iPad Pro iPad Pro Blooming discussion [merged]

[MrEcted]

"blooming" is becoming a trigger-word for me.

When I went to the store and compared 12.9 and 11 inch iPad Pros the first thing I noticed is that for standard content and every day use they both look fantastic. The 12.9 had a little more contrast to my eyes, but they largely looked the same.

When I watched HDR content it was clear that the 12.9 looked much better. No doubt. I pixel peeped, I stared intently, I strained my eyes, etc - and if I really looked hard enough at a particular frame in a particular scene with particularly high contrast with brightness all the way up to max then I kinda sorta think I might have seen some blooming but I'm 100% sure that had the internet not gone crazy over this non-issue I would have never noticed. Under normal circumstances it looks freaking amazing. I have an OLED TV and it was reaching that level.

I ended up grabbing the 11-inch, but that's just because for me portability is my #1 priority.

My key takeaways were:

For regular usage the 12.9 is not the second coming of Christ like a lot of super-fans are claiming. It's a very nice display but it's not head and shoulders above any post-2018 iPad Pro. Looks great. Looks like all the others.

For HDR usage the 12.9 is far better than the haters are claiming. It's *CLEARLY* better looking than every other iPad and all the crazy pictures you see floating around the internet showing "blooming" are massively exaggerated.

 

[Indepenskter]

Thing is my 2018 12.9 turned up to full brightness, shows white text on a black background bloom too. I tried it last night.
The whole thing is hugely overblown (no pun intended), spurred on by badly exposed phone photos.

Yes this….my lg oled tv has blooming especially during subtitled movies and my 2018 12.9 has blooming as well. Nothing new here. Can’t wait to get my 2021 12.9 on Friday……

 

[Indepenskter]

The other threads are from people that don’t have the 2021 12.9 iPad Pro but giving their opinions on what they see on the internet. Pictures from iPhones and YouTube videos are more reliable than actual people having the device in their hands I guess ?‍♂️

 

[James_C]

We actually tried our best to make blooming happen as dramatically as possible which is why we went all out and turned off all the lights and turned up the brightness all the way. Nothing was cut out of the video to hide blooming. Yes it can be an issue but we would absolutely take the mini-led display over the previous LCD. Check out our 11" M1 vs 12.9" M1 iPad Pro video to see the difference in contrast and brightness. The new display is way better even with its slight issues.

Thank you for your videos, I have been a subscriber for a while now. Hands down your Analysis and comparisons videos are the best on the net. Excellent production and content. Anyone who likes this type of content should subscribe.

 

[haruhiko]

We actually tried our best to make blooming happen as dramatically as possible which is why we went all out and turned off all the lights and turned up the brightness all the way. Nothing was cut out of the video to hide blooming. Yes it can be an issue but we would absolutely take the mini-led display over the previous LCD. Check out our 11" M1 vs 12.9" M1 iPad Pro video to see the difference in contrast and brightness. The new display is way better even with its slight issues.

Wow Vadim! Nice to see you here. Thanks for the great video about blooming.
Happy to see the detailed testing and benchmark videos return.
keep up the great job! I’ve been a subscriber to Max’s channel and Max Tech since quite a few years ago.

 

[omzig]

Yeah, no.
Sony Production Monitors
OLED is absolutely used for color correction and mastering.

they only got 3 OLED models out of those to be fair, and LCD ones are still more expensive inch-per-inch price.

 

[LFC2020]

We actually tried our best to make blooming happen as dramatically as possible which is why we went all out and turned off all the lights and turned up the brightness all the way. Nothing was cut out of the video to hide blooming. Yes it can be an issue but we would absolutely take the mini-led display over the previous LCD. Check out our 11" M1 vs 12.9" M1 iPad Pro video to see the difference in contrast and brightness. The new display is way better even with its slight issues.

Great, unbiased video, these photos and videos online are way over exposed, the people posting them online aren’t even bothering to get the right exposure before taking these photos and videos, they’re being very dishonest and misleading, agree with you on the display, no chance I’m sending mine back.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Edric_1337]

Hey there,

my few cents. Why did I think blooming was a big deal? I started Netflix - Love, Death & Robots S2E2. When starting the netflix app it already looked... like a downgrade. Then the beginning of the episode (with the symbols) also looked like a huge downgrade (much black and white and bloom on screen).

I really think in those 5 seconds you really see the downside of the IPP screen.

