iPad mini display found to be 'just very capable,' outperformed by rivals

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 105
    It's interesting how apple fans point out how much better the iPhone 5 screen is vs GSIII (myself included)
    But when the other guys do well, y'all whim that it doesn't matter.
    Don't be hypocites, the cheaper tablets have been screens. The end.

    I don't care for mini or other tablets. I love my ipad 2 and wouldn't mind the iPad 4th gen.
    But google offers a better specs tablet in the nexus 7. Mainly with screen.
    I don't know anything about androids, they are nice ( but I like things to work well)

    I really think android is just now showing up on the tablet market.
    I would like apple to make a fine point stylus that would on the iPad ( or the new ones anyway)
    Otherwise, in 5 years when my 2 is worn out, I make look for an android that has one.
    I love my iPad 2 though

    PS, I use a stylus for my iPad 2 and they are OK but I feel like the iPad is really sold short on its true potential, just my 2 bits

    Don't say iPhone screen is better then turn around and say, " only geeks care"
    Cause I notice the difference between my iPad 2, iPhone 5, and the galaxy's.
    the galaxy's look cool but aren't that good, the iPhone is the best and iPad 2 which is close to the mini is almost just sad for reading (really all I use mine for is college, but I'm used to the lower quality screen on my iPad.
    For a book reading deal, I'd rather higher quality
  • Reply 22 of 105
    I am slightly surprised Apple didn't go with a higher resolution screen on the 32 or 64 GB versions-- they have the margin easily.

    Then I think back to the history of every product they have ever made and recall the need for a compelling upgrade case. Retina will be here next update. Which keeps me from buying this time around, sadly. I want the toys, but I don't need to be throwing my money away.
  • Reply 23 of 105
    mac_128mac_128 Posts: 3,454member
    The display is adequate, but is the obvious weak point for anyone who has owned a retina iPad or iPhone or high-res Android phone or tablet.
    They didn't really design it for you, or any of those people. They figure if you have a retina display iPad, or an Android, you won't be buying a mini. This is targeted at the market that does not yet have an iDevice, or only has a 3GS, or an original iPad due to cost, and certainly expects anybody who has invested in quality Android devices to ignore it. As such, these people don't know what they are missing and the mini will look like the best thing ever for the price. The fact that all these Apple early adopters with more dollars than sense are running out to buy one to add to their collection of Apple gadgets so they can be the first kid on their block to have one -- and notice the difference between their more expensive devices -- doesn't mean Apple missed the mark here. Apple will likely find that users will find ways to use the mini they never anticipated and the mini will evolve accordingly. In fact I suspect that Apple is a little surprised by how many current iPad owners also want a mini.
  • Reply 24 of 105
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    aaarrrgggh wrote: »
    I am slightly surprised Apple didn't go with a higher resolution screen on the 32 or 64 GB versions-- they have the margin easily.

    Then I think back to the history of every product they have ever made and recall the need for a compelling upgrade case. Retina will be here next update. Which keeps me from buying this time around, sadly. I want the toys, but I don't need to be throwing my money away.

    1) Apple has never altered the display resolution of an iDevice simply because you bought a higher capacity model.

    2) Having varying resolutions would be an issue for devs and therefore users. If you are suggesting they could go with 2048x1536 (double the resolution) I don't see that as possible for the given weight for the duration which I think are pinnacle to this device's success in the market. It's also not something that would be inexpensive. In fact, everything points to it being more costly to build than the same resolution display in the 10" iPad.

    3) I hope Retina display comes to the mini next year but I don't expect it. Rogue 6 will be required, which isn't due until the 2nd half of the year, and the mini is already using the ASIC from 2011, but with the 32nm process. Following that pattern the Retina iPad mini won't arrive until 2014.
  • Reply 25 of 105
    apple should add retina display with the same price. it will still work for most people. but how they were stupid enough not to concern future market share because apple just thinks that they will sell tons of it again no matter what. it's wrong. the game has been changed. they don't realize themselves why AAPL has been falling almost for two months. it means that customers slowly realize that they can buy better products with cheap price. apple is not main buying anymore. if apple won't realize it, the company will fail badly just like MS.
  • Reply 26 of 105
    drblankdrblank Posts: 3,385member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by archurban View Post



    apple should add retina display with the same price. it will still work for most people. but how they were stupid enough not to concern future market share because apple just thinks that they will sell tons of it again no matter what. it's wrong. the game has been changed. they don't realize themselves why AAPL has been falling almost for two months. it means that customers slowly realize that they can buy better products with cheap price. apple is not main buying anymore. if apple won't realize it, the company will fail badly just like MS.


