process. That's to be expected. But no, Apple has very stringent standards and they won't agree to ship a known defective product. I'm not an Apple fanboy but have a tremendous respect for their commitment to quality.

 

[cdmoore74]

This is disappointing news. I stuck up for the rMini over the Air because I "assumed" that Apple would set high standards for a $400 device. I have a Nexus 7 (2012) currently and had a Nexus 7 (2013) for a short period of time and the screen wash was terrible on the Nexus 7 (2012); the 2013 corrected that issue. The screen is the number one item on a tablet and if objects appear bland and washed out it sucks. I cancelled my Apple.com order but there still sending it. Maybe I can resell it if demand is high.
Well I guess I'm back to recommending the iPad Air. Those black Friday deals look very temping.

 

[netnothing]

Unbelievable - Apple gimped the gamut.

This isn't an IGZO TFT limitation, since the iPad Air uses the same IGZO TFT tech. Most likely Apple was worried about the iPad mini retina cannibalizing the iPad Air sales, so they restricted the gamut to differentiate the display quality. A perfectly understandable move if the iPad Mini Retina was cheap, but at $400?

Apple are treating the 8" tablet as a lower end product rather than a different sized product, and it's going to bite them in the arse. Far cheaper tablets like the Kindle Fire HDX and Nexus 7 display ~100% of the sRGB color space. Apple's marketshare will continue to bleed if they refuse to offer customers what they want, and have in fact begged for.

Many thanks to the original poster, I was about to buy one of these duds tomorrow. Now I'll have to decide whether to settle for an Android tablet or wait to see if Apple de-gimps the retina iPad mini.

This post made me laugh my cheerios out this morning!

Let's see....these are the people I know are looking to get an rMini: my mom, dad, dads aunt, aunt and 2 of my friends.

I bet if I lined them all up and put a gun to their heads and asked them about gamut.....none would survive!

Fact is....neither iPad is a pro device. Apple aren't targeting photo pros for these things, if they were, they'd let you calibrate the screen. They are a consumer company and this is consumer tech. 9 out of 10 Apple customers wouldn't know the difference.....some don't even see the retina difference.

As for cannibalizing Air sales.....I don't think so. If Apple were worried about that they wouldn't have made the things identical other than the size. I mean, the same chip, the same RAM.....it really comes down to....pay less for the smaller screen.

Sooner or later we'll see different screens on some rMinis like we do with everything else.

In fact, I'm surprise Apple isn't artificially bumping up the saturation on all devices to make photos "pop" off the screen to wow the average customer.

-Kevin

 

[AdonisSMU]

View attachment 446694

I can definitely see it in that pic. Mini going home....well after the lte models become available.

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I was thinking the mini retina screen might not meet 100% or RBG coverage since Apple didn't say anything about it in the press materials.
If it's has a smaller color gamut, similar to the old mini and iPad 1 and 2, then it should be most noticeable in the blues..

Blue will look Cyan, and should be very obvious next to a iPhone 5 or iPad 3/4/air

Blues dont look as purple on my mini.

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Unbelievable - Apple gimped the gamut.

This isn't an IGZO TFT limitation, since the iPad Air uses the same IGZO TFT tech. Most likely Apple was worried about the iPad mini retina cannibalizing the iPad Air sales, so they restricted the gamut to differentiate the display quality. A perfectly understandable move if the iPad Mini Retina was cheap, but at $400?

Apple are treating the 8" tablet as a lower end product rather than a different sized product, and it's going to bite them in the arse. Far cheaper tablets like the Kindle Fire HDX and Nexus 7 display ~100% of the sRGB color space. Apple's marketshare will continue to bleed if they refuse to offer customers what they want, and have in fact begged for.

Many thanks to the original poster, I was about to buy one of these duds tomorrow. Now I'll have to decide whether to settle for an Android tablet or wait to see if Apple de-gimps the retina iPad mini.

Gamutgate!

----------

My main disappointment with the first mini was the very obviously constrained color reproduction. I thought this was a recognized issue with the device, and perhaps a necessary compromise.

I was hoping this issue would be corrected this time around. Sadly it seems like it's not.

With respect to terminology, my understanding is that 'gamut' refers to the range of color a display can accurately produce. This seems like the exact term to describe the limitations of the mini. I don't understand why those who can perceive the mini's limited gamut are being maligned. It's incredibly obvious to me

Its not that the color gamut is limited its just that the colors are somewhat muted for easier reading.

