iPad mini Leaked iPad Mini 6 specifications point to smaller version of the iPad Air 4 with an 8.5-inch display

[rui no onna]

The recent OLED iPhones are competitive in pixel density. The LED iPhones have lagged behind for years, but I wonder how many people who don't obsess about specs the way we enthusiasts do have actually been bothered by it?

A lot probably don't care. Most I know don't care about OLED vs LCD, either.

I remember when I first got the iPad 3. My aunt was looking at her iPad 2 and my iPad 3 and she didn't notice the difference while to me, the iPad 2 had very obvious jaggies.

 

[ericwn]

The whole ‘retina’ ballyhoo from the iPhone 4 specifically means each pixel is too small to be seen by the average person from an average viewing distance, but this is often confused with being the best image the eye can make out, which isn’t the same. Past 326ppi on a phone or iPad mini you can notice more detail in images as the pixel density increases further. I’ve heard some numbers, from 800ppi up to about 10,000ppi being the point past which differences become imperceptible, but without seeing examples for myself I couldn’t really say whether either is accurate.

A linked factor is @2x and @3x retina scaling, but I won’t get into that as it isn’t currently a factor for iPads (all still use @2x and that probably won’t change for a while yet due to the toll on the GPU from having to render an image 9 times the point resolution of the display up to 120 times a second!)

I know how retina is used in marketing, but I doubt I could see a difference between 300ish and 400 pixels per inch at the same screen size and viewing distance easily. I also have a natural limit to close focus, so bringing the device closer doesn’t do much for humans, while increasing the distance of course makes it even harder to see detail and pixel.

I don’t doubt it’s technically possible to increase the resolution further but highly doubt usefulness for the user at some point.

 

[Falhófnir]

I know how retina is used in marketing, but I doubt I could see a difference between 300ish and 400 pixels per inch at the same screen size and viewing distance easily. I also have a natural limit to close focus, so bringing the device closer doesn’t do much for humans, while increasing the distance of course makes it even harder to see detail and pixel.

I don’t doubt it’s technically possible to increase the resolution further but highly doubt usefulness for the user at some point.

Personally I find the difference quite noticeable between an @2x 326ppi device (eg iPhone 8) and @3x 401ppi device (eg iPhone 8 Plus). It’s certainly a nice to have rather than an essential, but it’s there and it makes things like photos with a lot of details look better. YMMV.

the iPads are more of a conundrum, because the next logical step would be @3x rendering meaning a resolution of 4098x3072 on the 12.9” or 3582x2502 on the 11”. In either case that’s a lot of pixels to push - 12.5 million for the 12.9” which is 50% more than 4K, closer to the iMac 5k. Undoubtedly it would look stunning but a lot of performance would get chewed up just driving it, especially for 120Hz content.

 

[Arthur75]

Interesting. Up to what ppi do you expect your eyes to see a difference?

My current phone (samsung s20) has 553 ppi in full resolution 1440 x 3200 and I can clearly tell the difference if I bring it to FHD (when it is in 120 Hz, so that I don't use 120Hz at all)
FHD brings it to 1080/1440 * 553 = 414 ppi
(especially when reading small text)

 

[Arthur75]

By the way on the French wikipedia there is this table :

Distance du support	Résolution maximale perceptible par un œil humain moyen, en points par pouce (dpi)
6,3 cm	1 200 dpi
12,7 cm	600 dpi
20 cm	380 dpi
25,3 cm	300 dpi
30 cm	253 dpi
50 cm	152 dpi
76 cm	100 dpi
1 m	76 dpi
1,50 m	50 dpi
2 m	38 dpi
3 m	25 dpi
5 m	15 dpi
10 m	7,6 dpi
20 m	3,8 dpi

Résolution spatiale des images matricielles — Wikipédia

fr.wikipedia.org

First column distance to the screen, second one max resolution for which an "average" human can tell a difference.

Doesn't say where it comes from though..

 

[Falhófnir]

By the way on the French wikipedia there is this table :

Distance du support	Résolution maximale perceptible par un œil humain moyen, en points par pouce (dpi)
6,3 cm	1 200 dpi
12,7 cm	600 dpi
20 cm	380 dpi
25,3 cm	300 dpi
30 cm	253 dpi
50 cm	152 dpi
76 cm	100 dpi
1 m	76 dpi
1,50 m	50 dpi
2 m	38 dpi
3 m	25 dpi
5 m	15 dpi
10 m	7,6 dpi
20 m	3,8 dpi

Résolution spatiale des images matricielles — Wikipédia

fr.wikipedia.org

First column distance to the screen, second one max resolution for which an "average" human can tell a difference.

Doesn't say where it comes from though..

There’s a whole lot of extra variables there though, for example an RGB LCD will look ‘good’ at 326ppi but I know from experience a Pentile OLED looks pretty terrible at the same nominal pixel density. I’d easily say 500+ ppi is worth it for OLEDs with novel sub pixel layouts.

 

[Arthur75]

There’s a whole lot of extra variables there though, for example an RGB LCD will look ‘good’ at 326ppi but I know from experience a Pentile OLED looks pretty terrible at the same nominal pixel density. I’d easily say 500+ ppi is worth it for OLEDs with novel sub pixel layouts.

Yes maybe, and also a "downgraded resolution" might look more blurry than a native one at the lower resolution, but still, ppi is important, and the iphones have been quite lacking in these domains

 

[philrock]

I would welcome a new Mini with open arms. The Air 4 just isn't cuttin' it. I turned it off Saturday to apply a screen protector, got distracted...now Wednesday, screen protector still isn't installed and Air is still off. I used to use my Mini 4 several times a day. Now I find myself using my phone and laptop more.