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iPad Pro To nano or not to nano?
- Thread starter Macalway
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I was also talking to a friend
Reading on the nano texture is a far superior experience in general. Newspapers, eBooks, everything is incredible in my opinion.
Yeah this is super irritating frankly. I'm tired of these Apple launches where they have virtually no stock available. I get you want to build hype, but for me it's getting old. I'm also waiting for Best Buy because I have a Total Tech membership and they have yet to stock any nano texture / cellular products. I wish they would have waited for WWDC to launch this device, there is clear no where near enough inventory.
seen it in person myself at my apple store, i much prefer the glossy display it was crisp asf...
Problem is they put it only on 1-2TB which is borderline overkill for me for an iPad... that storage is much more necessary for my upcoming MBP where it's a workhorse, not a play-device
Problem is they put it only on 1-2TB which is borderline overkill for me for an iPad... that storage is much more necessary for my upcoming MBP where it's a workhorse, not a play-device
His summary at the end is spot on. The better option for you very much depends on how and where you use the iPad. I‘m really pleased with the decision I made. I do wish there was more info out there before release so people could have made more informed decisions. I fluked my choice. I was so close to cancelling the nano and going standard. The only thing that stopped me was the delays on nano and availability on standard. Wosre case I could have returned the nano and got a glossy same day.
In terms of it only being an option on the top models. My guess this will change over time. There is no availability of nano so it sounds like there could have been supply constraints on it. Hopefully for people who want nano but at lower cost when there is more availability they’ll add it to the cheaper models.
Such a refreshing style. It's nice to see a Youtuber who's not completely full of himself.Nano-specific unboxing:
He wipes it with his hoodie! Seems to have survived
The video he’s taken a picture then zoomed 300% and compared:
He notes that there is hardly any difference. Your “it looks like a cheap display” feels a little over the top.
Like all opinions here, my impressions are subjective.
However, I have both display variants in front of me and the blurring of black text on a white background bothers me to the naked eye. It just doesn't look high quality to me (otherwise the Nano display is great).
But I don't want to take away the joy of the new iPad Pro from the Nano fans among you. I just wanted to share it as my opinion for those who are still thinking about it and can't compare it 1:1 themselves.
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Yeah people saying it "looks like a cheap display" are way off. The difference is barely discernible between the two.
I received my standard glass 13".
I have inky blacks, so cool!
Seeing that white Apple logo booting against that perfect black background (seamlessly melding into the glossy black borders) for the first time was almost moving.
...now what? Really, now what? Do I get a prize or something? Do I get to wear a "I've seen an OLED with perfectly inky blacks, just like people have been experiencing for years on OLED TVs and OLED gaming monitors, ask me anything" t-shirt?
Yes the colors are great and punchy, yes the HDR is great, yes the highlights are eye-melting, yes the blacks are pitch black. It really is the best display you've held in your hands, ever. And the device as a whole is a marvellous piece of engineering, that thinness and weight make it feel unreal, this is the tablet in its ultimate form, the way it was always meant to be.
But to watch movies, because of the sheer size, it's not as impressive as a 16" Macbook Pro. And the blacks/colors/brightness on the mini-LED MBPs are 95% as good as on the OLED iPad Pros. (note: mini-LED MBPs and mini-LED old 12.9" iPad Pros are not the same, the MBPs are definitely better)
As a sidenote, the speakers are so much worse than the speakers on a MBP (it's not that they're bad, but the MBP speakers are SUPERB). I guess that's to be expected given the diminutive thickness the iPad Pro has to work with, but please if you watch videos without headphones buy a refurbished/used 14" MBP instead of a 13" iPad Pro.
I'm constantly seeing reflections, it only takes a normally lit daytime living room, no need to go outdoors. If I lay down on the sofa with my back to the TV, I can see the TV reflected into the iPad. I thought reflections/glare could be fought by raising the brightness, but high brightness indoor is fatiguing for the eyes, it's a double-edged sword. You can't just pump eye-piercing brightness into your eyes.
Yes I could (and probably will) apply a matte or "paperlike" screen protector to the standard display, but it's safe to assume the image quality will never be as good as on the native nano-texture developed by Apple. If we're being OCD about the slight text sharpness reduction on the nano-texture, then the standard+matte_screen_protector combo should be considered trash.