 

[Rogifan]

This is disappointing news. I stuck up for the rMini over the Air because I "assumed" that Apple would set high standards for a $400 device. I have a Nexus 7 (2012) currently and had a Nexus 7 (2013) for a short period of time and the screen wash was terrible on the Nexus 7 (2012); the 2013 corrected that issue. The screen is the number one item on a tablet and if objects appear bland and washed out it sucks. I cancelled my Apple.com order but there still sending it. Maybe I can resell it if demand is high.
Well I guess I'm back to recommending the iPad Air. Those black Friday deals look very temping.

Why would you cancel an order before seeing it yourself? I like to see things with my own eyes not make decisions based on an internet forum.

The photo below from imore.com doesn't show a rMini screen that's bland and washed out compared to the Air. And the guy who posted it said his screen doesn't look dull/washed out. If it was me I'd want to see and use the device before deciding to return it. Because I might just find out it's perfectly fine and I have no reason to return it.

 

[threelions]

Some are apparently experiencing a yellow tint in the lower half of the display

Noooo! I just got a refund on my third Air because I couldn't get one that wasn't yellow down the left side. I checked all the rMini's they had on display and they looked great, perfect uniform screens, was thinking about switching to the rMini but don't want to have to deal with the exchange merry go round again if they have the same issues.

 

[Indywillsdad]

I'll be the first to say I'm not overall a picky person on my iDevices. That being said, I picked up a mini yesterday from the local Apple store. After looking at the Air and comparing even to my 5s, I will say the colors are less vibrant. The messages and Evernote app icons are "pea" green on the mini vs colorful and vibrant on the 5s and Air. Is the retina display a huge bump over the first mini? Yes, no doubt. Is the screen as colorful as the Air and 5s, no. I also feel, for whatever reason, the Air was faster. Can't explain why, just felt like it.

 

[Indywillsdad]

Also, I might add for those of you on the fence, find a store that has both on display. The local Apple store didn't yet have their retinas on display.

 

[pocketpenguin]

Problem with side-by-sides

One of the problems with side by side comparisons is viewing angles. If I match my ipad air to the viewing angles I see in many of these photos, I see brightness shifts on my screen. That leads to different colors looking washed out or less bright, etc. If I move my air even 6 inches right, but keep the angle flat, then the right side of my screen looks darker and duller. LCD screens are rarely "perfect" from any angle other than dead straight ahead.

Also the size of a screen can also affect how you perceive brightness, you really need photo/screen measuring tools to judge. Our eyes trick us by automatically adjusting to varying lighting circumstances.

The real way to test the screens is to make the photos (or better yet use color calibration tools) of the screens identical, meaning you must take the photos individually, under the exact same viewing angles, same shutter speed, aperture, etc.

I'm not saying that there is no difference between the air and rmini, but the photos posted so far aren't ideal in terms of being able to judge without being there in real life.

 

[klover]

Wow

A lot of people are very specific about what they want. Others just turn it on and go

A rather wide swing on usage here. It's actually confusing and I'm now going to have to refrain from saying OCD and calling people completely freaking crackers, even though this pains me greatly

The quality of forum users and posts has declined considerably and I blame an almost complete lack of moderation. Too many snarky, non-constructive posts seem to flood any thread that takes a critical view of some device, app, etc.

There are a few users in particular who consistently mock and dismiss any concerns about product quality (e.g., making childish jokes about the use of the - completely accurate - term "gamut", using the tired "OCD-Just Live With It" mantra, etc.).

They dismiss yellow tint complaints as "a few complainers among millions of satisfied owners" despite that fact that you can Google "iPad yellow tint" and find thousands upon thousands of complaints dating back to the original iPad. Not to mention that many senior, long-standing MR members corroborate the same complaints.

Simple fact: The iPad Mini display is above-average but it is not a smaller version of the Air model. It has different panel characteristics and the most noticeable difference is the range of reproducible color...you know...gamut. Is it a big deal? No. It is real and of concern to some? Yes.

 

[AppleRobert]

Riddle me this. The screen on the prior mini paled in compassion to the retina IPads and still folks bought it.

I can understand screen quality but it was bought for portability and less weight, along with the cheaper price.

I have seen nothing on my RMini screen to distract me and me wanting to return it.

Next thread please.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Riddle me this. The screen on the prior mini paled in compassion to the retina IPads and still folks bought it.

I can understand screen quality but it was bought for portability and less weight, along with the cheaper price.

I have seen nothing on my RMini screen to distract me and me wanting to return it.

Next thread please.

Guilty as charged but the air lost weight. However it does feel like a brick compared to my mini. When I bought last years model the weight was definitely the issue the retina display be damned.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Unbelievable - Apple gimped the gamut.

