Roger Fingas
The iPad mini 4 uses a display far superior to those of earlier Mini models, both in terms of color reproduction and how much ambient light it reflects, according to testing and calibration firm DisplayMate.
The Mini 4 now covers "a full and very accurate" 101 percent of the sRGB color gamut, DisplayMate said. Previous Minis managed just 62 percent of the gamut, and with weak color saturation to boot. The new tablet's color accuracy puts it on par with the iPad Air 2, as well as recent iPhone models.
The device is also said to have screen reflectance of just 2 percent, better not only than the 6.5 percent on the Mini 3 but the 2.5 percent on the Air 2, DisplayMate's previous record holder. Most current tablets are said to have reflectance between 5 and 6.5 percent.
Minimizing reflectance is important for maintaining contrast and color saturation under intense lighting, particularly outdoors.
The Mini series has regularly been criticized for using inferior displays next to those on full-size iPads. The Mini 4, though, has been upgraded to better match the Air 2 in many respects, such as RAM and processing power.
The tablet is still missing features of the display on the iPad Pro. When it ships in November, the Pro will offer things like a variable refresh rate and vastly improved touch accuracy, the latter needed to support the Apple Pencil.
Amber Neely
Andrew O'Hara
Malcolm Owen
17 Comments
The Mini 4, though, has been upgraded to match the Air 2 in many respects, such as RAM and processing power.
The Mini 4 will be running an A8 chip, while the Air 2 has an A8X.
What about iPad Pro? Matte screen?
[quote name="Apple ][" url="/t/188413/ipad-mini-4-display-catches-up-with-air-2-in-color-gamut-outdoor-visibility#post_2780051"] The Mini 4 will be running an A8 chip, while the Air 2 has an A8X. [/quote] Yeah, that was somewhat deceptive of Schiller to say "we shrunk the iPad Air 2". [quote name="AppeX" url="/t/188413/ipad-mini-4-display-catches-up-with-air-2-in-color-gamut-outdoor-visibility#post_2780054"]What about iPad Pro? Matte screen?[/quote] Heh, no.
I guess my eyes cover 62% or less of the sRGB color gamut, because I've never noticed any obvious deficiency with the color on my iPad mini 2. I've watched everything from Downtown Abbey to Pee-Wee's Playhouse to photographs to web sites to the occasional game and never found it lacking. I also regularly use an iPhone 6, MacBook Pro Retina, and iMac Retina, which are all claimed to cover a much wider sRGB color gamut than the iPad mini 2.
I guess my eyes cover 62% or less of the sRGB color gamut, because I've never noticed any obvious deficiency with the color on my iPad mini 2. I've watched everything from Downtown Abbey to Pee-Wee's Playhouse to photographs to web sites to the occasional game and never found it lacking. I also regularly use an iPhone 6, MacBook Pro Retina, and iMac Retina, which are all claimed to cover a much wider sRGB color gamut than the iPad mini 2.
Well, if your content doesn'T cover that gamut, and many things, especially video you get off the net certainly fall in this category, you wont, see the difference You'd see it mainly in the UI and in looking at pictures, which have the wider gamut.