My advice to people with similar needs/taste to mine
- buy a 11" iPad Pro with nano-texture (or a 13" if you wish, but see the next point about adding a portable big screen to your iPad anyway, which could make the difference between the 11" and the 13" moot for some people)
- when you're in bed or on the sofa, use microOLED glasses like the Rokid or XReal glasses connected to the 11" iPad Pro (in Stage Manager external display mode) to watch movies/videos on a big OLED screen with good blacks and colors (but no HDR sadly, at least on the microOLED glasses I'm aware of)
- buy a used 2021 M1 Pro Macbook Pro (14" or 16") for everything else and watching movies/videos directly on the built-in screen (as opposed to watching them on microOLED glasses)
- don't buy into the FOMO for the perfectly inky blacks and colors-that-punch-you-in-the-face, you can have that on mini-LED Macs, OLED TVs, microOLED glasses, Vision headsets, etc., let the iPad be your "matte safe space"
DISCLAIMER: I have no direct experience of the nano-texture, I'm basing all of this on my experience with the standard glass and reports/photos of the nano-texture.
I have inky blacks, so cool!
Seeing that white Apple logo booting against that perfect black background (seamlessly melding into the glossy black borders) for the first time was almost moving.
...now what? Really, now what? Do I get a prize or something? Do I get to wear a "I've seen an OLED with perfectly inky blacks, just like people have been experiencing for years on OLED TVs and OLED gaming monitors, ask me anything" t-shirt?
Yes the colors are great and punchy, yes the HDR is great, yes the highlights are eye-melting, yes the blacks are pitch black. It really is the best display you've held in your hands, ever. And the device as a whole is a marvellous piece of engineering, that thinness and weight make it feel unreal, this is the tablet in its ultimate form, the way it was always meant to be.
But to watch movies, because of the sheer size, it's not as impressive as a 16" Macbook Pro. And the blacks/colors/brightness on the mini-LED MBPs are 95% as good as on the OLED iPad Pros. (note: mini-LED MBPs and mini-LED old 12.9" iPad Pros are not the same, the MBPs are definitely better)
As a sidenote, the speakers are so much worse than the speakers on a MBP (it's not that they're bad, but the MBP speakers are SUPERB). I guess that's to be expected given the diminutive thickness the iPad Pro has to work with, but please if you watch videos without headphones buy a refurbished/used 14" MBP instead of a 13" iPad Pro.
I'm constantly seeing reflections, it only takes a normally lit daytime living room, no need to go outdoors. If I lay down on the sofa with my back to the TV, I can see the TV reflected into the iPad. I thought reflections/glare could be fought by raising the brightness, but high brightness indoor is fatiguing for the eyes, it's a double-edged sword. You can't just pump eye-piercing brightness into your eyes.
Yes I could (and probably will) apply a matte or "paperlike" screen protector to the standard display, but it's safe to assume the image quality will never be as good as on the native nano-texture developed by Apple. If we're being OCD about the slight text sharpness reduction on the nano-texture, then the standard+matte_screen_protector combo should be considered trash.
My advice to people with similar needs/taste to mine
- buy a 11" iPad Pro with nano-texture (or a 13" if you wish, but see the next point about adding a portable big screen to your iPad anyway, which could make the difference between the 11" and the 13" moot for some people)
- when you're in bed or on the sofa, use microOLED glasses like the Rokid or XReal glasses connected to the 11" iPad Pro (in Stage Manager external display mode) to watch movies/videos on a big OLED screen with good blacks and colors (but no HDR sadly, at least on the microOLED glasses I'm aware of)
- buy a used 2021 M1 Pro Macbook Pro (14" or 16") for everything else and watching movies/videos directly on the built-in screen (as opposed to watching them on microOLED glasses)
- don't buy into the FOMO for the perfectly inky blacks and colors-that-punch-you-in-the-face, you can have that on mini-LED Macs, OLED TVs, microOLED glasses, Vision headsets, etc., let the iPad be your "matte safe space"
DISCLAIMER: I have no direct experience of the nano-texture, I'm basing all of this on my experience with the standard glass and reports/photos of the nano-texture.
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I couldn’t resist and bought the nano today. Now I can compare it directly with my standard glass one.
And yes, it’s relief to not see any reflections. I really love that. The screen is amazing and in my opinion a lot better then any screen protector I have used before. But you can clearly see quite a big loss of contrast and the colors are not that saturated. But overall, when I’m outside or in our bright living room I might prefer to have no reflections at all then having the best colors and blacks. It’s really comfortable to read with that nano. Im curious how much the the difference in picture quality will be later in the evening and in my pitch black bed room when I play some movies.