This isn't an IGZO TFT limitation, since the iPad Air uses the same IGZO TFT tech. Most likely Apple was worried about the iPad mini retina cannibalizing the iPad Air sales, so they restricted the gamut to differentiate the display quality. A perfectly understandable move if the iPad Mini Retina was cheap, but at $400?

Apple are treating the 8" tablet as a lower end product rather than a different sized product, and it's going to bite them in the arse. Far cheaper tablets like the Kindle Fire HDX and Nexus 7 display ~100% of the sRGB color space. Apple's marketshare will continue to bleed if they refuse to offer customers what they want, and have in fact begged for.

Many thanks to the original poster, I was about to buy one of these duds tomorrow. Now I'll have to decide whether to settle for an Android tablet or wait to see if Apple de-gimps the retina iPad mini.

You have got to be kidding me. Apple didn't restrict the gamut to differentiate display quality. It's a factor of the natural production. I'm sure as more are produced you will see differing display qualities. This issue isn't going to affect sales one bit.

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Simple fact: The iPad Mini display is above-average but it is not a smaller version of the Air model. It has different panel characteristics and the most noticeable difference is the range of reproducible color...you know...gamut.

Yes, because it has a different panel. That's what different means.

 

[jmpage2]

Unbelievable - Apple gimped the gamut.

This isn't an IGZO TFT limitation, since the iPad Air uses the same IGZO TFT tech. Most likely Apple was worried about the iPad mini retina cannibalizing the iPad Air sales, so they restricted the gamut to differentiate the display quality. A perfectly understandable move if the iPad Mini Retina was cheap, but at $400?

Apple are treating the 8" tablet as a lower end product rather than a different sized product, and it's going to bite them in the arse. Far cheaper tablets like the Kindle Fire HDX and Nexus 7 display ~100% of the sRGB color space. Apple's marketshare will continue to bleed if they refuse to offer customers what they want, and have in fact begged for.

Many thanks to the original poster, I was about to buy one of these duds tomorrow. Now I'll have to decide whether to settle for an Android tablet or wait to see if Apple de-gimps the retina iPad mini.

You guys are unbelievable. Sure, this has nothing to do with manufacturing limitations on this type of display or natural variation in a batch of panels, it must be that Apple has a conspiracy to hobble your Mini so as not to cannibalize sales of their "flagship" iPad Air.

Wow... just wow.

 

[moxxey]

That pic demonstrates the difference quite clearly.

The Air has clearly more saturation.

Are you sure the Air just doesn't just have better back-lighting? Just seems a bit brighter to me on the Air. In fact, if you didn't have the Air to compare to, let's face it, the retina Mini would be perfect.

Guys, the retina Mini is definitely an upgrade on the previous Mini and arrived much sooner than most of us expected. Why can't you be happy? Yes it's slightly duller than the Air, but 98% of users will be more than happy.

 

[klover]

Yes, because it has a different panel. That's what different means.

Hate to break it to you but, despite your best efforts, you just agreed with me. Lol.

 

[threelions]

Are you sure the Air just doesn't just have better back-lighting? Just seems a bit brighter to me on the Air. In fact, if you didn't have the Air to compare to, let's face it, the retina Mini would be perfect.

Guys, the retina Mini is definitely an upgrade on the previous Mini and arrived much sooner than most of us expected. Why can't you be happy? Yes it's slightly duller than the Air, but 98% of users will be more than happy.

I never get this attitude and the others who have said "Just put up with it!" Don't get me wrong looking at the rMini myself instore today it looks great to me but if others have issues let them have a thread to discuss it, if you are happy why invade that thread? Take your own advice and just enjoy your device and let others discuss why they aren't happy or even that they are happy but have noticed a difference.

 

[AppleRobert]

Guilty as charged but the air lost weight. However it does feel like a brick compared to my mini. When I bought last years model the weight was definitely the issue the retina display be damned.

So long as you have a good rMini screen, you will keep it versus the Air unless you need a bigger display which you did not before!

 

[AdonisSMU]

So long as you have a good rMini screen, you will keep it versus the Air unless you need a bigger display which you did not before!

That is the thing i am toying with now... The bigger screen is not a need it is indeed a want. I need to take one of these items back to the Apple store. I missed the bigger screen towards the end of the year but now I am missing the light weight of the mini. The rMini has an amazing weight.

 

[AppleRobert]

That is the thing i am toying with now... The bigger screen is not a need it is indeed a want. I need to take one of these items back to the Apple store. I missed the bigger screen towards the end of the year but now I am missing the light weight of the mini.

You cannot go wrong either way to tell the truth. The Air is now more tolerable as far as weight and size so you will have to decide. I knew when the Mini cannibalized the larger iPads, Apple was going to make the decision tougher this time.