iPad Pro To nano or not to nano?

[Snoggin]

Im with you. I have

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.

Im with you! I have both here at home and 95% sure I’m keeping the Nano

 

[Molson1020]

Im with you. I have

Im with you! I have both here at home and 95% sure I’m keeping the Nano

It’s such a great display and such a wonderful viewing experience. Of course there’s no wrong answer, I just think sometimes you need to retrain your brain on how it processes what you’re looking at when using a matte screen.

The ONLY thing I have a slight concern on is durability of the screen. So far I’ve used the pencil extensively, lots of taping and swiping with my fingers, multiple rounds of wiping away fingerprints (even ONE fingerprint is too much haha), and so far it’s held up wonderfully. This just feels way sturdier than the nano displays on the Studio Display.

And should something bad happen within the next couple years, I have AppleCare on the device.

 

[xsmett]

I have more visible fingerprints on my standard then on my nano for sure.

With more light the nano looses contrast on the other side the standard has to deal with more and more reflections. Just have been on a 3 hour flight and the nano was so great to watch movies (without perfect contrast, but a least you can see something in dark scenes. No chance with the standard glass, you just see a reflection of your own face. Really annoying to me).

The loss of contrast and colors of the nano is only minimum when it is dark (biggest plus and surprise for me).

I prefer reading on the nano a lot because of the missing reflections, even if its not that sharp.

Yes its, not a perfect oled like feeling with the nano all the time, but for me its more then good enough for entertainment and reading. Anyway, if i watch a movie like dune 2 for the first time I wouldn’t choose any of them, i would turn on my big oled tv for that.

But sure, the best would be to have the quality of the standard glass without any reflections. Maybe some day with a way better anti-glare coating.

 

[atownguy]

It’s such a great display and such a wonderful viewing experience. Of course there’s no wrong answer, I just think sometimes you need to retrain your brain on how it processes what you’re looking at when using a matte screen.

The ONLY thing I have a slight concern on is durability of the screen. So far I’ve used the pencil extensively, lots of taping and swiping with my fingers, multiple rounds of wiping away fingerprints (even ONE fingerprint is too much haha), and so far it’s held up wonderfully. This just feels way sturdier than the nano displays on the Studio Display.

And should something bad happen within the next couple years, I have AppleCare on the device.

Did you go for the 11 or 13 inch?

 

[Molson1020]

Did you go for the 11 or 13 inch?

I went with the 13”.

My very first few iPads were always the smaller size, but when the M1 iPad Pro came out, I switched to the bigger size, and have vastly preferred it. I‘ve never had problems traveling with the larger size.

 

[nikster0029]

Keeping my nano as well. The blacks aren’t as deep, the screen appears to have a rainbow sheen effect on white backgrounds, and has less contrast, but my eyes no longer need to continually refocus away from the reflections on the screen back to the content I am viewing. I found myself always catching my reflection off the screen without the nano texture and needing to refocus.

 

[Kai Hawaii]

Sorry for beeing slightly off topic. But wouldn‘t it be great, if the new iPhone Ultra would feature a Nano Coated Glass.
I think it makes even more sense on IPhones to have such screen implemented asap.

 

[klasma]

Sorry for beeing slightly off topic. But wouldn‘t it be great, if the new iPhone Ultra would feature a Nano Coated Glass.
I think it makes even more sense on IPhones to have such screen implemented asap.

It would clash with the Dynamic Island though.

 

[Wind30]

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 😀

View attachment 2380090

Does this work with the Smart Folio?

 

[tim1000]

Sorry for beeing slightly off topic. But wouldn‘t it be great, if the new iPhone Ultra would feature a Nano Coated Glass.
I think it makes even more sense on IPhones to have such screen implemented asap.

How about MacBook Pro? I had a PowerBook G4 matte screen

 

[wavesm]

I eventually went with the glossy one.

I am surprised how readable it is outdoors and how much better than the 12.9 M2.

 

[rukind2]

I enjoyed hearing his impressions, however, he failed to comment on keeping the displays clean. Owing to Apple's inclusion of a specialty cleaning cloth with the nano screen, the inference is that other types of cloth may damage the nano texture. Am I on a flyer with this observation or do others agree?

 

[rukind2]

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:

• 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.

For my aging eyes the loss of contrast is a deal breaker.

 

[Branaghan]

I enjoyed hearing his impressions, however, he failed to comment on keeping the displays clean. Owing to Apple's inclusion of a specialty cleaning cloth with the nano screen, the inference is that other types of cloth may damage the nano texture. Am I on a flyer with this observation or do others agree?

What is this cloth made of? Considering that Apple is charging a lot of $$$$$$$$$$ for it

For my aging eyes the loss of contrast is a deal breaker.

Is it my impression or with the nano-texture there seems to be a grey filter all over it? What happened with the iPAD in post #361 ?