Right now I would love to keep both. But being married that’s an unrealistic scenario.
And yes, it’s relief to not see any reflections. I really love that. The screen is amazing and in my opinion a lot better then any screen protector I have used before. But you can clearly see quite a big loss of contrast and the colors are not that saturated. But overall, when I’m outside or in our bright living room I might prefer to have no reflections at all then having the best colors and blacks. It’s really comfortable to read with that nano. Im curious how much the the difference in picture quality will be later in the evening and in my pitch black bed room when I play some movies.
Right now I would love to keep both. But being married that’s an unrealistic scenario.
Like with most Apple releases, stores get stock every few days, so if you keep an eye open, items with long delivery times can be picked up locally fairly quickly, with a little luck.
I wouldn’t have thought it myself before, but I will keep the nano, even though the blacks and colors aren’t as great as on the standard one. However, the differences are very slight when there is not much light. But having any reflections is just extremely pleasant. I go on summer vacation today and especially outside, the nano is just so great, so i want it to join the trip.
Interesting feedback on the nano display in use during a whole day of traveling:
I’ve not cleaned mine since release day and I’d not noticed it being dirty. But I turned my screen off and look at it at an angle and it did look like his. I gave it a clean and it was pretty hard to clean. But in typical apple you’re holding it wrong fashion I think I was cleaning it wrong. I had the cloth scrunched up and was using a just a bit of of it. Rather than that I put the whole cloth flat on the screen and moved it around and it cleaned it near instantly. I’m probably just dumb and this is obvious 😉
But he does appear to be correct that it picks up some dirt. Mind you for me when using the screen I had not even noticed it.
As an aside I’m not sure where I saw it (It could have been in this thread). But I now store the cloth between the screen and keyboard. Who ever thought of this is a genius 🙂 the static holds it there so when the iPads not attached it stays safe. This is going to save me hundreds not having to replace lost clothes 😀
Has he never used the standard one? It’s also a mess after awhile, that just the way it goes with touch devices. Would def prefer the nano and be able to ser what’s on screen on an airplane with stong sunlight from the window beside me.
I spent 45 minutes using the nano display at an Apple Store today (i already own the glossy M4 version). For anybody wondering about whether this display is for them, here are my observations:
A member of staff at the Apple Store told me that they had a lot of returns of the nano texture display - he said that many customers had bought the nano texture display and then returned it for the standard display. He said there was a subset of people, mainly designers and illustrators, who knew they wanted the matte display due to its benefits when working with photos and drawings. They were delighted with it because they had been asking for it for a long time.
- The most noticeable thing when using the nano display is how text appears. It is not that the text is necessary less sharp or blurry, but the text doesn’t pop as much, and any dark text on a white background looks degraded. The nano texture display gives the white screen a kind of hazy, shimmering appearance. It was incredibly distracting. I agree with someone here who said it feels like a ‘cheap’ display because of this. The best way I can describe it was that I constantly felt like I wanted to clean the screen. This issue goes away in Dark Mode - i.e with white text on a dark background. So this will be less of an issue if you’re willing to use Dark Mode all the time.
- There is noticeably less contrast with the nano texture display, as others have pointed out. The benefits of the new OLED screen are entirely negated IMO. You only need to put the two iPad M4s side-by-side to see the difference between these displays in terms of contrast and blacks. The level of blacks on the nano-display is almost like looking at a regular LCD panel (think of an iPad Air or a MacBook Air)
- The screen feels different under your fingers. It does feel smoother.
- Photographs look stunning on the nano texture display. Absolutely stunning. Whilst they pop more on the regular glossy screen, photos (and drawings) on the nano display have the appearance of printed photographs.
- Obviously glare is much reduced (this is the main selling point).
- Fingerprints show far more on the nano display. They can leave a noticeable grey smudge, particularly when there is a white background.
A member of staff at the Apple Store told me that they had a lot of returns of the nano texture display - he said that many customers had bought the nano texture display and then returned it for the standard display. He said there was a subset of people, mainly designers and illustrators, who knew they wanted the matte display due to its benefits when working with photos and drawings. They were delighted with it because they had been asking for it for a long time.
