iPad Pro iPad Pro 10.5 bad text sharpness

[Donka]

PDF Expert was updated for 10.5.

 

[Act3]

You would think, but Apple's legendary secrecy applies even internally - so internal departments often have to wait for the actual release before making changes, even something as crucial to the hardware like Operating System default apps....

I doubt the 10.5 screen was a secret internally. How'd the 12.9 fair with apple apps when it was first released ? Did they hide the resolution from iOS 9 development?

 

[masotime]

I doubt the 10.5 screen was a secret internally. How'd the 12.9 fair with apple apps when it was first released ? Did they hide the resolution from iOS 9 development?

I think the resolution was optimized, but there was a lot of empty space for many apps like Mail. It didn't take advantage of the extra space the 12.9" afforded. I have to admit I'm still perplexed as to why the Springboard pages still have so few icons interspersed over such a large area.

 

[fraz76]

For now, I returned both Ipp 10.5 and wait some months until all apps will update to native resolution, iOS 11 will be released, Apple improve quality controls in the production process and fixes any hardware issue.

Luckily I've an old, but super clear and easy to read, iPad Air 1 to cheer the wait

 

[flowave]

I am also holding out until IOS 11 comes. Apple used to perfect the software when they released machines and those were awesome days. Now I have to wait until the software optimizes, which I think will take a long time seeing how apps are so slow to optimize for 12.9 for last 19 months.

 

[WilliamG]

I'm curious if Spotlight search on the springboard has the same fuzzy issue.

 

[Digitalfiend]

I recently picked up the 12.9" iPad Pro 2 and have noticed a similar softness to the text, especially in Safari; it almost seems more like very slight chromatic aberration surrounding the text, making it appear soft. I do have a HD glass screen protector on it though which has probably exacerbated the issue slightly and it's not bad enough for me to remove it (or to confirm that the naked screen is any sharper). As I said, it's very subtle though and could also just be the size of the screen.

Oddly, I do notice that the text appears to be sharper on certain apps and websites, so maybe there is something to that 10.5/12.9 optimization mentioned in this thread. Interesting, if I go to iRuler.net, it thinks my screen is 9.7"; I'm still running iOS 10.

Overall though, the screen is still fantastically sharp - even for reading - and colours are gorgeous.

 

[Broadus]

For now, I returned both Ipp 10.5 and wait some months until all apps will update to native resolution, iOS 11 will be released, Apple improve quality controls in the production process and fixes any hardware issue.

Luckily I've an old, but super clear and easy to read, iPad Air 1 to cheer the wait

The 10.5 is an amazing iPad in almost every way. Research and reading, however, are primary reasons for my having an iPad. I've never watched a movie on one and doubt I will. I do a good bit of reading, though, and cannot handle text that isn't crisp. As much as I love the size of the 10.5, it will be a while before I own one.

 

[gunavel]

Thanks for your feedback. In my case...in the same Google search on safari, the text is clearly sharper on air 1, with all the brightness possible (and confirmed from other person too). Maybe it's a problem of my iPad Pro only , I will evaluate if request a change or return it and wait some months.

Hey Fraz76,
I recently bought an iPad pro 10.5 and I see the text sharpness and quite not satisfied with the display. I was expecting it to be like Mac book retina with clear text.

Do you still see this problem in your iPad pro?

 

[Broadus]

Hey Fraz76,
I recently bought an iPad pro 10.5 and I see the text sharpness and quite not satisfied with the display. I was expecting it to be like Mac book retina with clear text.

Do you still see this problem in your iPad pro?

I seem my old post from last August right above yours. I ended up buying a 10.5 later in September and have been very pleased with it. Perhaps I've just adjusted to it, but when I use it I don't even think about the crispness of fonts. In other words, it's not an issue at all with me. I am usually on my rMBP, and when I get on the iPP 10.5, I don't notice a degrading of text sharpness.