    They might not be able to still use the same processor, battery, etc. to drive a retina display of that size.  They will have to make it thicker, which result in a heavier product and obviously a more costly everything.


     


    It's a tough decision that must be made.  I don't think the mini is a bad product, but it could certainly be better, it's just a matter of a redesign for the next release.


     


    But i think the weight and thickness were important issues they wanted to have.


     


    Everything has a compromise i guess.

  • Reply 27 of 105
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,384member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by archurban View Post



    apple should add retina display with the same price. it will still work for most people. but how they were stupid enough not to concern future market share because apple just thinks that they will sell tons of it again no matter what. it's wrong. the game has been changed. they don't realize themselves why AAPL has been falling almost for two months. it means that customers slowly realize that they can buy better products with cheap price. apple is not main buying anymore. if apple won't realize it, the company will fail badly just like MS.


     


    Thanks for that garbled mess of non-sensical word vomit. 

  • Reply 28 of 105
    adamcadamc Posts: 583member


    Try it out the mini display is great.


     


    Comparing specs IMHO is useless because no one can tell the difference even gruber is wrong, he talked as if his eyes are super sharp and ken easily differential retina and non retina.


     


    The trick is the word retina which automatically form an image in the mind but in reality the mini display looks just as good.


     


    Kind of remind me that a photo taken by a Leica must be great while the rest is inferior but if there is no mention of a brand every photo looks the same and some even commented the other brands' photos were better.

  • Reply 29 of 105
    doxxicdoxxic Posts: 100member
    Wake Up everyone: mini was really not made for reading text.

    It's pitched as a serious allround tablet for the whole family, but in practice consumers will judge and use it as a *game computer*.

    It's the same case with iPad already.

    They essentially compete with Play Station, XBox, Nintendo and laptops. Not ereaders or 'Galaxy Notes'.
  • Reply 30 of 105
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    adamc wrote: »
    The trick is the word retina which automatically form an image in the mind but in reality the mini display looks just as good.

    It doesn't look as good as any Retina display Apple sells. It's better than the iPad 2 display and better than the 3GS display for reasons of pixel density and display panel type, respectively, but it's not as good as their Retina display offerings for someone with decent vision who has been using an iPad (3) since it came out. That doesn't mean it's not a great device for today but it's simply not as good as other displays. Neither is my 13" MBP display which is barely over 100 PPI and has a TN panel but I would still love for iBooks to be added to the Mac App Store.
  • Reply 31 of 105
    I went into the Apple store to buy an iPad mini because I have the iPad3 and although I really like it it's just at tad too big and too heavy for my taste, especially since it has such a big bezel around it (why the iPad4 has a big bezel and the iPad mini doesn't is a mystery to me since both were released at the same time!!! To me that's just inconsistent.)

    Anyway, I pick up the iPad mini to play around with it and the first thing that stuck out to me was the cheap looking display, I was shocked! How could Apple want a premium price in this category with such a last last generation display with last last generation performance (A5 chip, only 512MB RAM!!!!!).

    That is unacceptable to me so I left.
  • Reply 32 of 105
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lav1daloca View Post



     (why the iPad4 has a big bezel and the iPad mini doesn't is a mystery to me since both were released at the same time!!! To me that's just inconsistent.)

     


     


    That's no mystery, it's plain common sense. There's a good reason why the 9.7" iPad has a larger bezel than the 7.9" iPad Mini. 

  • Reply 33 of 105

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lav1daloca View Post



    I went into the Apple store to buy an iPad mini because I have the iPad3 and although I really like it it's just at tad too big and too heavy for my taste, especially since it has such a big bezel around it (why the iPad4 has a big bezel and the iPad mini doesn't is a mystery to me since both were released at the same time!!! To me that's just inconsistent.)

    Anyway, I pick up the iPad mini to play around with it and the first thing that stuck out to me was the cheap looking display, I was shocked! How could Apple want a premium price in this category with such a last last generation display with last last generation performance (A5 chip, only 512MB RAM!!!!!).