I have been thinking and I have seen the iPads side by side. What people say I don’t see. I think there’s a bit of confirmation bias but also all our eyes are different. I have green eyes. And bright lights are horrible to me. My wife finds it funny. At a restaurant I can’t be facing towards artificial or outside if bright lights are coming in. I was googling today about the difference with people with green & blue vs darker eye colours (and I’m sure there are more factors than the colour of peoples eyes). When I seen the oled the colours just seem over saturated too bright just nasty. When I see the nano I absolutely love it.
There are lots of people in this thread with completely different opinions. I think we could just be seeing things with different eyes. There is also how you are going to use it. As a factor. But ultimately one persons “cheap display” is another person’s perfect display.
I’m over the moon with the purchase I made. And happier than I thought I’d be. I think it’s best to mostly ignore opinions in here, mine included, and end of the day everyone just needs to see both and make the decision for themselves. There is no right and wrong just what’s right for you.
There are lots of people in this thread with completely different opinions. I think we could just be seeing things with different eyes. There is also how you are going to use it. As a factor. But ultimately one persons “cheap display” is another person’s perfect display.
I’m over the moon with the purchase I made. And happier than I thought I’d be. I think it’s best to mostly ignore opinions in here, mine included, and end of the day everyone just needs to see both and make the decision for themselves. There is no right and wrong just what’s right for you.
I am pretty certain I want a nano texture as in my current M2 12.9 I have a paper like protector.
I saw it in an Apple Store and I quite likely although I was expecting a bit more friction.
What I do not know is if it worth the additional £700. I really do not need 1TB although I would appreciate the 16gb long term.
Has anyone compared a nano vs latest IPP with a paper like protector??
I saw it in an Apple Store and I quite likely although I was expecting a bit more friction.
What I do not know is if it worth the additional £700. I really do not need 1TB although I would appreciate the 16gb long term.
Has anyone compared a nano vs latest IPP with a paper like protector??
Some additional impressions with the Nano Texture display…
As I mentioned earlier, I originally purchased a 1TB Standard Display iPad that was delivered on May 15th. However on Friday the 17th, I saw an Apple Store had the 1TB Nano Texture in stock, and so I picked that up as well and did some side by side comparisons. I had them together in a well lit living room, a darkened bedroom (curtains closed but not pitch black), as well as in complete total darkness. And overall, yes, there is a bit of a difference, but it is so incredibly small, that I can only see it if I’m looking at both side by side.
In a pitch black room and side by side, there is a hint more saturation and a hint of deeper blacks. But how often am I in that scenario? Usually right before I’m going to bed. For the other 90% of the time I’m using the iPad, I am in lit areas of varying degrees, and in those situations, not having glaring reflections wins out every single time. When I can see visible reflections on my screen, that 2% extra deep black doesn’t mean anything because it’s being washed out by the horrible reflection. The Nano Texture diffuses the light, making it a much, MUCH better viewing experience. Sure the image gets washed out as well, but in a much softer way and provides a much easier reading experience because your brain isn’t trying to see through a reflection.
The other thing I’ve really loved about the Nano Texture, is it almost gives this display an E-Ink feel to it. Except it would be the most gorgeous, bright, high-resolution E-Ink display you’ve ever seen. Everything you view almost feels like it has a printed quality to it. Things are less digital and more physical feeling. And at first it may be a bit jarring. When I bought my Studio Display with Nano Texture over a year ago, when it first came in I struggled on if I should replace it with glossy, it just looked a bit different. But after a year, and having my Nano Studio Display at home and working off a glossy display in the office, Nano is absolutely my preferred viewing choice. And maybe that year of adjusting my eyes to this matte display helped my transition from glossy iPad display to matte. iJustine mentioned it in one of her videos, but it is a bit weird for your brain because it’s used to seeing through reflections, and this just doesn’t have them.
Speaking of E-Ink, I’ve been doing some reading from the Kindle App on my new Nano iPad, and it is a pretty big improvement and easier on the eyes reading long blocks of texts. I think this goes back to the images on the display feeling more print like and less digital. This will 100% replace me using my Kindle Oasis and I also can’t wait to start getting into some graphic novels with this display.