But when watching the episode itself - no problems at all. Looked fantastic

(Room lid with eve light strip to 10% (dark yellow / orange light) with IPP and 10% brightness)

Will I return it? No. Is there blooming: yes. Is there a LEDgate? Hahaha - no.

 

[cupcakes2000]

Yeah, no.
Sony Production Monitors
OLED is absolutely used for color correction and mastering.

Great. When the new 30 grand iPad Pro comes out with a mastering quality oled panel comes out you can buy it then.

 

[LFC2020]

Great. When the new 30 grand iPad Pro comes out with a mastering quality oled panel comes out you can buy it then.

Then people will still be complaining about their oled screen having a yellow display, green tint, burn in, off axis blue, green, red, pink colour shift, uneven colour and brightness at one end of their display. ?

 

[jinnyman]

Since I own 1tb 2020 ipad pro, I won't be switching to 5th anyway... but
I'm curious how serious this issue really is.
Can't wait to visit my apple store and find out

 

[LFC2020]

Since I own 1tb 2020 ipad pro, I won't be switching to 5th anyway... but
I'm curious how serious this issue really is.
Can't wait to visit my apple store and find out

No issues what so ever, I’ll never go back to a previous model ipad, enjoying these deep blacks, crisper whites and amazing contrast, not that there is anything wrong with previous models displays, but they don’t have oled like blacks crisper Whites and awesome contrast, no more blacks looking grey for me, mini led all the way.

It’s the same old story over and over and over again when a new Apple product gets released, people jump on the internet trying to claim their 2 seconds of fame by causing controversy by spreading lies.

 

[haruhiko]

No issues what so ever, I’ll never go back to a previous model ipad, enjoying these deep blacks, crisper whites and amazing contrast, not that there is anything wrong with previous models displays, but they don’t have oled like blacks crisper Whites and awesome contrast, no more blacks looking grey for me, mini led all the way.

It’s the same old story over and over and over again when a new Apple product gets released, people jump on the internet trying to claim their 2 seconds of fame by causing controversy by spreading lies.

Summarised it completely.

 

[profcutter]

Great. When the new 30 grand iPad Pro comes out with a mastering quality oled panel comes out you can buy it then.

The point is, the idea that OLED isn’t used for content production as was stated in the post I was responding to, is simply false. Sony is only one of a handful of broadcast equipment manufacturers, most of the big ones have OLED production monitors. They’re professional monitors, not for individuals, but for production houses. Can we lay the idea to rest that OLED isn’t used in content creation? Oh, and also most viewfinders on high end cameras are OLED as well.

 

[cupcakes2000]

The point is, the idea that OLED isn’t used for content production as was stated in the post I was responding to, is simply false. Sony is only one of a handful of broadcast equipment manufacturers, most of the big ones have OLED production monitors. They’re professional monitors, not for individuals, but for production houses. Can we lay the idea to rest that OLED isn’t used in content creation? Oh, and also most viewfinders on high end cameras are OLED as well.

Oled is far from ideal for colour grading until you reach an extremely high level specific for the job. They exist, and they’re good at it - but only after a certain level. Even then there is the same war going on as we’re having now. Many professionals don’t rate it. Most of the big companies do have a few oled options you’re right, but the prevalent tech isn’t oled.

I fail to see what viewfinders have to do with anything at all. The clue is in the name. View finder. It has nothing at all to do with the final image other than composing. Doesn’t matter what the screen tech used is.

 

[haruhiko]

Just watched some 4K HDR 60fps videos on YouTube on the 2021 iPad Pro 12.9. It’s unbelievably good. One must see it in person to actually feel it. Don’t play with those meaningless blooming hunting. Just go to YouTube and search for ‘4K 60 HDR’ and prepare to have your jaw dropped.

For example:

Comparing it with my 2017 LG LED TV which also claim to support HDR… (well…I think it’s not true HDR)
Hmmm I must say that the difference is very very significant.

 

[Kyle76]

The biggest thing I notice coming from a 6th generation iPad is that the blacks are truly black, almost as black as the bezel. Shadowing I never would have noticed, but it is there slightly. Blooming just seems like my eyes’ normal reaction to bright whites on a dark background — just a little glare. Again, not something I would have noticed on my own, nor is it something that bothers me.

 

[profcutter]

Oled is far from ideal for colour grading until you reach an extremely high level specific for the job. They exist, and they’re good at it - but only after a certain level. Even then there is the same war going on as we’re having now. Many professionals don’t rate it. Most of the big companies do have a few oled options you’re right, but the prevalent tech isn’t oled.