    That is unacceptable to me so I left.


    Evidently, Tim Cook hates you and wishes you to become a stalwart of the Windows ARM RT community, where you experiences the sublime pleasures of stroking the Touch Cover. But Andy Rubin wants you to be his BFF; and Steve Ballmer is seeking a personal technology life-style instructor.


     


    Cheers

  • Reply 34 of 105


    Yet they're failing to address what may very well be the single biggest "display measurement' for tablet use:  aspect ratio.


     


    For reading and web-browsing, as well as many apps, using the tablet in portrait mode is better, and a 4:3 aspect ratio is far superior.  There is a reason why throughout history, when people record written material, they have generally done so on a format that was longer than it was wide.


     


    Look at the aspect ratio of a pad of paper or a book.  It's better for reading.  It's better for web browsing.


     


    Sure, for watching a movie or viewing "landscape" photos, 16:9 is better.  But for most small tablet users, that ends up being a less-important use than web-browsing or reading.


     


    To most users, this difference will be much more significant than a few pixels or color gamut.

  • Reply 35 of 105

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by wakefinance View Post


    You've got a good point, but not in the case of measurements of screen quality.  If a processor is 20% slower than that in a competing product, the difference may not be noticeable because of software optimizations and because processor speed isn't something we have a direct sense of.  On the other hand, measurements of screen quality are immediately apparent to people.  You don't need a number for coverage of the standard color gamut to see how colorful a display is.  Anyone could look at two screens side by side and tell you which is more colorful or which is sharper.



     


    Maybe...maybe in a side-by-side comparison the average user could discern a difference.


     


    But probably not otherwise. 


     


    I use an iPad 3 extensively.  I am also keening interested in the iPad mini as I am an AAPL shareholder.  So last Saturday I was using my iPad 3 for a couple hours.  Then I happened to be near my local Apple store, so I stopped in to investigate the mini...in particular how it's reportedly "inferior" display would work out.


     


    Well...I must say I absolutely loved it.  The enormous reduction in weight made it a pleasure to hold, and I honestly could not notice any significant difference in the display quality.  I'm not doubting that an in-lab, or even a side-by-side, comparison wouldn't reveal a difference.  Yet for an iPad 3 Retina user, who had just been using the iPad 3 for hours, and was very intentionally evaluating the quality of the screen wearing the "investor" hat...I honestly could not see a definite difference.


     


    I would encourage everyone to actually use one before disparaging it.


     


    Now to the real world:  the overwhelming number of consumers will NOT do a side-by-side comparison.  They may try various tablets, but few will do it side-by-side.  So when they try the iPad mini, what they'll notice is how good the construction feels, how light it is, and how much they prefer the 4:3 aspect ratio.  And Apple will sell millions and millions of these.

  • Reply 36 of 105


    Good. Hope you don't come back!

  • Reply 37 of 105

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lav1daloca View Post



    I went into the Apple store to buy an iPad mini because I have the iPad3 and although I really like it it's just at tad too big and too heavy for my taste, especially since it has such a big bezel around it (why the iPad4 has a big bezel and the iPad mini doesn't is a mystery to me since both were released at the same time!!! To me that's just inconsistent.)

    Anyway, I pick up the iPad mini to play around with it and the first thing that stuck out to me was the cheap looking display, I was shocked! How could Apple want a premium price in this category with such a last last generation display with last last generation performance (A5 chip, only 512MB RAM!!!!!).

    That is unacceptable to me so I left.


    Good. Hope you don't come back!

  • Reply 38 of 105
    rayzrayz Posts: 814member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lav1daloca View Post





    That is unacceptable to me so I left.


     


    Unacceptable to you, was it?


     


    That settles it then; they need to shut down the company and give the money back to the shareholders.

  • Reply 39 of 105
    Sadly it is what I expected with the distinct lack of information on it.
    Apple probably got a very good deal to get build costs very low.

    Obviously everyone will need the improved mini come February.
  • Reply 40 of 105
    ifij775ifij775 Posts: 470member
    [QUOTE]sub-pixel rendering to sharpen on-screen images and text[/QUOTE]
    Sub-pixel rendering cannot sharpen images, only text and graphics. This point was taken incorrectly out of the article.
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