 

[KPOM]

FWIW, 11” Nano models are available in select stores today.

 

[NikkiAngel]

FWIW, 11” Nano models are available in select stores today.

Is there an online inventory tracker where you can view which locations?

 

[KPOM]

Is there an online inventory tracker where you can view which locations?

There is an app called InventoryWatch.

 

[jameschho]

FWIW, 11” Nano models are available in select stores today.

Thank You, Just ordered one for pickup

 

[Karnicopia]

Seems like in a lot of the video and pictures I see the nano deals with glare better but the in general and it looks like almost all situations to me the blacks seem washed out in comparison as an effect of this and that is the main benefit of OLED.

I'd personally rather have darker blacks and just position the iPad in the way to avoid bad glare but maybe this is something I'd have to see in person. In some situations you aren't going to be able to avoid glare but I would rather deal with that and have better black levels when I can avoid glare.

 

[u2u2]

I enjoyed hearing his impressions, however, he failed to comment on keeping the displays clean. Owing to Apple's inclusion of a specialty cleaning cloth with the nano screen, the inference is that other types of cloth may damage the nano texture. Am I on a flyer with this observation or do others agree?

I have the Apple cloth for an early nano studio display. I usually just grab a generic microfibre cloth as they clean just as well. What matters, in my view, is being certain the micro fibre cloth you use is totally free from contamination. I use the same level of care on all my devices and they have all fared well. My money is the inference is just Apple marketing.

 

[u2u2]

Seems like in a lot of the video and pictures I see the nano deals with glare better but the in general and it looks like almost all situations to me the blacks seem washed out in comparison as an effect of this and that is the main benefit of OLED.

I'd personally rather have darker blacks and just position the iPad in the way to avoid bad glare but maybe this is something I'd have to see in person. In some situations you aren't going to be able to avoid glare but I would rather deal with that and have better black levels when I can avoid glare.

I was excited when they announced the nano option would be available. Having had a Thunderbolt Display alongside a nano Studio display I had concerns about the trade offs you hit on but I was leaning nano to address my lighting environment. Viewed all the forum posts and reviews I could then saw the iPads on display at two local Apple stores. Opted for better blacks on the standard display. Very happy with that decision. Glare is not as bad as on earlier iPad models and the increased brightness & contrast of the OLED may be contributing to the overall positive outcome. I would love a chance to see each version side by side where I use them but the cost is…

 

[micr0]

I finally received my nano textured 13” pro yesterday. I really wanted to love it. And while it has qualities that I do truly appreciate - softer touch, more tactile pencil experience, lack of reflections, obviously - there is one unexpected compromise that led me to sadly exchange it for a standard screen today: Against white or very light colors, a static, grainy texture is always visible. After all the talk about desaturated colors and washed out blacks, I found those traits to be completely negligible. I actually thought color and contrast were excellent. But the ever-present grain over light areas is a gamebreaker I couldn’t get past. The Apple employees I spoke to saw it too, describing it as “gritty.”

To be clear, this is a nano-specific issue separate from the “grainy” screen complaints about the new oleds. That supposed effect seems to be most visible on gray/darker tones. I have not personally noted this problem on either my nano or standard units.

I hope everyone can try both and get the one that makes the most sense for them. I’m definitely looking forward to improved, future iterations of this tech.

 

[Macintosh101]

I finally received my nano textured 13” pro yesterday. I really wanted to love it. And while it has qualities that I do truly appreciate - softer touch, more tactile pencil experience, lack of reflections, obviously - there is one unexpected compromise that led me to sadly exchange it for a standard screen today: Against white or very light colors, a static, grainy texture is always visible. After all the talk about desaturated colors and washed out blacks, I found those traits to be completely negligible. I actually thought color and contrast were excellent. But the ever-present grain over light areas is a gamebreaker I couldn’t get past. The Apple employees I spoke to saw it too, describing it as “gritty.”

To be clear, this is a nano-specific issue separate from the “grainy” screen complaints about the new oleds. That supposed effect seems to be most visible on gray/darker tones. I have not personally noted this problem on either my nano or standard units.

I hope everyone can try both and get the one that makes the most sense for them. I’m definitely looking forward to improved, future iterations of this tech.

Yup, agree,, it looks like a 'dirty' display.

This is a great review of the nano texture display, compared to the regular one. Fully agree with all his points.

 

[Jamacfer]

IMHO the biggest problem is that the nano is available only on 1 and 2 TB…so it is much more expensive for people who needs less storage.

 

[xsmett]

The biggest problem of the nano in this forum is, that people are judging the nano without ever tested one in real life scenarios and not just in the Apple Store or after watching some YouTube videos about the nano.

I wasn’t team nano at all and got the glossy one on release day, but then became curious and ordered the nano. Such a positive surprise in many aspects.