I fail to see what viewfinders have to do with anything at all. The clue is in the name. View finder. It has nothing at all to do with the final image other than composing. Doesn’t matter what the screen tech used is.

“The oled diehards are strong here, but don’t even realise how irrelevant they are to creating the very things they (and we) love watching on their 100” oled tellys.” cupcakes2000

You can’t keep moving the bar. Are OLEDs irrelevant to content creators, or are they expensive for good ones? Are they irrelevant for content creators, or does almost every content creator use them in the creation of content (hence, the point about viewfinders). Clearly they’re not irrelevant.

 

[Chazani]

During the day, my iPad is perfect. I went outside last night to look at the full moon, and I see the blooming around the moon, so I am guessing it’s my eyes not being able to se that perfect line between white on black background. It’s only at night time that I am seeing blooming. Even my son can see blooming on my iPad when using black background and white doodle At even 20% brightness. My iPad screenshot shows the blooming on my iPad, but not on my iPhone. Using black text on white background has no issues for me, no bloom etc.

Viewing HDR, 4K, 8k, 12k videos on YouTube is just simply magical on the iPad, never seen something sp incredible like this. Games look much crisper and clear than my old iPad does. Even taking picture with iPad is better than my iPhone XS Max.

I am still loving my iPad, got it since Friday last week. Maybe later down the road I’ll check with apple tech with the iPad when I have time to go out there (4 hour drive each way) and find out whether they see the issue or if I need my eyes checked out.

 

[cupcakes2000]

“The oled diehards are strong here, but don’t even realise how irrelevant they are to creating the very things they (and we) love watching on their 100” oled tellys.” cupcakes2000

You can’t keep moving the bar. Are OLEDs irrelevant to content creators, or are they expensive for good ones? Are they irrelevant for content creators, or does almost every content creator use them in the creation of content (hence, the point about viewfinders). Clearly they’re not irrelevant.

For me, as a photographer, they are irrelevant. I am a content creator.

I wouldn’t buy an oled monitor no matter how expensive it was.

As I said before, the same war is happening in that field as here. So you’ll find arguments on both sides there too.

You keep mentioning viewfinders. It’s totally irrelevant what tech the view finder has in relation to the final content. Oled make no difference here.

 

[VaruLV]

I have 12.9 on order, hopefully will be getting it within a week, so, been reading this and that about blooming.
Figured, well, its how the tech works at the moment.
Went to the store that have 12.9 2021 on display, checked out Google images, white letter on black background, not sure if out of all 3 example pictures that I used at full brightness in fully lit store had visible blooming or it was just how those letters were looking at those lowish resolution pictures, because that possible blooming are around the white letter seemed to stay the same regards to letters size when zooming in and out.
I assume that it could be blooming, but then again, if the screen gets so bright, I can accept it for the newish tech.
11" is too small for me for laptop replacement, tho I lived with 10.5 for almost 2 years, I want to have bigger screen and use its big screen to its full potential rather than think "what if I had bought 12.9 instead of 11?!" and have this little nagging for yet another upgrade due to poor buying decisions !


TL : DR
I want bigger screen iPad and current 12.9 with its 8GB of RAM is only viable choice in the market. Blooming might be visible for me, might be not, depending on scenarion, I will try my best not to OCD about it.

 

[Jt69yupper]

Try using the reddit app in dark mode, read anything in dark mode (like the kindle app), or use a trackpad to see the giant bloom that shows up on a black background with the cursor you hack fraud.

it’s extremely distracting if you try to use it to do something pro like writing or reading. Not to mention all the UI elements like the home button bar glowing like a radiation stick.

This exactly…you can not read with this device without killing your eyes
As he said “like a radiation stick”

 

[Kyle76]

TLR
I want bigger screen iPad and current 12.9 with its 8GB of RAM is only viable choice in the market. Blooming might be visible for me, might be not, depending on scenarion, I will try my best not to OCD about it.

I predict that, unless you are OCD, you will be very pleased with the new screen.

 

[cupcakes2000]

This exactly…you can not read with this device without killing your eyes
As he said “like a radiation stick”

Yeah. At full brightness. Just turn down the brightness?

 

[iPad Bro]

I just got my 12.9” iPad Pro and I do notice some blooming. My eyes haven’t had the chance to adjust to the screen yet, so I’m going to reserve my judgment until after tonight when I use it in a really dark room. So far it’s not really bothering me that much. Seems blown out of proportion really.