Finally the texture of the screen. There is definitely a difference to the touch, but this just feels like a much smoother (and even softer) surface to slide my fingers around compared to the standard glass. It really feels premium. Fingerprints have been way less of an issue for me compared to standard. Yes, they are there, but the microfiber cloth provided removes them easily enough. And if I need to really clean my screen, I can always use the 70% alcohol which works magically on my Nano Studio Display. And when using the Apple Pencil, the difference isn’t as drastic, but it’s there, and it made sketching in Procreate a bit better of an experience. I’ve never used Paperlike, but I can say the Nano does offer a bit of a friction with the pencil that you don’t get with standard glass.
Needless to say, my Standard iPad is getting returned to Apple and I am keeping the Nano iPad. For me, I’d rather take a 2% hit on contrast if it means the viewing experience on my iPad will be drastically better 90% of the time because of no reflections. And for those times I’m streaming YouTube or Netflix before I go to sleep, I’ll never miss the barely noticeable drop in contrast and saturation.
Hope this helps anyone else thinking about getting a Nano iPad. The experience may not be for everyone, but if you’re like me, once you‘re eyes and brain have adjusted to this different type of display, it’s so hard to go back to a display that showcases reflections so much.
As I mentioned earlier, I originally purchased a 1TB Standard Display iPad that was delivered on May 15th. However on Friday the 17th, I saw an Apple Store had the 1TB Nano Texture in stock, and so I picked that up as well and did some side by side comparisons. I had them together in a well lit living room, a darkened bedroom (curtains closed but not pitch black), as well as in complete total darkness. And overall, yes, there is a bit of a difference, but it is so incredibly small, that I can only see it if I’m looking at both side by side.
In a pitch black room and side by side, there is a hint more saturation and a hint of deeper blacks. But how often am I in that scenario? Usually right before I’m going to bed. For the other 90% of the time I’m using the iPad, I am in lit areas of varying degrees, and in those situations, not having glaring reflections wins out every single time. When I can see visible reflections on my screen, that 2% extra deep black doesn’t mean anything because it’s being washed out by the horrible reflection. The Nano Texture diffuses the light, making it a much, MUCH better viewing experience. Sure the image gets washed out as well, but in a much softer way and provides a much easier reading experience because your brain isn’t trying to see through a reflection.
The other thing I’ve really loved about the Nano Texture, is it almost gives this display an E-Ink feel to it. Except it would be the most gorgeous, bright, high-resolution E-Ink display you’ve ever seen. Everything you view almost feels like it has a printed quality to it. Things are less digital and more physical feeling. And at first it may be a bit jarring. When I bought my Studio Display with Nano Texture over a year ago, when it first came in I struggled on if I should replace it with glossy, it just looked a bit different. But after a year, and having my Nano Studio Display at home and working off a glossy display in the office, Nano is absolutely my preferred viewing choice. And maybe that year of adjusting my eyes to this matte display helped my transition from glossy iPad display to matte. iJustine mentioned it in one of her videos, but it is a bit weird for your brain because it’s used to seeing through reflections, and this just doesn’t have them.
Speaking of E-Ink, I’ve been doing some reading from the Kindle App on my new Nano iPad, and it is a pretty big improvement and easier on the eyes reading long blocks of texts. I think this goes back to the images on the display feeling more print like and less digital. This will 100% replace me using my Kindle Oasis and I also can’t wait to start getting into some graphic novels with this display.
Finally the texture of the screen. There is definitely a difference to the touch, but this just feels like a much smoother (and even softer) surface to slide my fingers around compared to the standard glass. It really feels premium. Fingerprints have been way less of an issue for me compared to standard. Yes, they are there, but the microfiber cloth provided removes them easily enough. And if I need to really clean my screen, I can always use the 70% alcohol which works magically on my Nano Studio Display. And when using the Apple Pencil, the difference isn’t as drastic, but it’s there, and it made sketching in Procreate a bit better of an experience. I’ve never used Paperlike, but I can say the Nano does offer a bit of a friction with the pencil that you don’t get with standard glass.
Needless to say, my Standard iPad is getting returned to Apple and I am keeping the Nano iPad. For me, I’d rather take a 2% hit on contrast if it means the viewing experience on my iPad will be drastically better 90% of the time because of no reflections. And for those times I’m streaming YouTube or Netflix before I go to sleep, I’ll never miss the barely noticeable drop in contrast and saturation.
Hope this helps anyone else thinking about getting a Nano iPad. The experience may not be for everyone, but if you’re like me, once you‘re eyes and brain have adjusted to this different type of display, it’s so hard to go back to a display that showcases reflections so much.