 

[gunavel]

I seem my old post from last August right above yours. I ended up buying a 10.5 later in September and have been very pleased with it. Perhaps I've just adjusted to it, but when I use it I don't even think about the crispness of fonts. In other words, it's not an issue at all with me. I am usually on my rMBP, and when I get on the iPP 10.5, I don't notice a degrading of text sharpness.

Eventually, I will get adjusted to it. after using MBP retina for long time and seeing iPP 10.5 now, It is not at all satisfying.

 

[Prince134]

Yes, I brought My 9.7 pro to APPLE and did side by side comparison yesterday. 10.5 and 12.9 Pro Motion displays are both worse than the 9.7 Pro. They have brownish motion blur on the text.

 

[masotime]

Eventually, I will get adjusted to it. after using MBP retina for long time and seeing iPP 10.5 now, It is not at all satisfying.

You're seeing this on the Google website in iOS Safari? iOS native apps should be fully optimized for the 10.5" Pro's resolution.

 

[gunavel]

Look at the image.. screen shot from iCloud website in safari app.. shouldn’t be the text clear if it is Retina resolution?

Also, the letters in the in-built keyboard has wedges on the sides.. meaning not smooth at all.. looks blurry

Please don’t tell me that is normal....

 

[Krevnik]

Look at the image.. screen shot from iCloud website in safari app.. shouldn’t be the text clear if it is Retina resolution?

Unless the text is simply too thin and small, which I'd say is happening in this case. When your text is thin enough that details get to the size of a point (or smaller), things will get a bit weird as those details are in the 0-2 pixel range, where antialiasing effects wind up being upwards of 50% of what you see. Higher PPI screens do have limits, they just have higher limits than a lower-density display. That font would be pretty bad if it was at 132PPI. It's not great at 264PPI, but still pretty decent. This is really the fault of Apple for picking a font that requires these details to be so small.

I am laughing a bit at Apple using 2x assets everywhere except their logo though.

Also, the letters in the in-built keyboard has wedges on the sides.. meaning not smooth at all.. looks blurry

I'm not 100% sure what you mean here. There's some goofy things that the keyboard does that makes it look worse than it needs to, so I'm not sure which one could be causing the one you are referring to. A second screenshot would be helpful.

 

[masotime]

View attachment 750387 Look at the image.. screen shot from iCloud website in safari app.. shouldn’t be the text clear if it is Retina resolution?

I happen to be a web developer, so I dug into it. One important point is that it only appears on iOS devices. You can't see that page on your MacBook / desktop (unless you override the User Agent).

I looked into the details, and it seems like whoever the web developer is, they decided to render it by using the style -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased. This setting is normally subpixel-antialised, and in short provides clearer type in general.

This combined with the use of an atrocious font weight of 100 (normally 400) and the use of Helvetica Neue (very hard to read at that font size) makes it really difficult to read, even on a retina display.

Do you have another example? Otherwise this appears to be a one-off scenario.

 

[Falhófnir]

turn off true tone if you want to compare apples to apples. What you have posted here it is clearly clear that the 10.5 has sharper lines.

They should be the same in theory given they are the same ppi, I wonder if there is some software improvement on the pro that results in better font smoothing?

 

[gunavel]

Ok, forget about the text in that picture from previous post. There might be possibilities as you guys mentioned with fonts being used, font properties etc.,

Now look at the Native Keyboard. It kind a looks like the letters are not anti-aliased or not smooth/clear. They do have sharp blurriest edges. Just pay attention to letter d g n m and so.. you will know what I am talking about.

 

[lugolo]

I’m having the same annoying issue qith my new 11” iPad Pro. I think i’m going to return it

 

[steve gee]

Sadly - I had the 11 inch and returned it. Not only was the text not sharp, there is a limited "sweet spot" as far as the viewing angle is concerned. Frustrating for reading on the ipad. I have an old galaxy tab s (oled screen) and the difference is night & day.

Im a bit confused as to why this is not a more common complaint.

 

[Donka]

I must admit I have been using the 11 Pro extensively for over a month and encountered no such issues. Text appears fine to me and had no issues reading - I use this almost exclusively for reading on the web at home.